The English Defence

The English defence in which Black plays...e6,...b6 and...Bb7 has been popularized by Grandmasters such as Keene, Miles, Plaskett and Speelman. Black allows White to set up a broad pawn centre which he can counterattack. The theory of the opening is still in an embryonic stage and opportunities exist for new ideas by the creative player. By basing the material around complete games and game extracts, the authors explain the strategic ideas of the English Defence. Detailed analysis is given of the more complicated lines, in particular 1 d4 e6 2 c4 b6 3 e4 Bb7 4 Bd3 f5. Raymond Keene has represented England in 8 Olympiads and written overr 50 books on chess. James Plaskett is an English Grandmaster and Jon Tisdall is an International Master and chess journalist for Reuters.