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Hi Markovich,
Watson's MTCO3 gives an informative and pretty objective overview of the English, but we’ll have to wait for MTCO4 for a similar survey of specifically Reti lines. MTCO3 is a hefty read at 350 large pages.
If the Botvinnik system is to be part of the repertoire, then Kosten’s book is still a very good introduction for anyone up to say 2100 and I know stronger players than that who have used it to get a quick handle on 1 c4. Marin’s huge Volume 1 is the new Botvinnik bible, of course, but oh, the detail, the nuances…it’s mind-boggling, at least to me.
A Strategic Opening Repertoire 2 (Donaldson & Hansen) has been much maligned, largely through disappointment I think. The tiny first edition was so legendary, and our hopes for the 2nd edition so high… A complete repertoire it ain’t, more a collection of annotated games that together just about form say 75% of a possible repertoire. Nevertheless, I think it’s still an extremely useful source, particularly for anyone who wants to play the very handy set-up with Nf3, c4, g3, Bg2, 0-0, Nc3 and d3 against the King’s Indian, Closed Sicilian Reversed and related set-ups, instead of the Botvinnik (Marin, Kosten, Soltis) or the (neglected in my view) Staunton (a Botvinnik set-up with e3 instead of e4).
Ten to fifteen years ago, the big questions for the English/Reti players, certainly below master level, were what to play against:
1) the King's Indian/Closed Sicilian reversed set-ups;
2) the Symmetrical
3) ...e6, ...d5 systems
4) whether to try to prevent the Hedghog or combat it.
I think this is reflected in the balance of material in Kosten and Donaldson-Hansen.
Since then we've seen a huge growth in the number of players who want to play some sort of Slav set-up against practically everything, and anyone writing such a repertoire book now really should be ensuring that this gets a lot of attention. White is not short of ideas, but probably there is no way to force an advantage, and as in much of the Reti-English complex, the question of what to play is really one of choosing something playable that leads to the sort of positions one likes.
I suggest that the main options are:
1) Transpose to Slav (but prepare well);
2) Play the English Anti-Slav, with e3 and holding back d4;
3) Play 1 c4 c6 2 e4 and head for some sort of Panov;
4) Play the original Reti double fianchetto with c4;
5) Play the original Reti double fianchetto but aim for e4, by Qe1, or e3, Qe2;
6) Play the c4 gambit line that Kosten and Davies recommended,, but which seems to need some repair work at the moment (although I notice that Marin has been playing it);
7) Play Loginov’s line (first played by JH Blackburne!) 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.0-0 Bf5 5.c4 e6 6.cxd5!? exd5 7.d3 Nbd7 8.Nc3 Be7 9.Qc2!? planning e4, e.g. 9...h6 10.e4 dxe4 11.dxe4 Bh7 12.Bf4 0-0 13.Rad1 Qa5 14.Nd4 Rfe8 15.h3 Bb4 16.Nb3 Qb6 17.Rfe1 Ne5 18.a3 Bf8 19.Nd2 Qc5 20.Be3 Qe7 21.f4 Ned7 22.Bf2+= Loginov-Soos, 1993. The mobile Kingside majority gives White space and attacking chances. This plan can also be played against …Bg4 lines.
8) If Black lacks experience in typical Caro Kann or Centre Counter positions, White can consider Mamedyarov’s deceptively simple line 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.0-0 Nd7 5.d4 e6 6.Nbd2 Ngf6 7.Re1 Be7 8.e4, e.g. Mamedyarov-Kosteniuk 2009.
Probably there are even other options, but I hope I’ve made the point that White has plenty of resources and should not despair at seeing Black place his pawn on c6!
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best English resources? (Read 7128 times)
