Out-english the English!

If you were to ask me from two years ago what's my response to 1.c4 is, you'd never hear about Symmetrical English. I used to avoid symmetry at all costs, I'd even prefer to get into worse, or unfamiliar positions only to avoid it. I never seriously considered picking up the French or the Slav only in fear of the Exchange Variations. The Colle System gave me nightmares.

Another opening that haunted me was the Sicilian, more specifically the Dragon Variation. Not because of symmetry, but because of how sound the opening seemed to me. Unbreakable structure with g6-d6; only weakness being e7, which can be exploited only after opening the e-file; open c-file allowing for very easy and natural play with rooks; excellent places for all the minor pieces (g7 for the dark-squared bishop; f6, d7, c6, a5, c4 for the knights and e6, d7, c6, b7 for the light-squared bishop); insanely safe king, even with the h-file wide open with the g7 bishop still on the board you can't get mated, and in later stages of the game, heavy pieces can defend h7 via the 7-th rank.

I remember at one point I decided to give it a try, but from the white side—play the English. I played it only in meaningless blitz games, but the games felt unfairly easy, after finishing the opening I'd just play for b4–b5 and win the games on the queenside in maximum 30 moves.

Over the course of my chess career, I also became keener to fianchetto my bishop in the early game. I picked up openings like the Modern Defence (with whick I defeated a stong IM), Closed Sicilian and I started playing g3 against the Pirc, Taimanov Sicilian and the 4 Knights Sicilian.

Against the English I also tried many variations. The mentioned above Closed Sicilian; Grand Prix Attack and some derivatives like 2...Be7–f5; Alapin; Italian (1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bc5) and more. Eventually one painfull loss in the Adhiban Gambit where I was outplaying a higher-rated opponent down a pawn in a very unique structure, but ultimately miscalculated in a critical position led to me coming to a conclusion. There is no point in forcing myself into those risky positions, where it's far easier for me to make a misstep. I should try to play something calmer, the imbalance can come later in the game.

So I gave the Symmetrical English a shot. WHOA WHOA WAIT. Let me explain. The reputation of this opening as very drawish mostly comes from the lines I will avoid with this repertoire, (1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 5.d4 for example) of course at a cost—allowing the Marczy-Bind. I will not cover it here, as I'd like to dedicate an entire post to it, going really in-depth. Only spoiler I'll give is it's really not that scary. Black's play is insanely straightforward, but more on that later.

Still, the Ultra-Symmetrical Variation exists, and you might be wondering, how can Black play that for a win!? You saw the thumbnail. Fair warning though, if White goes for the best setup, which thankfully is very rare, we have nothing better than to mirror.

White's choice

Let's start from zero. What can White play in the English? The choice is kinda broad, but the biggest difference comes down to whether White plays g3.

If I did it right, here's the table of contents, clicking on the URL will take you to a dedicated chapter, so if you are interested in specific responses or you want to review the study yourself, go ahead:

No g3

• Semi-Tarrash
• Keymer System
• b3 English

Unsymmetrical g3

• g3 with d4
• Botvinnik System

Ultra-Symmetrical

• With Nf3
• With a3
• With d3–e3
• With e3

Black's choice?

Even though we will be playing g6 against (almost) everything, our move-order is insanely important. We will have adress White's plan in the opening and address it accordingly. For example one way to play for White is with e3–d4. Since it allows White to push d5 we will delay playing Nc6 and focus on Nf6–d5 instead.

Semi-Tarrash

Honestly I have no idea what's the difference between Tarrash and Semi-Tarrash, but I've heard the latter more, so that's what I'll name it. Basically after playing 1.c4 White changes their mind, and tries to play the Queen's Pawn, but supporting it with e3 beforehand.

There are 4 distinct ways the position can progress from here:

• White can push c5, where quick b6 should grant us a game against 2 weaknesses;
• White can exchange on d5 and try to force an exchange on c3 aswell, which get's rid of an isolated pawn, but only for a moment;
• White can try to win the d5 pawn, but we always have sufficent compensation;
• And finally White can develop normally allowing us to take on c4 when we are ready.

Firstly lets understand when do why do we want to take on c4, and when are we ready.

White just develops

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There are 2 ways of handling the position.

• I like playing 9...dxc4–Na5–Be6 blocking the IQP, where the knight from a5 can go back to c6, or to c4; the f6 knight can go to d5; the rooks go to c8 and d8 and the queen can go to d6 or b6. Be3 with the queen on b6 isn't scary, as we can plock the d-pawn with Nd5.
• 9...Bg4 to simply put more pressure on the d4 pawn is another plan, necessary if White plays something like 9.Re1 or 9.a3. It often forces White to play c5, just to disallow any dxc4 business, but how do we deal with that? Glad you're asking!

White pushes c5

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The way to deal with the pesky c5 pawn is the simple b6. I really like this systematic approach, where we include Ne4 before playing b6, so we can meet cxb6 with Nxc3–axb6 leaving White with 2 weak pawns, while our b6 weakness is defended by the queen. With the trade of light-squared bishops and Na5–Nc4 maneuver the b6 pawn can be further supported.

That leaves White with only one way to resolve the pressure in the centre: taking on d5.

White takes on d5

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Retreating do b6 after 8.Bc4 gives White a reasonable IQP position, as we aren't in time to block the pawn, so the only option is taking on c3, which combined with very strong 9...Qc7! akwardly ties down the White pieces. We will either put massive pressure on both pawns, or break with e5 leading to an isolated pawn for White yet again.

But what if White wants to keep the d5 pawn?

White "wins" the d5 pawn

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As you might've expected, this can't possibly work for White. Winning the pawn after cxd5 should be especially easy, so the trickiest response is 7.Bg5–Nd5, where both recaptures on f6 are fine, but I really like exf6 with eventual f5.

Was that too much? Well we are only getting started! To ease the pace let's look at something simpler.

Keymer System

In recent times a very interesting opening against 1.Nf3 d5 rose in popularity. It starts with 2.e3 3.c4 and White goes for a very uncommital setup with Be2–Bb2. You may notice, we aren't playing 1...d5, but that doesn't stop some people from giving it a try.

Another approach is going for 7...e5 instead, but I find d5 more tricky. e5 is still on the table and most likely we will have to reach for it, but why not give White a chance to go wrong?

White allows Ndb4

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Even with perfect play, the position after 10...Ndb4 is pretty tough. A more resiliant try is 10.Qc1, since it introduces ideas of Bxg7–Qc3.

While a better version than Rc1, allowing the infiltration on d3 always ends badly for White, so what else should White do?

White tries to liquidate

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Sometimes White players say that the position is quite annoying, so they try to trade some pieces.

I'm not complaining about a free pawn.

Okay, since Nbd4 is such a strong threat and White can't liquidate with d4, what about a simple a3? Well...

White prevents Nbd4

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We don't really have a better try for an advantage than playing e5 anyway. White's plan is Rc1–Na4 to trade our bishop, when d4 becomes a real idea.

There isn't much to add here. The rooks belong on the d-file, because with the bishop on f5 we have great pressure on d3 and e4 can be met with Bg4, but Rac8 isn't ridiculous; pushing e4 is worth considering if the queen goes to c2.

Funnily enough, I have faced this opening once and my opponent went for the rare Nh4!?, where I simply brought the bishop back to e6 arguing that this inclusion benefits me.

With this easy sideline out of the way, it's time to look at it's much more scary cousin, the b3 english.

b3 English

You might think I'm joking calling 2.b3 scary, but the numbers don't lie. It's the 2nd best scoring move in Masters Database falling shortly behind the main 2.Nf3, which in this repertoire will transpose either to the Maróczy (which I'll cover in a later post), or some calmer line. Basically this the line with the best score practically in this entire blog.

What's White's idea? Well obviously develop the bishop to b2. Well... yeah. The reasoning behind is kind of clever. White want's to prevent g6, so they can play g3 themselves, without worrying about symmetry. Of course g3 isn't forced and White can play in the Nimzo-Larsen style with e3–Bb5 aswell. We really don't have anything better than to accept White's challenge and take the whole centre.

White has quite a choice, they could go for e3, or g3 and choose to include Nxd5 in both. In this specific move-order e3 is more common, but g3 could've been played before the knight moves. Let's look at the double fianchetto first.

Reversed Maróczy-Bind

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I won't go into into detail when White goes for the typical d3 setup, what I want to focus on, is a very tricky approach, engaging the b2 bishop to break apart the bind with e3–d4.

What if White throws in Nxd5?

I find this approach most interesting, we can slowly start an attack, first improving our pieces with Bd5–Kb8 only then looking for h5–h4 action. a3–b4 from White isn't scary, as we don't need to rush with accepting the sacrifice. If White plays b4, only helps us get the knight to d4, and bxc5 develops our bishop to a deadly diagonal.

So 7.g3, as expected, is pretty good for us. The question is, whether we can squeeze 7.e3 the same way?

e3

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Barely Black is able to consolidate the position and start converting the space advantage. It becomes slightly easier with Nxd5 included, as White can't develop so much pressure against the e5 pawn:

This one should conclude all ways for White to avoid going for g3. Which means it's time to move on to just that. Before tackling the Ultra-Symmetrical lines, let's see what happens when White is the one to break the symmetry for us. The most popular line that does so is the Botvinnik System, but first, let's quickly look at the inaccurate g3 + d4 combo.

Is this main line?

If White is used to seeing Nf6 in the Symmetrical English, chances are they meet it with d4 at some point. That's how the mainest of main lines goes and many other lines contain the d4 or d5 depending on the color. However against this repertoire it's not so great, as we can immediately challenge the d4-knight making White question their opening choice.

White now has 2 main options:

• Relieving the pressure by taking on c6
• Moving the knight away from danger. Most often to c2, as it cen re-enter the game via e3–d5. Nb3 is another move, but I don't think it's worth looking at, as I have no idea what it accomplishes.

Let's look at the main move, which is Nc2.

White wants to play Nc3

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The c2 knight wants to go to e3, which combined with the c3 knight and g2 bishop will seize control of d5. There is only one small problem. We will take on c3! Which means we have to delay Nf6.

Before looking at how to keep the g7 bishop open, let's understand why taking on c3 is so dangerous.

This move-order isn't the most accurate, but illustrates our plan the best. We want to put immense pressure on the c4 pawn, and play b6 to solidify the queenside. Okay, we know that keeping g7-bishop's vision of c3 is important. Now, how do we do that?

We have much more useful moves to make than White, meaning they will be the first one to make a concession. With the delayed development of the queenside we could consider moves like Ne5/Na5 to win c4, as b3 isn't a possibility. And of course, if the knight goes to c3 we take.

I already enjoy playing against the Maróczy–Bind, so seeing this very inferior version just warms my heart.

That's why I think a better approach is for White to take on c6. It's rare and usually reached via a different move-order (1.Nf3–g3), but still worth knowing your way around.

White's only move after 10...Qa5 is Nb5! I think it's a risk worth taking. In general our setup after pushing the h-pawn as far up as possible is Qa5 intending Qh5 and stopping Qa4, which enables Ba6. The rook goes to b8 and the g8 knight can go to f6, or h6. Pushing d5 can sometimes work tactically, if the c4 pawn is pinned.

This should be more than enough to deal with this bizzare sideline. It's time for something much more serious, the infamous Botvinnik System.

Botvinnik System

Similarly to the Closed Sicilian, white will try to generate play on the kingside, but the c4 pawn leaves the door open for queenside play aswell.

We will take advantage of strategically suspicious nature of this opening by breaking the position open with a quick b5. White has a couple ways to address it:

• Playing a4, seemingly it prevents our idea, but we can execute it anyway. The pawn sacrifice is only temporary, we will quickly win it back;
• Playing a3–b4, trying to close down the queenside and play on the kingside;
• Ignoring our play and focus all forces into the kingside avalanche.

I think to understand what are we trying to accomplish, it's best to look at what happens, when White fully ignores our play.

Blindman Attack

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We are much faster to break through on the queenside. Therefore the most logical response from White is to try and stop that with a4.

White plays a4

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No matter what White does. they will be left with a clearly worse position. However, that's not all! More experienced players are aware of this idea, and can start with 10.Rb1 preemptively defending b2. If we go for the same plan, White will get a better version, since Rb1 is far more useful than h3 without the knight on f6.

So we need to play something clever, use the bonus tempo.

This clever move turns out to be Bg4. We force f3 from White, so that when the position opens up, White's worst piece becomes burried even more.

So far we've established why are we playing b5 (to push b4 and break on d3) and that White can't prevent us from achieving b5. Last question to answer is what happens, when White is two steps ahead, and instead of stopping b5, they focus on stopping b4?

White plays b4

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This approach is something I'd play myself, if I were to try the Botvinnik System, I think it allows White to get the most familiar positions and leaves a lot of pieces and play, meaning the strategical weakness of the g2 bishop is compensated by White's space advantage.

There might be better ways to handle this for Black that I'm not aware of. I've played a similar position against my friend (as White) and I can confidently say, the position is very complicated. I'd like to update this chapter when I get more experience in this position.

This should cover all of White's attempts at complicating the position. Finally it's time for the Crème de la crème—the Ultra-Symmetrical English and my favourite line of them all. You read that right.

Ultra-Symmetrical with Nf3

If you skipped other reccomendations, to see how can you possibly combat the Ultra-Symmetrical lines, hi! Welcome, take a seat and enjoy the show.

The point is childlishly simple, we want to play Qd7–Bh3 and trade the bishops. Then get a better setup than White, which is e6!–Nge7, which allows us to freely push kingside pawns, while White's Rb1–a3–b4 can be answered with a simple b6. Let's see that in action.

White just develops

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If White pushes b5 basically every retreat is good. In this case, since you can go to d4, I see no problem with it. This plan is so universal there is no way for White to stop it after the bishop trade, but White can try to be annoying before we get to play Bh3.

White doesn't want to trade

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Even though we didn't trade the bishops, the Bf5–Qd7–Bh3 maneuver is still a success, as we can open the h-file freely.

Other than by stepping back to h1, White could try to prevent our Bh3 idea tactically, with early Nd5.

We have to undermine the horsey. Since we can't play e6, the only other option is Nf6. Funnily enough, the most common move for White is to blunder the b2 pawn. Bh3 is still on the table.

But 7.d3 isn't the only way to play for White. Sometimes White gets annoyed with our wonderful bishop, and tries to kick it with e4?

White plays e4?

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In the Botvinnik System White has an option to play f3. Here this isn't an option, so we can build a hotel on the d4-square and break-through on the queenside.

Another common mistake is when White tries to play for d4, like in the mainlines, which we cleverly avoid.

White tries to play d4

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No d4 for you:)

That leaves the last, and the trickiest approach White can deploy–7.h3

White finally stops Bh3

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Surely that means we have no more tricks. Of course not!

If you wonder how realistic it is that White falls for this, I played against h3 once OTB, against a grandmaster, who didn't come up with h3, it was his preparation and he didn't know the Qc8 resource!

But f3 isn't the only square for the White knight. Sadly, if White goes for the best setup, which is e3–Nge2, we really have nothing better than to mirror them. Before ending the repertoire on this depressing note, let's look at something more exciting, which is White's tricky 6.a3!?

Ultra-Symmetrical with a3!?

In lichess database a3 is the best scoring move! Quick b4 push is very troublesome, and I've lost to it myself before knowing what to do, so it's 100% worth addressing.

With this move White basically says that we have to show our cards first while White does their thing on the queenside. However it is a waiting move, so we should take advantage of that, and play the best (in my opinion) plan, which is e6–Nge7–O-O–d6–Qd7–b6–Qd7. Very similar to our Bf5 plan right?

White won't sit around and wait, their intentions are clear—quick b4, even at the cost of a pawn. Let's look at this interesting gambit.

White plays a gambit :)

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Btw taking the pawn normally is +1 for White! Okay, now let's see the b4 approach with Rb1 included.

White doesn't play a gambit :(

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Just like in the Bf5 line, we can meet White's expansion with a calm b6, and focus on our play instead.

Now it's the hard part time. What if White knows all of this, and plays the best setup themselves? Somehow I still managed to find something.

Countering the OP English

At first, when looking at engine recommendation I quickly dismissed this move, as the inclusion of h5 and the best response for White h3 doesn't seem to introduce any new ideas, only weaken our position, but turns out, there is something special there aswell.

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. First and foremost, what are White's options?

• As always, White can ignore us and proceed with Nge2;
• Prepare for h4 with critical h3!;
• Stop h4 by pushing h4 themselves.

To understand why it's important for White to stop h4, let's understand why it's bad to allow it.

White ignores us

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As I said, there are many ways for us to play and equally as many for White. I chose some interesting ideas in the study, the scariest seems to me is Ne5 combined with h3, because White struggles to defend the light-squares.

It should be visually clear, that this isn't a good way to play for White. But why is h3 critical, what's wrong with h4?

White stops h4

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One pesky bishop on g4 makes it very difficult for White to do anything. After f3 we will retreat to d7, and now f5 is a juicy square for the knight. We should be able to eventually force out f3 with Ne5 after fully finishing our development (Nh6–Bg4–Rb8–O-O–a6).

That leaves White with only one option

White plays the critical h3

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Very interesting approach, right? No matter what White does, they can't take advantage of how weird our position looks. And once we solidify, we have strong arguments to claim advantage. I'd love to test it out when I get the chance!

That concludes all the fun lines. It's time for the... Ugh.....

Hyper-Ultra-Symmetrical English

There is one interesting idea I found, but I just can't make it work. If you want to experiment for yourself, I show it in this chapter.

There are no real alternatives for both colors. If we don't play d5, White will. And vice versa.

The best case scenario for us is White taking with the pawn, while we will recapture with the knight and we have a micro argument, that the c6 knight is better than it's counterpart on e2.

White plays exd4

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Obviously, no matter what you do the engine eval will always be 0.0, but these position tend to favor Black by a small margin, so that's something.

White play Nxd4

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Another nothing position. I don't even know what to say about them, they are just so dry, and the drawing percentages in Masters Database are simply funny.

I think it's time to conclude this blog. I really ejnoy playing the Symmetrical, and the scores are looking pretty solid. In the Bf5 line I score 72%

I hope you enjoyed the analysis, and maybe you will add some of the lines to your repertoire. Study link.