Plyo wrote on 06/23/13 at 04:43:32:

As far as any suggestion goes, it really depends what sort of player you are. Some prefer the slow positional build up as you have given. Certainly in checking what I have on the English 4.d3 seems to be the prescribed move and then the plans after 4…c6 seem to vary. I like 5.Bg5 here.
However  with the given move order you have to look out for Two Knight’s motifs as in say 4.Nge2 then 4…Ng4! which then requires the immediate 5.d4 to avert the obvious pending disaster on f2 and so on.
Again it is a matter of personal taste, I actually like the Two Knights as Black so my preference would be play the more active 4.Nf3 which leaves Black the choice of Ng4, d6 or Nc6. Depending on your level that you are playing at the second  and third replies are the most likely. Prepare for all three but hope for the last, 4…Nc6 because of the move order and with Blacks bishop on c5 it allows 5.Nxe5!
Markovich wrote on 07/01/13 at 03:47:53:

Really? I can’t really comment to much on 4.Nf3 d6 and 4…Ng4?! As I have little on it in my chess theory collection. However there is more than more than enough established theoretical evidence , you can fully expect an advantage after 4…Nc6 5.Nxe5! A Nimzowitsch idea which he used to batter Reti & Yates and draw with Collie. It has also been used by such strong players as Larry Christiansen, Boris Alterman, Kevin Spraggett and Alexander Onischuk…

Plyo wrote on 06/23/13 at 04:43:32:



Yes, 4.e4-e3. But seriously, I wonder if you should be playing 1.c4 if you expect White's advantage in the line given.

Yes, avoiding 3.e4 in that situation is your best bet. For comparison, take a look at the most common scenario that sees White select the Botvinnik system:

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e4

Here, Black has shunned the opportunity for both ...c6 (though this is less of an issue in my opinion) and ...Bc5, making White's clamping down on the d5-square while simultaneously weakening his own d4-square more reasonable.

The Botvinnik system isn't considered a good try for advantage if Black can still put his bishop on c5. So you'd rather play 3.g3 or even 2.g3 and don't commit to e4 so early.

You could then play lines with e3 instead against ...Bc5, but e4 once Black plays ...g6. But Black also has the very respectable Reversed Dragon (3...d5) and the early ...c6 lines, as you can see in the well-known White repertoire books by Marin and Kosten.