Exeter Chess Club:

B. Playing against the English opening.

There are three major branches after 1. c4: 1...e5, 1...c5, and 1...Nf6. (There are others, like 1...g6 and 1...e6, or 1...f5 or 1...c6 or 1...g5 ...)

It depends on what style you prefer to play, and how you like to reply to 1. d4.

1...e5 would suit a 1.e4 player who likes to attack, especially if they play (as White) the Closed Sicilian or (as Black) the Dutch or King's Indian. I think this is the best approach for beginners.

1...c5 would suit a Sicilian player who has the patience for a longer game but doesn't mind drawing occasionally.

1...Nf6 would suit a player who is angling for a version of their favourite Indian defence.

Of the others the most important is 1...e6 (or 1...Nf6, 2...e6), an invitation to transpose into the Queen's Gambit; if Black also plays the Tarrasch Defence it can be hard for White to avoid transposing into it, since the main line of the Tarrasch involves g2-g3!

After 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 I don't often play 3.cd; rather, after 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. b3, we are in a position that is meat and drink to the English/Reti player. It's not easy for Black to get organised without either taking on a space disadvantage, or going for more space but exposing their centre to attack. It's a solid enough line but a little difficult to handle, and I would push club players and juniors towards more active and counter-attacking lines. The choice that each player has over their set-up reminds me of the old Arabic version of chess, where pre-determined formations (mansubat) could be chosen separately by either side.

B1. An early break in the centre for Black

Black can play ...Nf6 and ...d5 immediately (Grunfeld reversed) or try and combine it with an early ...e5 or ...c5. White cannot stop ...d5 on move 2 or 3 so all of these systems are playable:

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. g3

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 (now 4. e4 Nb4 5. Bc4 is a fun line!)

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 (or 3. g3) 3...d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 (the Reversed Open Sicilian)

Provided Black is not too ambitious, this can't be a bad idea, but if you know how important a tempo can be to Black in the normal Open Sicilian, it's a good arena in which White can play for a win.

EG: Karpov,Anatoly - Hjartarson,Johann [A22] , Seattle m Round: 2 Year: 1989
EG: Botvinnik,Mikhail - Portisch,Lajos [A22] , Monte Carlo Round: 7 Year: 1968
EG: Kasparov, Gary - Kortchnoi, V (1) [A34] Skelleftea, 1989

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5

This last line can lead to...

B2. An early occupation of the centre: the Maroczy Bind for Black(!)

This system is named the Rubinstein system but is also associated with Botvinnik.

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc7

Black now can hope to arrange ...e5 with a Maroczy Bind.

EG: Goldberg, G - Botvinnik, Mikhail M [A34] USSR, 1945
EG: Langeweg - Korchnoi, Amsterdam, 1972

B3. An early occupation of the centre: solid

Of course, if Black is hoping to equalise first rather than play for an ambitious centre, the systems with ...d5 supported by the c- or e-Pawn offer a serious challenge to White: can White do any better than transpose to a normal Queen's-Pawn opening? The usual bids to retain separate lines of play involve

b2-b3, with variations that are usually classified as part of Reti's system.

EG: Kasparov,G (2740) - Karpov,An (2700) (24) [A14] Wch34-KK4 Sevilla, 1987
EG: Fischer,Robert - Filip,Miroslav [A14] Palma de Mallorca iz Rd: 4, 1970

B4. Symmetrical play by Black

After 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 either side can try an early break with the d-Pawn (e.g. 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5!? 5. Nb5!?). However, the fundamental position of the symmetrical English occurs after

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7

This is the Main Line Closed Symmetrical English. In this position White has tried many plans: Queen's-side attack with 5. a3 or 5. Rb1, Staunton system with 5. e3, Botvinnik system with 5. e4 are all common approaches, and Black has tried each in defence (e.g. 5. e3 e5, Staunton vs. Botvinnik!). Fischer often practiced the Staunton system as Black:

EG: Smyslov,V - Fischer,R [A36] Palma de Mallorca izt, 1970
EG: Petrosian,T - Fischer,R (2) [A37] Belgrade URS-WORLD, 1970

This is undoubtedly a good defense for Black: its biggest defect is that 5. e3 e6 (Staunton vs. Staunton) is often taken as an implicit draw offer, since 6. Nge2 Nge7 7. O- O O- O 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. exd5 d5 is hard to see as anything else. Ulf Andersson has tried to find a way through here by delaying castling (7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 d5 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 Nxd4 11. Nc3 Nc6 12. Qxd8+ Nxd8 13. Bd2 +=) and beat Tony Miles with it. The same approach in a different line can be seen in Ulf's game against Tempone below.

One of the most popular modern systems for Black is the Hedgehog: allowing White the Maroczy bind while retaining a flexible position and angling for a break with ...d5 or ...b5. White's Pawn formation seems to be well-placed to counter these plans, and indeed it is - this is what gives the Maroczy Bind its teeth - but it does not sit totally comfortably with the Bishop on g3. On d3 it would inhibit ...b5 and support f4-f5, while on g3 it certainly discourages ...d5 but White can not as easily find a positive plan.

B5. Unbalanced play by Black: the King's English with ...Nf6

1. c4 e5 is the most radical and least transpositional of Black's replies. It is of course at least as rich as the Sicilian, although most players of Black are more bashful about taking on the White position. This is really worth a book but I'll outline a few of the most common ideas for Black. One way of looking at the systems are whether Black aims to keep things closed with ...Nc6 (and often ...Nge7), or instead tries to develop the King's-side starting with ...Nf6.

B5a. Seeking early central control with ...c6 and ...d5

This system bears the name of Keres. It is perhaps the most successful implementation of Black's plan to occupy the centre.

EG: Hartston W R - Basman M J [A23] It, Hastings, 1967

There is even an evil gambit for Black in this line...

EG: Baker,C - Birnboim,N [A20] London, 1987

B5b. Seeking rapid flexible development

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Bb4

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4

...In each case enabling an early King's-side castling. This and related systems have been featured in World Championship matches.

That subtle player Smyslov developed a system 1. c4 e5 2. Nc6 d6 which seeks a useful early development of the other Bishop with ...Bg4 or ...Be6.

EG: Olafsson,Fridrik - Smyslov,Vasily V (2) [A21] Yugoslavia ct, 1959
EG: Petrosian T - Smyslov V (03) [A21] JUG ct, 1959

B6. Unbalanced play by Black: the King's English with ...Nc6

The equivalent fundamental positions of the King's English occur after:

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 (The main line Closed King's English) or

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 (English Four Knights' Game)

B6a. The main line Closed King's English

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7

Again White has a choice of systems. The Staunton approach has a little more sting here than in the Symmetrical. This is of course similar to the Closed Sicilian...

EG: Psakhis - Kasparov [A10] La Manga, 1990.

B6b. English Four Knights' Game

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6

This rich position has many possibilities for each side. We have seen 4. d4 above, which is OK for Black these days...

EG: Knee - Povah N [A28] Hereford, 1978

After 4. g3 Black has been fairly successful with another Smyslov system, 4...Bb4, when Black fancies the Nimzo approach of doubling the c-Pawns and blockading the position against the Bishops. So successful, in fact, that White had tried a variety of ways of avoiding it, most notably with 4. e3. Now here 4...Bb4 is of course still a perfectly reasonable idea, but White can now sidle the Queen across with 5. Qc2 to avoid the doubled Pawns.

This and related systems have been featured in World Championship matches.

EG: Kasparov,G (2740) - Karpov,An (2700) (04) [A29 ] Wch34-KK4 Sevilla, 1987
EG: Kasparov,G (2740) - Karpov,An (2700) (16) [A29] Wch34-KK4 Sevilla, 1987
EG: Kasparov,G (2740) - Karpov,An (2700) (02) [A29] Wch34-KK4 Sevilla, 1987

B7. Indian-style defences:

B7a. Grunfeld style

See above (early break in the centre for Black): if Black plays ...c5 or ...e5 we will transpose; there are ways for White to avoid the transposition with an early e2-e4.

EG: Andersson Ulf - Tempone Marcelo [A16] 04, Buenos Aires, 1979

B7b. King's Indian style

This is a very resilient and flexible system which invites transposition to the Fianchetto system of the King's Indian. This may be the best idea for White; I have found it hard to play standard English plans against the King's Indian. The Staunton approach in particular does not present Black with many problems, and playing for a Queen's-side attack always gives White anxious moments when the counter-attack sets in.

EG: Petrosian,T - Vasiukov,E Moscow ch, 1956

I have enjoyed the Botvinnik system against the King's Indian, and Black Kings, if they cannot see f2-f4-f5 coming, can be equally brutally dismissed.

B7c. Nimzo-Indian style

Given the flexibility and solidity of the Nimzo, it makes a lot of sense to apply the same strategy against the English. The play is significantly different in that White can play d2-d3, and if White avoids the doubled Pawns with a Queen move, there is no Pawn on d4 to counterattack. Korchnoi had this to say:

"Nearly five years ago I started to use the opening system 1. c4 e5. This is quite a good system with which to reach an equal position, but when it had been analysed to death by other GMs I became bored with it and adopted a different system using my own move order. The play has some delicate features I don't fully understand..."

EG: Langeweg-Korchnoi, 1976

B7d. Queen's Indian style

Karpov refined many of the ideas in this system in early matches against Korchnoi. It seems Black can achieve equality.

EG: Kortschnoj,V - Karpov,An (03) [A17] Moscow cf (Wch), 1974

B7e. Dutch style

It is also possible to play the 1...e5 line with an early ...f5, rather like the White system against the Sicilian developed by Vincken and often known as the Grand Prix Attack.

EG: Saidy,Anthony - Fischer,Robert [A25] New York, 1969
EG: Kool - Hodgson [A21] London, 1989
EG: Smart - Hodgson [A21] England, 1984

This presents many of the same challenges as the King's Indian-style system: if White will not occupy the centre and transpose into the main lines of the Dutch, Black may have a freer hand to play the King's-side attack. White must pursue the attack on the Queen's-side with extra vigour...

EG: Miles,T - Chaves,J [A27] Sao Paulo, 1977

However, I believe that White's extra move and Black's early commitment will probably allow White to absorb the aggression and attack the Black Pawns, as I described in the section on the Staunton System, and it is better to play without such a fixed idea of a King's-side attack.

There are several interesting early deviations by Black after 1. c4 e5, including the evil Bellon Gambit, as we see in the example games:

EG: Uhlmann W - Dobosz H (0.17) [A22] DDR-Polska, 1974
EG: Plaskett J - Hempson P W [A22] It, ENG, 1988
EG: Reshevsky,S - Bellon Lopez,J [A22] Palma, 1971
EG: Karpov,Anatoly - Anand,Viswanathan (2) Linares, 1991

SECTIONX

Back to Chess Coaching Page

This document (engidea2.html) was last modified on 1 Aug 97 by [cool blue cat]

Dr. Dave