Is C4 a good opening

is c4 a good opening. Express your opinion and the lines you like best...Is c4 as good as the famous D4 and E4 openings?

do you play C4 alot yourself AND WHAT VARIATION DO YOU THINK IS HARDEST TO PLAY AGAINST?

A lot of times c4 transposes into Nimzo-Indian...IMC :)

k

thx for the tip

I really love the English. I find it's very dynamic and often rewards strategical thinking. A line that is considered hard to play is the symmetrical variation: 1. c4 c5 although it varies greatly on the lines white chooses from there. 

And don't be too concerned about opening strengths. Those factors only come into play from ratings of 2000 or higher, at your ~1400 rating, games more often  come down to blunders by either player and spotting those. Just try to work on your general chess skills and play whathever opening you like. You'll get a feel for your preferences soon enough. 

Sam I think you should follow GM Reti's advice in his classic work Masters of the Chessboard and start out by learning open games, which you can do by playing double KP openings as both White and Black whenever possible. Next you should study semi-open games (single KP Openings and  Double QP Openings. Closed games such as Single QP Openings and the English Opening should be saved for last, and after learning other openings you may decide to avoid closed games and the types of openings that lead to them.

PS: Pay attention to IM pfren and estragon here!

k thx

C4 Sucks, 

Openings doesnt matter. U can play h4 or a3 and still win!!!

What does Alan Two-Door have to do with anything English?

I think your statement here is very misleading. What exactly do you mean by "certainly not" or "committal"? That could lead to many beginners mis-interpreting the opening as a bad one, and it definitely isn't one. Its use as  a tranposition tool alone merits use, but its independant lines may also appeal to positional players a great deal. 1. c4 is a great opening and is comparable to d4 and e4; it really just depends on what type of middlegame you'd like to play.

Excuse Me? Are you Talking about alan tudor the God Father Of my Two Boys?

and if your are, are you Talking Down About Him? or are u Writing a Southern Slang, That i have yet to Recognize?....

bla bla bla troll

im atroll that eats exotic Birds...thanks for the compliment..it made me feel all warm and Fuzzy....