Zukertort - Colle System

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Is the Zukertort - Colle System a good opening?

What are its strengths and weaknesses?

How to play against anti-Colle?

pcalugaru

What you really are asking is

"Are the White sides of the Chigorin and the e3 Slav variation any good?" 

IMO no other opening is viewed as innocuous, yet at the same time do so many try to avoid the main lines. Fortunately, a resounding YES to the question in bold.

Hate to say this, but if you take on the Colle... it's going to be more of a side line. Due to the above ....

that said, To use the Colle one has to learn both variations.. after 1...d5 known attempts to equalize (or take the initiative) like the Pseudo Grunfeld, or the Accelerated Qc7/e5 prevents one variation and allow the other. But you got to know the subtleties!!! 

Both Colle's (the Koltanowski and the Zuckertort) IMO have sub lines that play well against a QID set up by Black.

Benoni Defense isn't an issue. Much like Black forcing a QGD when white essays 1.c4, White can choose to ignore Black's 1...c5 and play a Colle pet line. (Or play the Flick Knife variation... i.e. the bane of the Benoni.)

Against the KID after 1.d4, 2.Nf3 and 3. e3 I waffle back and forth from the Classical or what I called the French bayonet attack (a reverse KIA vs French lines) I seem to score well with that.

Against The Grunfeld I play the Russian var.. not the most dangerous, but still has a lot of venom... and so out of fashion, it gives a practical advantage when it comes to the clock. Or I play a Bayonet attack.

And there are some good lines to play against the Dutch

The thing to know about the Colle is that there is a huge amount of garbage in print of both variations, to include the White side of Anti-Colles. This opening has attracted snake oil salesmen who seeing the popularity Koltanowski's edition ... have done nothing but taken advantage of the chess enthuses and hence led them down the road to ruin. I suspect the latest works like Colle: Move by Move, or Starting out: The Colle .......... are no different. (hopefully I am wrong)

It wasn't till I read David Rudels works, which tore apart the the lines these chess huckster peddled did my eyes open.

Be skeptical... do your homework. and your Colle (when you get to play it) will produce wins