English Opening - Reliable and Flexible

The English Opening is an interesting idea with a Hypermodern feel. It offers play of a different nature from the QPG. White refrains from pushing his central pawns early and plays 1.c4 instead. He stakes an early claim on d5 and proceeds to control the light squares in the center.

Control of the long light square diagonal is his next objective and he achieves this by fianchettoing his light-square Bishop. Pawns on d3 and c4 and a Knight on c3 give him a vice-like grip on those central light squares.

It is a large opening family accounting for entries A10-39 in the ECO Index. Black has many possible replies. The main ones are 1...c5 (Symmetrical English) and 1.e5 (Reversed Sicilian). 1...f5, 1...g6, 1....e6 and 1...c6 are all tested regularly.

The English Opening is divided into 3 main branches. The Symmetrical Branch, the Reversed Sicilian Branch and the rest. Let's start with a look at a couple of the most important lines from the rest.

The Flohr-Mikenas Attack is reached after 3.e4 and Black has to respond vigorously. You've just set the Maroczy Bind in play, discouraging Black from playing ...d5. You are aiming to force Black into a passive position and will be successful if he plays something like 3...d6.


So what should be done here with the Black pieces? How would you deal with the Maroczy Bind formation? You really have two main ideas in these kind of positions. You can begin hostilities in the center immediately with 3...d5 forcing a liquidation. Or you can exploit the one weakness left by 3.e4. This is the weak d4-square, no longer able to avail of pawn protection.


You can lay claim to d4 by playing 3...c5. One day it will make a great post for a Knight. Then you will have some counterplay as White plays on the light squares.

The Nimzo-English is very similar to the Nimzo-Indian as the name suggests. The only difference here is White has played Nf3 instead of d4. Black has the Nimzo Bishop threatening to exchange and double pawns.

If you have White here you can develop the Queen to c2 or even more aggressively to b3 to avoid damage to the pawn structure. On the other hand you can invite Black to give you doubled pawns with 4.g3 for a fianchetto or even 4.g4 threatening to dislodge the f6-Knight.

It seems like this will give you a weakness on the Queenside but the point is after 4.g3 Bxc3 5.bxc3 for example, you have compensation for the damaged structure. You fianchetto the Bishop as planned and with Rb1 you can put b7 under serious pressure on the now half-open file and the long diagonal.

The game enters the Symmetrical English when Black plays 1...c5. As Black you are returning serve with this move. White offers the chance for Black to take the center with 1.c4 and with 1...c5 Black is saying, 'naw you can commit first'.


The Main Line sees Black maintaining symmetry for several moves. He shadows 2.Nf3, 3.g3, 4.Bg2 and 5.d3. Symmetry may endure for 11-12 moves in some lines. White always has the edge in development here and he hopes that will give him chances with a well played tactic.


You could also try 2.Nf3 with 3.d4 in mind. You can play this next move or if you prefer you can hold it in reserve. It's possible to develop some pieces as you keep Black guessing.

The Rubinstein Variation sees Black retreat his Knight to c7 after being challenged by the English Bishop on g2. Why is this a better move than 5...Nxc3 or 5...e6?


5...Nxc3 gives Black nothing as after 6.bxc3 White gets a strong center and the open b-file for his Rook. 5...e6 is hard to justify since you're really playing to set up a Maroczy Bind formation in this line. You want to play ...Nc6 and ...e5 giving you control of the dark squares.


5...Nc7 fits in nicely with all of your objectives. This Knight will be re-routed via e6 to d4. He will be supported on d4 by the other Knight which will come to c6. Then ...e5 will be played and Black has plenty of space and a good position. White must fight the Rubinstein by challenging the Maroczy pawns. With White you can do this by working to play b4 and/or d4. If you can get these pawns off the board you will get a good game.

The Hedgehog Defense is a defensive pawn formation used mostly by Black to neutralize the Maroczy Bind. White occasionally uses this set-up too. It appears in many openings and is seen regularly in the English Opening. It gives Black a remarkably solid position.

Your Bishops go to b7 and e7. Your Knights will be on d7 and f6. You will castle short. Your pawns will line up on a7 and b6. You will have an open c-file and a Scheveningen-like formation across the center and Kingside.

Your center pawns are on d6 and e6. Your f, g, and h-pawns are on your second rank in front of the King. You concede the space advantage to White but your position has no weaknesses and your pieces have access to good squares with nice potential for activity deeper in the game.

Black can opt for the Keres-Parma Variation for a sharp fight in the center. You are declaring your intention to continue sooner or later with ...d5. You're allowing White to eventually play d4 in this line, a move he wants. Your argument is it can't hurt you.

I don't put numbers on the moves as this line can be reached via many move orders. After cxd5 and ...Nxd5, White has two choices. He can play dynamically and kick the Knight with e4.

If the Knight takes on c3 White will have a big center but you won't have that g7-Bishop to turn up the heat Grunfeld-style so you should probably retreat the Knight.

Or he can plod away in a slow positional game with Nxd5 exd5 dxc5. From there he will pile up on the isolated d5-pawn. If he can trade off pieces and eventually win this pawn you could be in trouble.

1.c4 e5 makes the game a Reversed Sicilian. White is playing the Sicilian, just with the first move. You have two main options on your second move. It's a toss up between 2.Nc3 and 2.g3. These may well transpose as your opening moves do not depend too much on a specific move order.

Black can build a center and it will be up to you to make an impression on the flanks. In many lines you will castle Kingside behind a fianchettoed Bishop. This Bishop is sometimes called the English Bishop.

His considerable pressure along the long diagonal is an important feature of this opening. Your Knights will dodge and weave through enemy lines looking for good outposts.

Your Rooks will slide across to the Queenside to support your minority attack there and to take command of open files. You will be playing for key pawn breaks on the b-file, c-file or sometimes the f-file.

The Closed Variation of the Reversed Sicilian is a positional variation. You can see in the Main Starting Position after 4...Bg7 that the two armies have yet to engage. Indeed they usually won't for another few moves.


This means that the move order is not critical here. It's more important to know what your plans will be stretching into the middlegame and where you need to develop your pieces.


If you have White here you can choose between two main themes. You can attack in the center or go for it out wide on the Queenside. 5.e5 begins the central demonstration. If you want to try on the Queenside you will play 5.Rb1, 6.b4, 7.b5.

The Botvinnik System is a formation that Mikhail Botvinnik came up with to play in the English Opening. He wanted to lock up the center and stick his Knight on d5. Then he would play for pawn breaks on the b-file or f-file.


The c3-Knight will go to d5 at the right moment. This is usually when Black plays his light square Bishop to e6. Now you will play Nd5 because you know that any exchange on this square will suit you more than Black.


If he takes with his e7-Knight as he would love to do, your recapture with a pawn will fork his c6-Knight and e6-Bishop. If he captures with the Bishop you have the Bishop pair and he is saddled with a backward pawn on the now half open c-file.

The Four Knights Variation in the Reversed Sicilian is clearly much sharper than it's cousin in the King's Pawn Game. Here the imbalance creates one of the most theoretical lines in the English.


Black has taken the edge in the center allowed to him by 1.c4 and now you must play fiercely to prove the value of your first move. You have many options here.


4.d4 sees you take the fight for the center to Black. 4.e3 preps 5.d4 where you can take back with a pawn. 4.g3 hold off on d4 for a while as you get your Bishop to g2 first. Other waiting moves like 4.a3, 4.d3 and even 4.e4 can be considered.

Get to know the English and you will hopefully get some enjoyable successes. People need a reason to adopt an opening. A good working knowledge of the main lines and a solid understanding of the core ideas will give you great positions heading into the middlegame.

This is the main Flank Opening but there are many more. These openings all pay homage to the mantra of developing on the wings and no early demonstrations in the center.

The Hypermodern School started by Nimzowitsch and Reti has certainly made it's mark in chess theory and our understanding of modern strategy. Interesting ideas lie at the heart of many of these Flank Openings.