{"id":2889,"date":"2023-08-31T12:27:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T12:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=2889"},"modified":"2023-08-31T12:27:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T12:27:43","slug":"want-a-world-class-repertoire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/want-a-world-class-repertoire\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Want a World-Class Repertoire?\u00a0<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How would you feel playing White in the following positions?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-1\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-1\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"2b1r1k1\\\/pp4pp\\\/1npq1p2\\\/2N5\\\/7P\\\/1PQ1P1P1\\\/P4PB1\\\/4R1K1 b - - 0 1\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ntirlis &#8211; Elyoseph, ICCF 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>White is ready to play b4-b5! Black managed to defend after <strong>25\u2026Nd7!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-2\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-2\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"2r2rk1\\\/1ppqb1pp\\\/p1n5\\\/3bp3\\\/nP2Np2\\\/PN1P2P1\\\/4PPBP\\\/BR1Q1RK1 w - - 0 1\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ntirlis- Almeida, ICCF 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is White\u2019s move. I got a winning position with the typical <strong>17.Na5!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-3\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-3\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"r4rk1\\\/pp3ppp\\\/2n2n2\\\/2q2b2\\\/Q2p4\\\/2N3P1\\\/PP2PPBP\\\/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 0\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ntirlis &#8211; Hassan, IECC 2005.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Black just played<strong> 13\u2026d4<\/strong> and I went <strong>14.Qb5!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-4\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-4\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"r2r2k1\\\/4npb1\\\/b1p1q1pp\\\/p3p3\\\/2PpP2P\\\/PP3NP1\\\/2Q2PB1\\\/1RB1R1K1 w - - 0 0\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ntirlis &#8211; Keber, ICCF 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I played <strong>19.c5! <\/strong>And followed it up with Bd2 and b4 with a nice edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you feel comfortable in White\u2019s shoes? If yes, read on.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Common Question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost every other day, I hear the question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Which opening should I play next?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I usually follow up by asking something like \u201cWhat do you want to accomplish with your opening choice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, the answer contains most (or all!) of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>I want the opening to be sound<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easy to learn<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To give me winning chances in every game<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To be easy to maintain. Not having to work hard if a novelty appears.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The chess engine to like it in all lines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Any reasonable chess player knows that there cannot be an opening that satisfies all the above criteria. But that\u2019s fine. If there was, everyone would play this one particular opening and we will soon get bored to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I claim, that there is one opening that comes close. That\u2019s <strong>1.c4, the English Opening.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the rest of this article, I will do my best to convince you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Play the English?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The English Opening is one of the most versatile openings in modern chess. It allows you to safely control the center, create imbalances, stay flexible, and avoid the most analyzed main lines that everyone else studies day and night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>White starts with the move 1.c4, which immediately stakes a claim in the center and poses a challenge to Black. How will they free up their pieces? Many times, Black feels obliged at some point to play their pawn to d5. Ending up with a structure like the one in the diagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-5\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf5d180b4c2-5\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"6k1\\\/ppp2ppp\\\/8\\\/8\\\/8\\\/4P3\\\/PP3PPP\\\/6K1 w - - 0 0\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s what is commonly known as the\u00a0 &#8220;Central Pawn Majority&#8221;, and it has a VERY important characteristic: It is more sensitive for Black, rather than White!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does this mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>White is safe, even after a few small mistakes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Black is in trouble after a few small mistakes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And&#8230; guess what? In games between humans, small mistakes happen all the time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why I think that the English is sound, practical, and gives winning chances. White has the center and the easier position to understand and play, as the typical piece maneuvers are only a bunch. Also, it is the easiest opening to create imbalances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s the issue, then? Why doesn&#8217;t everyone just play 1.c4?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Problem With the Chess Engines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is what IM John Bartholomew recently shared on Twitter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/iTr1Y5Z-jTepspDyuyqFVgf0UFt8urKOCjS0veq4OeNq8ysKpkpSVfoVevLo9YIzF9WzwVITqBu2SDgHLpydCu42FGdeE-64ato4f0wGAgDc-vtXgNxR8MgNI9LkaFFx2ta6wT4mh3G3yUy_UUV_rdzYBHMOVsqs\" width=\"598\" height=\"103\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:5px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I couldn\u2019t put that better than him! Chess engines <em>don\u2019t love<\/em> 1.c4. They quickly show 0.00 or very near to that pretty early. But this shouldn\u2019t be a problem for a practical player, even at the top level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you remember the positions at the start of this article? I asked you how you felt thinking about them. I bet that most of you felt that White is much better, or at least comfortably better in most of them. I asked the same-titled players, even GMs. They all agreed. White should be better and in a practical game between humans, White should be expected to have a decent plus score playing these positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason is simple. White has a bit more control over the center, doesn\u2019t have any weaknesses and it is easy to see which will be the next few moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chess engines have a different opinion, though. Except for one position (my win against Almeida) the engine evaluation is close to 0.00. And this introduces a huge deal of bias into people\u2019s minds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I invite you to a world where the engine output shouldn\u2019t matter that much. It can be there, and it can provide information and guidance, but what should matter the most are practical considerations: statistics of human games, sound structures, typical plans, ease of play etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Conclusion: the English Opening is a great choice for players who want to play for an edge starting from a sound position, without memorizing massive amounts of theory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to learn more about the English Opening and get a complete and practical repertoire after 1.c4, check out my new book, Playing the English &#8211; A World-Class Repertoire. It\u2019s available as an e-book from Forward Chess.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Book-Covers-8-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2930\" width=\"309\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Book-Covers-8-1.png 480w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Book-Covers-8-1-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Book-Covers-8-1-150x188.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/playing-the-english\" style=\"background-color:#5b0f45\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>View Book<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2934 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos-272x182.jpg 272w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Nikos.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Nikolaos (aka &#8220;Nikos&#8221;) Ntirlis is a chess coach and an award-winning author. He has been working with top-level players since 2004 and has written five books and many articles on chess openings. He is an International Master in correspondence chess and is currently playing in the European and World Championships finals. He is active on Twitter, where he posts instructive and fresh chess ideas. Nikos is also a Revenue Operations Manager at Databox, a business analytics app. His motto: &#8220;<strong>Inform all your decisions based on data<\/strong>&#8221; reflects his approach to both his work in business and his chess. Follow him on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NikolaosNtirlis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/nikos-ntirlis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> to learn more about his chess and business insights.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:60px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#5b0f45\"><strong>Have any thoughts or questions? Let us know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How would you feel playing White in the following positions?&nbsp; Ntirlis &#8211; Elyoseph, ICCF 2020&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2889"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2940,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2889\/revisions\/2940"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}