Actually, the English has always had strong popularity among top GMs, and I would even say it's now more popular than ever, as it becomes increasingly difficult to gain a theoretical edge with 1.e4 and 1.d4.
English Openings and GMs
Sort:
ok but even when played i see that is usually transposed into a queen's gambit declined. english openining's lines (like the reversed sicilian) are rarely played. why?
1.c4 Opening is well played by a top Grandmaster especially Bobby Fischer on the match against Spassky on 1972.
1.c4 move can lead to many variations like the Queen's pawn game, Queen's Gambit declined, Accepted etc.
I have a theory that d4 will become neutralised at the top levels, much like e4 has with the Berlin Defence and the Petrov etc.
Then the top players will move on from that and c4 will be the weapon of choice.
Then maybe ... b4? 
-waller- wrote:
I have a theory that d4 will become neutralised at the top levels, much like e4 has with the Berlin Defence and the Petrov etc.
Then the top players will move on from that and c4 will be the weapon of choice.
Then maybe ... b4?
Well, most top players already avoid the Nimzo-Indian. The Queen's Indian and Ragozin Defense are reliable as well, though not perfect. Black is not getting tortured as much by the Catalan as before.
The only variation of the QGD where White can pose some problems seems to be the Exchange, as the Tartakower and Lasker are virtually bulletproof (the Orthodox is hardly played nowadays).
The Grunfeld and Semi-Slav are still very complex, and there is quite a lot left to explore there.
But the English will continue to increase in popularity year after year. I think it was the last Reggio Emilia tournament, where Ivanchuk played the English in all of his White games.
Why isn't the English opening c4 played so much at high levels?
it's seems to me not inferior to d4 or c4.
thx