For anyone who loves (or wants to love) the English Opening and ESPECIALLY for those who play the accelerated fiancetto (2.g3) variations advocated by Tony Kosten, Nigel Davies and chessbase have finally come out with the DVD for you!
http://chessbase.com/shop/product.asp?pid=410
I'm ordering my copy as I type this!
The problem I have always had with the English is a King's Indian Setup. Whether you open, 1. c4 2.Nc3 and 3.g3 or 1.c4 2.g3 or 1.Nf3 2.c4 3.g3, the problem is still there. It seems as though the kingside attack crashes through too often. Black castles, plays f5, and storms the kingside. One of the best systems for white, in my opinion, is in the book A Strategic Opening Repertoire For White. It'b based on an early Rb1 b4 and queenside assault (out of an English structure). Even it seems a little slow at times (and is not without problems). I have the same trouble with an opening like 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 d6! The automatic King's Indian setup can be a real problem. Has anyone else had problems with a King's Indian setup vs the English?
I've always thought if White doesn't play d4 against the KID set-ups, then he shouldn't get anything. Rb1-b4 isn't all that dangerous if Black knows what he's doing. He should always play ...a5 to gain the a-file, and play in the center and the kingside.
That said, I've played White quite a bit and never really thought he should get crushed. Playing White is white: if you lose to some silly kingside attack, then you made a mistake. Even if Black plays ...Nh5, ...f5-f4, what has he done? There's still a long way to go in my opinion. It's about equal in my opinion.
Originally posted by ericmittensOr you can just play 1.Nf3!
I've had problems OTB with the king's indian defence as well.
Of course Kosten recommends the botvinnik setup against the KID, but in my experience black equalizes very easily.
Maybe I should suck it up and learn the theory to play d4 against the KID.
I haven't really found a suitable line with d4 either. I've tried the four pawns, but it just runs into c5 and e6 (or the Na6 system). I don't think a g3 King's Indian gives white anything either. The classical Main Line is white scratching for weaknesses on the queenside while black plays a kingside pawn storm. If black slips, he has holes on his queenside. If white slips, he is mated. The fact that Fischer and Kasparov used the KID their whole careers and seldom lost pretty much speaks for it's soundness. The Bayonet with an early b4 may be the way to go. The Samisch has never really got me much. White plays f3, but I can't think of a single game where white got in g4 and h5 and actually mated black. The Averbakh runs into an early c5. The last few King's Indians that I have met, I have played the London System. I don't feel as though I really got anything with the white pieces. That isn't even an option after 1. c4.
What system do you guys use vs the King's Indian?
Originally posted by ericmittensyes, nf3 almost all the time transposes into some kind of queen's gambit opening. if you want to stick with the hardcore "accelerated fianchetto English" then there's no choice but 1.c4 2.g3 🙂
Nf3 doesnt fit into a lot of accelerated fiancetto english systems though, a great deal of the time Ne2 is played instead.