I think the Reti is one of White's most solid options. I have played it a lot myself. After say 1.d4 you sometimes have to deal with some prepared offbeat line of your opponent. By playing 1.Nf3 first you effectively prevent this from happening. It is a kind of waiting-move , asking your opponent to make up his mind. Whatever he comes up with , the Knight on f3 will always be good.
You can either play a real Reti (double fianchetto) or transpose to one or another theoretical line later.
depends, you should have good kowledge of 1.d4 and 1.c4 lines to make it an effective opening choice imo.
The main question is how to meet 1...d5. If you go for 2.c4 you need to be comfortable with the Benoni type positions that can arise after 2...d4.
depends, you should have good kowledge of 1.d4 and 1.c4 lines to make it an effective opening choice imo.
True.
After 1.Nf3 Black has a lot of options. Here are some of them :
a) 1. .. d5 : considered to be a mainline. I then play 2.c4 after which transposition to say a Catalan (g3) or QG is possible.
b) 1. ..c5 : inviting a Sicilian . I then play 2.g3
c) 1. ..Nf6 : anything can happen.Black also waits to see what happens.
In general , I like to follow up with a K-side fianchetto and play c4 at an apropriot moment , but ofcourse this is only a matter of taste . I am not suggesting you should do the same.
Yeah, so effectively you're transposing mostly into d4 lines.
I find 1..c5 2.c4 and 1..Nf6 2.c4 the most non-nonsense approach as white as blacks options are greatly limited at this point. You've already cut out the nimzo,benoni,benko, budapest,pure grunfeld and all those weird lines line 1..e5 this way.
I think, you should start with 1.c4 try get use to positions there.
If you decide you would rather face the advance reti than the reverse sicilian then switch to 1.Nf3 (your knowledge wont go to waste as you can transpose to english positions). Once you switch, then you can worry about 1.d4 transpositions.
The main question is how to meet 1...d5. If you go for 2.c4 you need to be comfortable with the Benoni type positions that can arise after 2...d4.
Yes 2. .. d4 (followed by ..c5) deserves special attention for it can transpose into some reversed Benko lines.
Interesting play also occurs after 2. .. dxc4 (now or later) after which White can deside to turn it into a (Reti) gambit by playing 3.g3 4.Bg2 5.0-0 and 6.Qc2 . There was an artical in NIC (new in chess) covering this gambit and their conclusion was : suspect but playable until proven otherwise.
i am playing in a club tournament and i was wondering if the reti could be a solid enough opening