Hi I'm a 1700-1800 on this site and I have a repertoire hole as black I play e5 against 1 e4 and the grunfeld against 1 d4.
Is your question what to play against 1 c4? 1..Nf6 is the most popular choice.
(I figured that since you only go one move deep against d4 and e4, I assume you only want to know one move deep on 1 c4.)
The best reply is to c4 is to provide even bigger explosives. You might try nitro-glycerine or even pack an h-bomb. Nf6 is also good but you need to remember to move it to h4 some time in there.
There's a whole lot of stuff to play against the English
Major ideas are
1...c5 (symmetrical)
1...e5 (often played like a reversed closed Sicilian)
1...Nf6 (to play some kind of KID or Gruenfeld if they play d4)
1...e6 or c6 (with the idea of d5 and going toward QGD or Slav)
1...f5 (with Dutch transposition ideas).
Pick one and study it. But I haven't seen an English here for a few years.
The Gruenfeld is advocated in The Kaufman Repertoire for Black & White by Larry Kaufman (2012).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626221508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen162.pdf
Perhaps, it would be helpful to look at his advice for responding to 1 c4.
I'll think I'll study the symmetrical deeply. E5 is not good for me because after 1 nf3, nf6,2 c4 I can't play e5. Not a big slav or QGd player
Credo fermamente che voi progs abusanti del sito abbiate bisogno di una lezione pesante...un consiglio..non cercatevela ...miserabili imbecilli.
d5 is an Anglo-Scandinavian by the way. Sorry my first response wasn't that serious.
I'll think I'll study the symmetrical deeply. ...
Might be helpful to look at Beating Unusual Openings by Richard Palliser (2006).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627072813/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen107.pdf
If you play the Grunfeld against 1. d4 can't you play a similar setup in alot of cases against 1. c4? You may get fairly frequent transpositions to the Grunfeld proper also.
Something like this? I'm not an expert on the lines but I think it's often playable unless white goes for an early e4.
I've been playing ...C5 followed by ...B6. It's been going pretty well.
One thing to keep in mind after 1.c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 is that White can play an early e4 and clamp down on the center.
A lot of people assume that White will play an early g3/Bg2 but that isn't their only option.
Update after seeing anand lose games with e5 and 4..bb4 I've decided to switch to e5. Seems very complicated and interesting.
Update after seeing anand lose games with e5 and 4..bb4 I've decided to switch to e5. Seems very complicated and interesting.
I wasn't a member when you wrote this, but I would recommend 1...Nf6 as having the most flexibility. First off, your opponent may allow the transposition back toward a Gruenfeld with 2.d4 -- you'd be surprised, I see it a lot.
Secondly, if 2.Nc3 instead you have a choice between 2...e5 which I guess you've been playing for a couple of months now, or 2...d5. The latter still has a Gruenfeld type feel to it, you can play ...g6 and ...Bg7 later. And it gets trappy if White plays for the big pawn center, for instance:
I've already seen this as Black, and I've only been playing 1...Nf6 for a couple of months
Hi I'm a 1700-1800 on this site and I have a repertoire hole as black I play e5 against 1 e4 and the grunfeld against 1 d4.