English Opening

1.c4

One pawn, one knight and one bishop all point at d5, and you play the same five moves against almost everything Black tries. Nobody under 1200 has prepared for it, there are no forced tactics to memorise, and if Black plays ...e6 and ...d5 you can steer into a Queen's Gambit whenever you like.

Spar this opening

Your setup

Knightc3
Bishopg2
Knightf3 / e2
Bishopd2 / e3 / g5
Rookb1 / c1
Pawnsc4 g3
CastleO-O

Nc3 before Nf3. Queen's knight first. Against ...e5 a knight on f3 is a target for ...e4, which kicks it and gains time; with Nc3 already on the board, that push can be met by Ng5 hitting the pawn twice.

Ideas

It is all about d5

c4, Nc3 and Bg2 all aim at d5. That is the opening.

Instead of occupying the centre with a pawn, you control one central square from the side. If Black plays ...d5 you can trade on it and your pieces flood in; if Black never does, you have the space to expand on the queenside or break with d4 when you are ready.

Against ...e5: Nc3 before Nf3

Play Nc3 first. Then ...e4 can be met by Ng5, and the pawn is a target.

You are playing a Sicilian with colours reversed and an extra move. The one thing Black can do to annoy you is push ...e4 at a knight on f3. With the c3-knight already looking at e4, that push just loses time.

Before d4, count the recaptures

Push d4 only when a knight can take back. ...cxd4 Qxd4 walks into ...Nc6.

In the Symmetrical, Black's knight on c6 covers d4. If you push d4 and recapture with the queen, ...Nxd4 wins it. Get Nf3 in first so the knight recaptures, then d4 is your best break.

Break the symmetry first

Both sides castled and mirrored? You move first, so d4 now.

In the Symmetrical, Black copies you. The extra move means you get to break the symmetry, and d4 is how: after ...cxd4 Nxd4 your knights hit c6 and d5 and your g2-bishop has an open diagonal. Waiting lets Black play ...d5 and do the same to you.

...e6 and ...d5? Play d4

When Black sets up ...e6 and ...d5, d4 gives you a Queen's Gambit Declined.

The English is also a move-order trick. Black who plays ...e6 and ...d5 has committed to a Queen's Gambit structure without you ever allowing the Nimzo-Indian or Grunfeld. Play d4, then Bg5, e3 and Nf3 as in any QGD.

The queenside push

Rb1, a3 and b4 gain space where Black's pieces are not.

With the centre calm, the English expands on the wing where it already has more pawns. Rb1 takes the rook off the long diagonal, a3 prepares, and b4 kicks a knight or bishop on c5 and opens lines for the g2-bishop. This is the plan when d4 is not available.

When the book runs out

Castled and developed? Choose: d4 in the centre or b4 on the wing.

You will have c4, Nc3, g3, Bg2, Nf3 and a castled king. Look at d4: if a knight can recapture there, push it. If not, go Rb1, a3, b4. Keep the g2-bishop's diagonal open and never trade it for a knight without a reason.

The structure

The English picture: knight and bishop both aim at d5, everything is mirrored, and White breaks the symmetry first with d4.

Traps

The queen recapture on d4

c4 c5 Nc3 Nc6 d4 cxd4 Qxd4 Nxd4

The tell: You push d4 in the Symmetrical before a knight covers the square.

Black's c6-knight has watched d4 since move two. Recapturing with the queen looks automatic and loses her for a pawn, since nothing can even take the knight back. Nf3 first, then d4, then Nxd4.

The d5 grab

c4 e6 Nc3 d5 d4 Nf6 Bg5 Nbd7 cxd5 exd5 Nxd5 Nxd5 Bxd8 Bb4+ Qd2 Bxd2+ Kxd2 Kxd8

The tell: The f6-knight is pinned to the queen and d5 looks like it is defended only by that knight.

The pin is an illusion. After Nxd5? Nxd5! Black gives up the queen but gets it all back with Bb4+ and Bxd2+, and ends a piece up for a pawn. Play e3 and let the tension be.

Qa4+ picks up the bishop

c4 e6 Nc3 d5 d4 Bb4 Qa4+ c6 Qxb4

The tell: Black pins the c3-knight with ...Bb4 while the d7-square is still empty.

Qa4+ attacks the bishop and the king at once. Blocking with ...c6 leaves the bishop loose and it falls. Only ...Nc6 saves it, and that knight then blocks Black's own c-pawn for the rest of the opening.

Model games

Symmetrical: break the mirror

c4 c5 Nc3 Nc6 g3 g6 Bg2 Bg7 Nf3 Nf6 O-O O-O d4 cxd4 Nxd4 Nxd4 Qxd4 d6 Qd3

Black copies everything, so you use the extra move: d4, knight recaptures, then the queen once the c6-knight is gone. You end with more space, the c-file and a bishop on an open diagonal.

Reversed Sicilian: Nd5 arrives

c4 e5 Nc3 Nf6 Nf3 Nc6 g3 Bb4 Bg2 O-O O-O Re8 Nd5 Bf8 d3 d6

Nc3 before Nf3, the fianchetto, castle, then the knight lands on d5 hitting the bishop and the f6-knight. The plan from here is a3, Rb1 and b4.

Into the Queen's Gambit

c4 e6 Nc3 d5 d4 Nf6 Bg5 Be7 e3 O-O Nf3 h6 Bh4 b6 cxd5 Nxd5 Bxe7 Qxe7 Nxd5 exd5 Rc1

Black plays ...e6 and ...d5, you play d4, and it is a Queen's Gambit Declined that never allowed the Indian defences. The Tartakower trades leave you the c-file and a target on c7.

How the coach grades a move

Every move you play gets one of six grades, from the engine’s view of the position, with the book’s verdict taking over when it is harsher. The sentence beside it is always the reason. Tap it for what the move did, why this opening wants it, and whether anything was better.

Best: Nothing better was available.
Good: Within a few percent of best. Noise at this depth.
Playable: A small real gap. The better move is named, play goes on.
Inaccuracy: Seven to twelve points of winning chances. The game stops to show you.
Mistake: Twelve or more, or a move the book warns against, or a broken order rule.
Blunder: Twenty-five or more. Usually material.

Catalogued as A10–A39 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the reference index most databases sort by.