ENGLISH OPENING

In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White plays

1. c4

 

A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular opening. White begins the fight for the center by staking a claim to the d5 square. Although many lines of the English have a distinct character, it often transposes into other openings and is considered flexible.

The English derives its name from the English (unofficial) world champion, Howard Staunton, who played it during his 1843 match with Saint-Amant. It fell out of favor (the opening was notably disdained by Morphy), but is now recognized as a solid opening that may be used to reach both classical and hypermodern positions. Botvinnik, Karpov, and Kasparov all employed it during their world championship matches. Bobby Fischer created a stir when he switched to it from the King's Pawn against Boris Spassky in 1972.

By ManUtdForever12