Article: 2290 of rec.games.chess.analysis Newsgroups: rec.games.chess.analysis Path: info!dregis From: dregis@exeter.ac.uk (D.Regis) Subject: Re: English Opening: How to stop Black playing the KID Message-ID: Organization: University of Exeter, UK. References: <4j8bhk$nnk@pheidippides.axion.bt.co.uk> <4ja2uv$ruc@slip.net> Date: Tue, 2 Apr 1996 08:40:25 GMT duplaina@syntegra.bt.co.uk (Andy Duplain) wrote: >I am following "Winning with the English" and have finished the section on >1...Nf6 already. It wasn't mentioned anywhere how, if at all, to stop Black >transposing into the Kings Indian Defence. Another great piece of Batsford editing, folks! >Can anyone tell me if this is >possible; at my level of play my opponent is more likely to want to play the >KID than the English and it would be nice to be able to stop/punish this. The trivial answer is: avoid playing d2-d4! Assume you play something like 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O The three most straightforward English ideas I suppose are: (a) play e3, Nge2, d4. This is a solid system and useful agaionst many Black set-ups but promises no advantage: Botvinnik tried it a few times against Smyslov and I don't think theory has moved on much since then. Also, as it involves d4, you are transposing into the KID. (b) play e4, d3, aim for f4. This is Botvinnik's system and can also be played against many Black set-ups. It's not too hot at GM level but I find this excellent rabbit-bashing material and in fact have never lost with it even against players 20+ grading points above me. Black must be ready to meet f4 with ...f5 else after f4-f5 White's chances on the King's-side are excellent. Andy Soltis' book on the English has analysis on this line, as well as the old Povah book on the English from Batsford. (c) play an early b4. You can try 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. b4!? which again promises no advantage but is well outside normal KID territory. Otherwise 5/6/7 b2-b4 with a general Q-side advance is normal English fare when Black is often a tempo down on comparable lines of the Sicilian. You have to suffer some discomfort from a King's-side attack, but White is pretty solid. Hope this helps D -- _ / "()/~ Dave Regis &8^D* WWW: http://www.ex.ac.uk/~dregis/DR/chess.html || \_/| = DrDave on BICS ~\ / "...what else exists in the world but chess?" _|||__SHEU: ~/sheu.html -- NABOKOV From info!dregis Wed Apr 3 17:00:55 BST 1996