Reply to a Flank opening

Knight Square

Only Chess

03 Jun 06

Knight Square

Palmerston North

Joined: 02 Jun 06
Moves: 2420

03 Jun 06

Whats a good reply from black, after the English opening? And if you know that the opponent as black would start with Sicilian? What is a good move??

~~drjegc~~

Joined: 26 May 04
Moves: 2221

03 Jun 06

Originally posted by Knight Square
Whats a good reply from black, after the English opening? And if you know that the opponent as black would start with Sicilian? What is a good move??

English Opening and Sicilian Defense are not flank openings, the name is reserved for openings like 1. b4 or 1. g4

Marinkatomb

wotagr8game

tbc

Joined: 18 Feb 04
Moves: 61941

03 Jun 06

Originally posted by drjegc
English Opening and Sicilian Defense are not flank openings, the name is reserved for openings like 1. b4 or 1. g4

hmmm, a pawn move either side of the center would count as a flank move if you ask me.

cmsMaster

Joined: 02 Feb 06
Moves: 8557

04 Jun 06

2 edits

Use your usual opening against the sicilian... Against the english use what you feel comfortable with. One opening is not going to work for everybody, you have to find the ones that suit you. Right now I'm very happy with the King's Gambit with white, Sicilian as black against 1.e4 and Benko Gambit as black against 1.d4. I like these openings because they are all very strong attacking openings. They all lead to sharp/tactical play, which I enjoy much more, and feel I play much better with, than the "boring" positional openings like 1.c4 and 1.d4.

Knight Square

Palmerston North

Joined: 02 Jun 06
Moves: 2420

04 Jun 06

Are you sure? I saw in a Chess Book, under flank openings the 'English Opening' but you are right about the Sicilian

cmsMaster

Joined: 02 Feb 06
Moves: 8557

04 Jun 06

Originally posted by Knight Square
Are you sure? I saw in a Chess Book, under flank openings the 'English Opening' but you are right about the Sicilian

If he's right about one then he must be right about the other...

dimis283

Joined: 03 Jun 06
Moves: 71

04 Jun 06

1 edit

Originally posted by Knight Square
Whats a good reply from black, after the English opening? And if you know that the opponent as black would start with Sicilian? What is a good move??

An idea for 1.c4 is to play an opening simiral to your defence to 1.d4 (Ideas with g6 if you play king's indian def. or ideas with Nf6, e6, Bb4 if you play Nimjoindian ).
An interesting antisiclian is Bb5 ideas (1.e4 c5 2Nf3 d6/Nc6 3. Bb5)

Golub

Stockholm, Sweden

Joined: 31 Jan 06
Moves: 3059

04 Jun 06

English is a flank opening according to my books..

~~drjegc~~

Joined: 26 May 04
Moves: 2221

06 Jun 06

2 edits

Originally posted by Knight Square
Are you sure? I saw in a Chess Book, under flank openings the 'English Opening' but you are right about the Sicilian

yeap you are right English is a flank opening , not the Sicilian ... but I disagree ... both are not flank opening to me ( its curious if there is an inverted Sicilian variation with the English Opening .... 1.c4 e5 and this is a flank opening , but the normal Sicilian 1.e4 c5 isnt !!! 😕 ) to include only the English and not the Sicilian on flank openings is arbitrary ! 😠

Positional Player

Belfast

Joined: 27 Jan 06
Moves: 1809

06 Jun 06

Nothing wrong with the Smyslov System for Black.
1...e5, 2...Nf6, 3...Bb4, 4...0-0, 5...Re8 and continue by either trying to push the e-pawn or building for ...d5 with ...c6. Often you can develop the QKt by ...Nd7-c5.

c guy1

Seattle

Joined: 30 Jan 06
Moves: 26370

07 Jun 06

Originally posted by Knight Square
Are you sure? I saw in a Chess Book, under flank openings the 'English Opening' but you are right about the Sicilian

The English is flank and i like eighter 2...d6 transposing to queens gambit or 2....e5 followed by 3. Nc3 Bb4 4.....Bxc3
with the doubled pawns often a very exposible weakness appears

Tengu

Joined: 20 Dec 05
Moves: 12772

07 Jun 06

Both the English and the Sicilian are flank openings.

I think the reason many dont consider the Sicilian to be a flank opening is that the term "flank opening" implies something a little unusual (eg Bird's, Grob). The Sicilian is very mainstream.