English Opening: King's English Variation, Kramnik-Shirov Counterattack
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Kramnik-Shirov Counterattack is a chess opening classified as ECO A21, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4,810 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3. g3 (23% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.19 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. Nd5 Be7 4. Nf3 d6 5. d4 Nf6)
- ECO
- A21
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/1bP5/2N5/PP1PPPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,625 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,306 | |
| 2000+ | 879 | |
| All | 4,810 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. g3 | 1,107 (23%) | |
| 3. Nd5 | 1,023 (21%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 482 (10%) | |
| 3. e4 | 436 (9%) | |
| 3. e3 | 413 (9%) | |
| 3. a3 | 325 (7%) | |
| 3. Qc2 | 312 (6%) | |
| 3. d3 | 301 (6%) |
Master games
4,603 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 25%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2875) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2767) 1-0 · 7th Norway Armageddon · 2019-06-04
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2771) 0-1 · Oslo Esports Cup 2022 · 2022-04-28
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2782) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1/2-1/2 · Julius Baer Rapid Div 1 W · 2023-08-31
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2764) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2853) 0-1 · 11th Norway Blitz 2023 · 2023-05-29
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) – GM Gukesh D (2776) 0-1 · SuperUnited CRO Rapid 2025 · 2025-07-03
Highest-rated Lichess games
- gelyaromanova (2722) – vistagusta (2836) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- CSIM2026 (2674) – IM KAPUTVSEMU (2824) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- doyoulikedonuts (2659) – IM KAPUTVSEMU (2833) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3
More English Opening lines (all)
- English Opening A10
- English Opening: Achilles-Omega Gambit A10
- English Opening: Adorjan Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense, Hickmann Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Chabanon Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Ferenc Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Lithuanian Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Löhn Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Malvinas Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Schulz Gambit A10
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.