How to Play the Engish Chess Opening

The English chess opening is aggressive, and has been utilized by myriad players in chess history, including world champion Mikhail Botvinnik, sometimes credited for developing the system fully. The opening is most recognized by the very first move: 1. c4.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Play pawn to c4. This is the classic first move of the English opening.

2. Play knight to c3 when black plays e5, the most common response to the English setups. If black does something other than e5, fianchetto the white bishop by playing g3, or develop the knight. Playing pawn to d3 is also popular, so experiment with the lines.

3. Play pawn to g3 when black plays knight to c6, also the most common line. The idea is to get the bishop on g2 and control the white squares via pawns and that powerful bishop. Pawn to d3 is usually played next, followed by knight to f3 and castling kingside, or 0-0.

Resources

• A good site with great opening examples.