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The Modern EnglishVolume 2: 1.c4 c5, 1.Nf6, 1.e6Kiril GeorgievSemko SemkovChess Starswww.chess-stars.com
Chess Stars PublishingCurrent Theory and Practice SeriesThe Modern English Volume 2: 1.c5, 2.Nf6, 2.e6Cover design by Kaloyan Nachev, Semko SemkovCopyright 2019 by Kiril Georgiev and Semko SemkovPrinted in BulgariaISBN: 978-619-7188-23-3
ContentsBibliography 4Introduction 5Chapter 1. 1.c4 c5. Symmetrical with .g6Main Ideas 7 Step by Step 10 Annotated Games 18Chapter 2. 1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6Main Ideas 27 Step by Step 30 Annotated Games 43Chapter 3. Symmetrical with .e6, .Nxd5Main Ideas 59 Step by Step 64 Annotated Games 75Chapter 4. Symmetrical with .b6Main Ideas 81 Step by Step 84 Annotated Games 91Chapter 5. Maróczy BindMain Ideas 99 Step by Step 105 Annotated Games 118Chapter 6. Anti-GrünfeldMain Ideas 125 Step by Step 127 Annotated Games 139Chapter 7. Anti-NimzoMain Ideas 153 Step by Step 156 Annotated Games 165Chapter 8. 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4Main Ideas 173 Step by Step 177 Annotated Games 191Chapter 9. Anti-Slav and ChebanenkoMain Ideas 199 Step by Step 203 Annotated Games 213Chapter 10. Anti-MeranMain Ideas 217 Step by Step 220 Annotated Games 229Chapter 11. Anti-Queens’s GambitMain Ideas 235 Step by Step 237 Annotated Games 243Chapter 12. Odds and EndsStep by Step 245 Annotated Games 249Index of Variations 252
IntroductionBibliographyBooksThe Full English Opening, Carsten Hansen, New in Chess 2018The English, David Cummings, Everyman Chess 2016e3 Poison, Axel Smith, Quality Chess 2016Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 3, John Watson, GambitPublications 2008The Tarrasch Defence, Nikolaos Ntirlis and Jacob Aagaard, Quality Chess2011The Hyper Accelerated Dragon, second extended edition, Raja Panjwani,Thinkers Publishing 2018The Modern Reti: An Anti-Slav Repertoire, Alexander Delchev, ChessStars 2012The Hedgehog vs the English/Reti, Igor Lysyj/Roman Ovetchkin, ChessStars 2017Beating Minor Openings, Victor Mikhalevski, Quality Chess 2016PeriodicalsChess InformantNew in Chess YearbookInternet resourcesDatabasesThe Week In Chess (www.theweekinchess.com)Chess Publishing (www.chesspublishing.com)4
IntroductionIntroductionMany grandmasters claim that thebest answer to 1.c4 is 1.e5. If youconsider only the chances this moveoffers for complex fight for all threeresults, that may be true. However, for a theoretician, the symmetric answers always present the biggest challenge. They are notoriouslynot just “balanced”, but often bluntly drawish.I devoted two thirds of the bookon the Symmetrical 1.c4 c5. Whileplans with further .g6 or .b6 ge ne rously cede space to White andwere fun to explore, the most restraining scheme with 2.Nf3 Nf63.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 was thetoughest nut to crack.XIIIIIIIIY9r lwqkvl-tr09zpp - pzpp09- n psn- 09 -zpp - -09- PzP- - 09 -sN-zPN -09PzP- -zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiyIn Chapter 2 I analyse 6.cxd5 exd57.Bb5, where we generally learnhow to play around an isolated andhanging pawns. In Chapter 3 theroles are reversed – 6.Nxd5 7.Bd3puts us on the other side of the barricade, but the extra tempo doesmatter. White has several ways ofobtaining a lasting initiative. Thegood news is that Black does nothave forced draws and should workstrenuously to keep the balance.The other symmetric in spirit system is the Slav. One of the mostattractive features of the EnglishOpening is that it assures White ofan initiative after 1.c6 2.Nf3 d53.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.cxd5!?XIIIIIIIIY9rsn-wqkvl-tr09zpp -zppzpp09- p -sn- 09 - P - -09- - - l 09 -sN-zPN -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy5.Bxf3 6.Qxf3 cxd5 7.Bb5 Nc68.Bxc6 bxc6 – Chapter 9.White’s task is more complicated inthe Meran set-up. Five years ago theplan with g2-g4 inspired big hopes,but today we know that it is effective only against .b6. That shouldnot sound discouraging, as the quiet development Be2 is not deprivedof venom.Our Anti-Grünfeld Chapter 6 offersseveral very different systems.5
IntroductionIn my youth I was strongly influenced by the instructive gameKarpov-Kor tc hnoi from the worldtitle match in Mera no 1981:1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd54.Nf3 Nxc3 5.bxc3 g6 6.d4 Bg7 7.e3c5 8.Bb5 Nd7 9.0-0 0-0 10.a4 a611.Bd3 b6 12.Rb1 Bb7 13.e4 Qc714.Re1 e6XIIIIIIIIY9r - -trk 09 lwqn pvlp09pzp- p p 09 -zp- - -09P -zPP - 09 -zPL N -09- - -zPPzP09 RvLQtR-mK-0xiiiiiiiiy15.e5 h6 16.h4 with a nice clearplan. I even followed in Karpov’sfootsteps 20 years later against Krasenkow. However, since then Blackhas discovered that he should play.Bd7 instead of .Nbd7, with decent chances to equalise.Therefore, our main dish is the hotline 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd54.Nf3 c5 5.e4!? (instead of theabove-mentioned 5.e3 g6 6.Bb5 )XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zpp -zppzpp09- - - - 09 -zpn - -09- - P - 09 -sN- N -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiyWe have discovered several inte 6resting ideas to make Black workhard over the board.The Anti-Nimzo approach againgives you a choice. If you are a hardcore fan of the Carlsbad structurein the QGD, you should choose 1.c4Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 – Chapter 8. Although we hide some trumps up oursleeve, I believe that 3.d5 shouldbe balanced.AlphaZero’s choice is 3.Nf3! Bb44.Qc2, and it is the subject of Chapter 7.You might ask, what about 3.d5? Well, my personal opinion isthat the best you can do is to enter the main lines with 4.d4. However, throughout the chapters onthe Symmetrical English we oftenhad to deal with e3, followed by aqueen’s fianchetto. So we addedChapter 11, where we discuss theAnti-QGD approach.The final chapter called “Odds endEnds” briefly cover our strategyagainst the King’s Indian, the Mo dern Defence and the Dutch. Inshort, my advice is: go into the mainlines! I only explain how to reachthem through the English move order 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3.When reading the book, please donot skip the “Main Ideas” sections,but always start with them! Theyoften offer examples and explanations which you would not find inthe “Step by Step” sections.Kiril GeorgievMarch 2019
Index of VariationsIndex of VariationsChapter 1. 1.c4 c5. Symmetrical with .g6 7XIIIIIIIIY9r lwqkvl-tr09zpp pzppz p09- n -snp 09 -zp- - -09- P - - 09 -sN-zPN -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy2.Nf3 (2.Nc3 10) 2.Nf6 (2.Nc6 3.e3 11) 3.Nc3 Nc6 (3.g6–Ch.5) 4.e3 g6(4.d5 12) 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 14Chapter 2. 1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 27XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zpp p pzpp09- - psn- 09 -zp- - -09- P - - 09 -sN- N -09PzP-zPPzPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy4.e3 d5 (4.a6 31; 4.Nc6 31; 4.b6 33) 5.cxd5 exd56.Bb5 33 (6.b3 33)6.d4 a6 35 (6.c4 35)6.Nc6 7.Bb5 a6 377.Bd6 397.cxd4 40252
Index of VariationsChapter 3. Symmetrical with .e6, .Nxd5 59XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zpp - pzpp09- - p - 09 -zpn - -09- - - - 09 -sN-zPN -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 (6.Bc4 64)6.Nxd5 646.d4 Nc6 (6.cxd4 7.exd4 Nxc3 67) 7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qe2 (9.Re1 69;9.a3 70; 9.Be4!? 70) 9.b6 719.cxd4 72Chapter 4. Symmetrical with .b6 81XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zp- pzppzpp09-zp- -sn- 09 -zp- - -09- P - - 09 -sN- N -09PzP-zPPzPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 (2.b6!? 84) 3.Nc3 b6 4.e4 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bb77.Qe2!? (7.f3!? 85) 7.Nc6 86 (7.Nbd7 85; 7.g6 85)7.e6 88Chapter 5. Maróczy Bind 99XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvlntr09zpp pzpp p09- - - p 09 -zp- - -09- P P - 09 - - N -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tRNvLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy253
Index of Variations1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.e4 Nc6 1053.Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 (6.Qb6 109) 7.Nc3 0-0 (7.Ng4110) 8.Be2 d6 9.0-0 Bd7 (9.Nxd4 111) 10.Nc2 11210.Qd2 115Chapter 6. Anti-Grünfeld 125XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zppzp-zppzpp09- - - - 09 - n - -09- - - - 09 -sN- N -09PzP-zPPzPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3 c5 (4.Nxc3 127; 4.g6 127)5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.h4 1297.Bb5 1315.e4!? 132Chapter 7. Anti-Nimzo 153XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zppzpp pzpp09- - psn- 09 - - - -09- P - - 09 -sN- N -09PzP-zPPzPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 b6 156 (3.d5 – Ch.11)3.Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 d6 1596.b6 162Chapter 8. 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 173254
Index of VariationsXIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zppzpp pzpp09- - psn- 09 - - - -09- P P - 09 -sN- - -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy3.c5 1773.d5 4.e5 (4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 180) 4.d4 5.exf6 dxc3 6.bxc3 Qxf6 7.Nf3 1827.e5 (7.Nc6 182) 8.d4 1838.Bd3 1857.c5 1867.b6 187Chapter 9. Anti-Slav and Chebanenko 199XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvlntr09zpp -zppzpp09- p - - 09 - p - -09- P - - 09 - -zPN -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tRNvLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.cxd5 204 (5.Qb3 204)4.a6 5.Be2 Bg4 208 (5.Bf5 207; 5.e6 207)5.b5 2095.dxc4 210Chapter 10. Anti-Meran 217XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zpp - pzpp09- p psn- 09 - p - -09- P - - 09 -sN-zPN -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy255
Index of Variations1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.b3 Bd6 6.Bb2 0-0 (6.Nbd7 220)7.Be2 Nbd7 8.Qc2 Re8 2218.Qe7 2238.b6 2258.a6 226Chapter 11. Anti-Queens’s Gambit 235XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zppzp- pzpp09- - psn- 09 - p - -09- P - - 09 -sN-zPN -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKL R0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3 (3.d4!) 3.Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 2374.Be7 5.b3 0-0 6.Bb2 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 2387.exd5 8.d4 b6 2418.Nc6 241Chapter 12. Odds and ends 245XIIIIIIIIY9rsnlwqkvl-tr09zppzpp p p09- - -snp 09 - -zp- -09- P P - 09 -sN- - -09PzP-zP-zPPzP09tR-vLQmKLsNR0xiiiiiiiiy1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 e5 2451.c4 g6 2.Nc3!? 247256
Books The Full English Opening, Carsten Hansen, New in Chess 2018 The English, David Cummings, Everyman Chess 2016 e3 Poison, Axel Smith, Quality Chess 2016 Mastering the Chess Openings, Volume 3, John Watson, Gambit Publications 2008 The Tarrasch Defence, Nikolaos Ntirlis and Jacob Aagaard, Quality Chess 2011 The Hyper Accelerated Dragon, second extended edition, Raja
