An English failure

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Avatar of andrewmay

Hey guys, here's a game from a few weeks ago with Ken.  The English is pretty tricky to play... 

Avatar of andrewmay

9.Nc2 is passive (and I play it next move anyway).  I think 9.Nxc6 is better.

11.b3 is good.  Could be useful to then play Bb2, and Black isn't in a position to exploit the open a1-h8 diagonal, yet...  Black's best move would probably then be Qa5, but then White plays Bb2 and is okay.

13.Bg5 is possible, I lose the c4 pawn to 13...Nxc4, but that's actually not that bad. It does connect the Rooks and develop the Bishop. I like that idea, followed by 14.e4.

21.Nc2 runs into 21...Bxe4 and the Bishop pinning the Knight is quite annoying (analysis goes from -2.05 to -3.50).

Avatar of andrewmay

Yes, 21.Nd2 is much better. :)  Continuation?

Avatar of andrewmay

Yeah, Black is still winning with his two laser-Bishops and extra pawn, but it's not as bad.