How do you handle 2.... g6? This is from the chess.com explorer....
English Opening: King's English Variation
The English
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From an amateur database, the odds look much better...
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That could have gone better...sigh. I'd give you a link but it's a competing site and no free publicity. Here's a hint though, it's open 365 days a year. Anyway looks like fun to play.
John L. Watson mentions it in Mastering the chess openings Volume III (it is one of the first variations he goes over, I don't remember his verdict). German chess legend Anderssen would play it via the 1.- a3, e5 2.- c4 move order. I believe Nakamura has played it a few times and I once read about it being used by Magnus Carlsen roughly a decade ago.
The main idea is to play Nc3 avoiding Bg4, but I find it sub-optimal.
I looked at this and played it for a few games with white. I think black's informational lead may kick in with this one. From the black perspective I like the fianchetto. Let me explain further: If with colours reversed white plays 1e4 c5 2Nc3, then I think a6 is good for black because it anticipates b5 and attacking the knight. On the other hand, if white plays an earlier Nf3 against 1...c5 then variations where black play a6, may see white blocking the h1-a8 diagonal if he counters with a fianchetto. Returning to 1c4 e5 2a3 g6, it may be argued that the obligation to move, has in no way favoured white.
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Jun 22, 2018
0
#8
Ok, but a3 hasn't harmed white either, and can't be worse playing in sicilian style.
Ziggy_Zugzwang a écrit :
I looked at this and played it for a few games with white. I think black's informational lead may kick in with this one. From the black perspective I like the fianchetto. Let me explain further: If with colours reversed white plays 1e4 c5 2Nc3, then I think a6 is good for black because it anticipates b5 and attacking the knight. On the other hand, if white plays an earlier Nf3 against 1...c5 then variations where black play a6, may see white blocking the h1-a8 diagonal if he counters with a fianchetto. Returning to 1c4 e5 2a3 g6, it may be argued that the obligation to move, has in no way favoured white.
1.c4 e5 2.a3 only aims to play sicilian's like position.
By playing 2...g6, u transpose into 1.e4 c5 2.g3 which is supposed ok for black with the dynamic d5, with a6 played for free.
a3 is useful here, stopping any business on b5.
There is nothing wrong playing a3 which is useful and could transpose into many stuffs.
Only 1 of my 21 opponents (msports 1832) played 1.c4 e5 2.a3 g6. The game went 3.Nc3 Bg7; 4.Nf3 Nc6; 5.e3 Nf6; (maybe 5...f5 is better?) 6.Be2 0-0; 7.0-0 d6; 8.d3 Bg4; 9.h3 Bxf3; (doesn't look very good) 10.Bxf3 and I was quite pleased with my position. To win the game however I needed some mistakes by my opponent.
Thank you all for your comments.
Like in my game with msports the chess.com-masterdatabase gives 44 times 5...Nf6 (+14=18-12) and only once 5...f5 (draw). So 2...g6 seems to be a good move, but not a refutation of 2.a3.
Jun 24, 2018
0
#12
Sub-optimal at best,and I speak as one that plays the English as well, but only in a limited context, namely the Symmetrical Variation.
I find the 1...e5 lines annoying mainly because of the 2...Bb4 lines, and if I have to waste time playing garbage like a3 that early in the game, no thanks! Long term, b3 is a problem!
ThrillerFan a écrit :
Sub-optimal at best,and I speak as one that plays the English as well, but only in a limited context, namely the Symmetrical Variation.
I find the 1...e5 lines annoying mainly because of the 2...Bb4 lines, and if I have to waste time playing garbage like a3 that early in the game, no thanks! Long term, b3 is a problem!
If I understand u, u should consider all sicilians with a6 suboptimal?
Najdorf, Paulsen, etc... lol
So ThrillerFan (1973) thinks 1.c4 e5; 2.a3 is "garbage", while poucin (2647) says "nothing wrong" with that move. Who should we believe?
Anyone know a good book that Explain English opening For white?
One of the reasons why I play 1.c4 is that I don't like to play Nb1-c3 with the pawn on c2. Further it seems to me that 1.c4 Nf6; 2.a3 prevents a Nimzo-Indian setup by Black (if that is what you want there is of course also the Petrosian System 1.c4 Nf6:2.d4 e6; 3.a3).
Been wondering about 2.a3 myself because I have switched over to almost exclusively playing 1.c4 as white simply because it creates games that I like. I am obviously not a great player, but I find that 2.a3 prevents black's black bishop from being aggressive on the queen side. I like playing Nc3 early as white in the English and the black bishop's ability to trade to create doubled pawns on the c file and remove white's potentially powerful b pawn justifies, to me, the a3 move. But I also feel that it is wasted as an early move against anything but 1...e5 or even 1...e6.
Jun 24, 2018
0
#19
Aleksandr_Medved wrote:
The main idea is to play Nc3 avoiding Bg4, but I find it sub-optimal.
Why is Bb4 such a big problem?
Years ago, I used to play this line as White:
Jun 24, 2018
0
#20
alessioborgese wrote:
Anyone know a good book that Explain English opening For white?
Depends on how much work you want to put into it. Both of these are repertoires, and so you may not like all lines given.
Single Volume:
https://www.amazon.com/Opening-Repertoire-English-Everyman-Chess/dp/1781943745
Multi-Volume Repertoire
The 3 Marin books by Quality Chess.
Hi Everybody,
Since 6 month's I open my games with 1.c4, and after 1...e5 I continue with 2.a3. In Cumming's book on "The English" (2016, 396 pages) there is no mention of this variation. My (1710) score with it on chess.com is 65%, and I'ld like to know more about it. Does anyone of you do? Or is there a book that covers the variation?