Advantages of The English?

Hi guys,

Recently I've switched from playing the opening the fried liver attack (E4), or the Queens Gambit to the English, which begins with the move c4.  I attribute this switch with wanting to play something more unique and liked the idea of not commiting the central two pawns right off the bat.  However, throughout my tournament play, I've seen a relatively small amount of English players, most prefering E4 or D4.  This has made me question what advantages the English have over these other "generic" openings?  Am I too low as a player to understand what positional gold mines the English has to offer?  I'm 1400ish if that helps.  

Thanks, 

A lost chess player

Ive played the English for years.  What i like aboout it is its flexibility, and it doesnt require nearly as much "book" memory.

It's wothless against anyone worth thier salt.

There are so many possible transpositions that you can't just cruise along with just the English.

I like to use it simply to delay tension until the middlegame. The disadvantage is that you can easily end up in positions that are difficult to understand.

English opening begins with innocuous c4. With this White stakes claim on the center of the board with indication that the game will be positional in nature.

I have played several games with English & has achieved positional as well as tactical advantages.

Game 1: This was a turn based game which I played 1600+ rated player & achieved a convincingly advantageos position

Game 2: This game I played in a tournament. The game was very sharp & is an example how English Opening can lead to a sharp game.

Game 3: An interesting game against Computer-2 Medium

Most players at sub 1600 level play d4 or e4 & are seldom prepared against English. It can lead to interesting game with minimum risk.

Its a solid opening and is also played at Grandmaster level by likes of Carlsen.

Kosten's book "The Dynamic English" offers lines which help less highly rated players to play this opening successfully. Highly recommend it.

I won against a 2281 playing something a bit silly against this: 1. c4e52. Nc3Nf63. g3c64. Bg2Bd3 and then later got in Bc7 and d5. It's a reversed Kopec, which might not be bad because White's already used the extra move to commit to a fianchetto, but after the game I found out Black can actually just play 4... d5 right away and it's the most popular move. I guess I'd like to know what's wrong with that variation as Black since if it's as good as it seems I don't know why White plays that way or why Black plays against this in other ways.

I think the problem with 4...Bd6 is 5.d4 which probably leaves Black with a passive position. 

After 3...c6 I think some players may not want to play with an isolated d-pawn or go into those kind of French kind of positions. But there is an interesting story in American chess about this position. 

In 1988 a young IM Patrick Wolff played against Garry Kasparov with a team of strong junior players in a clock simul. The juniors lost the match but Wolff was able to score the full point against the world champion. After the game Kasparov noted that Wolff made a common mistake of playing 8....Be7 instead of 8...Qb6.

Patrick faced this position the next year in a game against Suba and was prepared with the new move 8...Qb6:

What's with the NMs talking rubbish on this thread?

Played by some of the best players in the world yet worthless.

They are trolling.  I don't think you can be a legitimate master and really believe 1.c4 is a bad opening move.

Said the 14 year old...

Many possible transpositions.  If you have a lot of openings in your repertoire, the English can be a fun way to begin.

Kramnik has 55 wins to 9 losses and 54 draws with it.

Horrible opening.

Doesn't matter what advantage the English has, you could still lose if your opponent's surname is Wallace or Washington.

TitanCG and others:

Hmmm i personally like playing 1. C4 e5 2. Nc3 rather than g3, nf6 3. G3 and waiting to see what black plays, such as if he decides to push d5, white responds w cd5 nd5 bg2 and now white still has his two central pawns intact and a tempo threatening the knight... Or if black decides to play c5, bg2, nc6, e3, d6, ne2, with ideas of pushing d4 or f4. What do you guys think? I like to play the more closed game, rather than fishers game of having a vast open middle board. There seems to be a bunch of valid points favoring the English, especially its flexibility as an opening and transposition potential. I haven't heard any valid points from these NM's...

Your parents should be screening your posts.

FiveofSwords pretty much summed up what I think about it. My friend, who Is about 1600 USCF, plays the english, and somehow he always gets good positions out of it. I guess it takes a certain type of person to have the patience and understanding for the English. 

I think the English does a good job of getting inexperienced players out of book on move 1, but it's unclear where white will find his advantage.

It's personal preference but your second move has an affect on the positions you get. I think most people use 2.g3 to avoid ...Bb4 lines but there are other considerations you might make. 

For example if you like 1.c4 and 2.Nc3 you have to be careful about tricky orders like 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 and 1.c4 e6 which might not lead to the same positions. If you play 1.c4 and 2.g3 then your choices against the KID and symmetrical English are limited to certain positions. 

So you can end up playing lots of different positions which is nice but that comes with a bit of responsibility I guess.