Why not the English?

Grandmaster Repertoire: The English Opening Volume Two by Mihail Marin. Quality Chess, 432 pages. -
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Grandmaster Repertoire: The English Opening Volume Three by Mihail Marin. Quality Chess, 275 pages. -
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As I remarked in Part One of this review of Mihail Marin’s magnum opus, the English Opening is the Cinderella of the major chess openings. 90 per cent of all chess games begin by either 1 e4 or 1 d4, with opening literature firmly catering for this fact. Things may be about to change. The Rumanian Grandmaster has completed his three volume work advocating 1 c4 and 2 g3 as a complete White system. At the same time, Marin endeavours to avoid transpositions to 1 d4 openings which is important for two reasons. The reader will not have to supplement his repertoire by lavishing further money on a book covering a 1 d4 opening. Nor will he have the problem of many of his opponents transposing back to their favourite anti-1 d4 systems.

The Grandmaster Repertoire series from Quality Chess publishing house takes no prisoners when it recommends main lines played at the very top level. To condense the often massive main line theory needed to form a sound repertoire is no easy matter and requires both a strong player and skilful author. Marin is this person. The first words of the foreword are, “I have always regarded building up a perfect opening repertoire, suitable for one’s style and skills, as no easier task than the Argonauts’ search for the Golden Fleece”. By the end of the introduction the reader has been taken through Marin’s various attempts to find his best repertoire, ending with 1 c4 as the current favourite. He concludes by saying “I cannot anticipate how my understanding of chess will change in, say, ten years, but for the moment I feel confident that, after almost 20 years of research I have finally found my Golden Fleece”.

The reader may well feel that he is about to encounter something very special and he would be right.

Volume 2 of this series looks at:

Finally, the reader gets a short chapter on 1 Nf3 (the Reti Move Order) and the possibilities of transposition to Marin’s English Opening repertoire.

The Anti-Slav features an interesting choice after: 1 c4 c6 2 g3 d5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Bg2 dxc4.

Here Nigel Davies in his book on the Reti suggests 5 Qc2 and after 5 … b5 (for instance) 6 b3. Marin suggests 5 O-O which has the advantage that after 5 … b5 6 b3 cb 7 Qxb3 White has not wasted a tempo with his queen. All in all, Marin’s coverage suggests that grabbing the pawn on c4 is very dangerous for Black, whether he does it after an earlier …c6 or e6.

After 1 c4 e6 2 g3 d5 3 Bg2 Nf6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 O-O O-O 6 b3 Marin concludes that Black is struggling in some variations previously thought to be OK for him. Particularly noteworthy is that Marin claims to have resurrected the central thrust d5 for White in the absolute main line of the Closed Reti.

The coverage of the Anti-KID weapon is also interesting. The Botvinnik System is shown to be a powerful practical choice even where Black plays …c5 rather than …e5 after 1 c4 Nf6 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 Bg7 4 Nc3 O-O 5 e4 d6 6 Nge2 c5 7 O-O Nc6 8 d3. Marin demonstrates interesting lines for White against 8 … Ne8 and 8 … Rb8.

There is also some advice on when to try the 1 Nf3. This will be useful for those wishing to add a little bit more flexibility and psychology to their opening system.

Volume 3 is all about 1 c4 c5, which the author prefers to call “The Double English” rather than “The Symmetrical English”.

There are three main sections:

The Fischer System has long been a problem for 1 c4 players after 1 c4 c5 2 g3 Nc6 3 Bg2 g6 4 Nc3 Bg7 5 Nf3 e6. As Marin shows by analysing their game from the Soviet Union v Rest of the World match (1970), Fischer was able to outplay even the great Tigran Petrosian in this line.

One of the strengths of GM Marin’s writing style is the way he takes time to explain things properly. He uses nearly three full pages to point out his likes and dislikes regarding various White tries in the diagram position before coming around to his repertoire choice of 6 d3 Nge7 7 Bg5 – a recent and successful idea by Jobava.

GM Marin says about 1 c4 c5: “I retain the feeling that precisely in the so called symmetrical variation White obtains the best chances to reach a position with a risk-free initiative”.

These books are so well written that I think those new to The English Opening will find them just as useful as seasoned 1 c4 experts.

I will end with an example of the English Opening in action at the recent London Classic and show the depth and originality of some of Marin’s suggestions. Many of the notes below are quoted from the blog at the Quality Chess website.

“One player you could easily suspect of having read our books is English Grandmaster Luke McShane. In this game he follows the recommendation of GM Mihail Marin in Grandmaster Repertoire 5 as a stepping stone to beat the World number one.”

Luke McShane – Magnus Carlsen [A37]
London Chess Classic, 1^st Round, 08.12.2010

1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.0–0 Nh6

A sideline, but still a serious option.

7.d4! cxd4 8.Bxh6! Bxh6 9.Nxd4

Marin thinks White is better here. Carlsen does not manage to prove otherwise with his next move which is a novelty.

9…Nxd4 10.Qxd4 0–0 11.Rfd1 Bg7 12.Qe3 Bxc3 13.Qxc3 Qc7 14.Rac1 Be6 15.Qe3! This move is Marin’s improvement in GM5

If 9…Bd7 10.c5! Bg7 11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qa4 Bxc3 14.Qxc6+ Kf8 15.bxc3 Rc8 16.Qa4 Rxc5 17.Qxa7 Qc7 18.Qxc7 Rxc7 is also given by Marin.

And now 19.Rfb1! is Marin’s improvement (after 19.Rfc1 Kg7 20.a4 Ra8 21.Ra3 Rc4 22.a5 Ra6 White was unable to convert his advantage in Loginov v Csom, Budapest 1993.)

19…Kg7 20.a4 Ra8 21.Ra3 Rc5 22.Rb4 Kf6 23.Kg2 Ke6 24.h4 h5 25.Kf3

With a clear advantage for White.

A logical answer. Black is behind in development, so White brings his pieces out.

10…0–0 11.Rfd1

It is not so easy for Black to free himself here with White intending c5, so Carlsen decides to lose further time with the knight.

11…Bd7 12.Qxb7 Rb8 13.Qxa7 Rxb2 14.c5! and White appears to be a pawn up for nothing.

12.Qa3!? a5 13.b4!?

Probably a bit too aggressive. 13.e3 makes it clear that Black has no good logical moves. For example: 13…Nc5?! (13…Ra6 14.Na4 is a bit better for White) 14.Nb3! Nxb3 15.axb3 Ra6 16.c5! and if 16…Bg7 17.cxd6 exd6 18.Rd5 Rc6 19.Rxa5 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Rxc3 21.Qb2 Qc7 22.Ra7 Rc2 23.Qd4 Rc1+ 24.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 25.Bf1 Qc7 26.h4. Black never truly frees himself.

13…Ra6 14.b5 Ra8 15.e3

15.Nc6? bxc6 16.bxc6 Nb6 is not playable.

15…a4! 16.Rab1 Bg7 17.Ne4 Qb6

17…Qa5 18.Rbc1 Re8 would avoid White’s next.

18…bxc6!? 19.bxc6 Qa5 20.cxd7 Bxd7 21.c5 Bg4 22.Rdc1 dxc5 looks playable, but White continues to exert pressure on the black queenside after 23.Nxc5.

A double edged Magnus Carlsen type move. 19…Qa5 20.Nd5 Nb6 21.Nxb6 Qxb6 22.c5 dxc5 23.Qxc5 with an edge for White was better, but did not solve all Black’s problems.

Missing a big chance. 20.Nd5! Qd8 (the only move) 21 Ng5 e6 22 b6! Qxg5 23 Nc7. What both players may have missed was that after 20…Qa5 White wins with:

21.b6!!+- fxe4 22.Rb5 Qa6 23.Nc7

This appears to be a mistake overlooking White’s 22^nd move. After 20…Qa5 21.Rbc1 it is still not so easy for Black to free himself, but the position is playable. He needs to try 21…e6 and …Bf8 to fight for the light squares.

21.Nxa4! Qa7 22.Na6! bxa6

Delaying the capture only makes things worse.

23.b6 Nxb6 24.Rxb6 Rb8 25.c5!

The pressure is substantial.

Probably a better defence was 25…dxc5 26.Qb3+ c4 27.Qxc4+ Kh8 28.Rxb8 Qxb8 29.Qf7 Rf8 30.Qxe7 Qe5 with some chances in the ending.

This loses by force, but the prospects after 26…Qc7 27.c6 were not really better.

27.Rb7 Rxb7 28.Rxb7 Qa8 29.Nxc5 Qc8 30.Qxa6 Bf7 31.Bc6! Rd8

31…Rf8 32.a4 wins.

A nice finish. The threat is 33.Qb6, with the ideas a2-a4-a5-a6-a7-a8=Q or simply Rc7.

32…Be6 33.Qb6! Bxd7 34.Bxd7 Qc1+ 35.Kg2 Rf8 appears equally hopeless: 36.Be6+ Kh8 37.Rb8 h5 38.Rxf8+ Bxf8 39.a4.

Why Not the English (Part Two)?