English Opening: Scattered Soldiers

Position after 18 O-O

White has just completed mobilization in the face of the
toothless threat 18 ... Bxe2 19 Rfe1 followed by 20 Bxd5.

At first glance, Black's position looks solid, but such
is not the case. His d5 knight is tied down to denying
the g2 bishop access to c6, otherwise Nc6+ is unpleasant.
Additionally, the c5 pawn may become a weakness, what
with the presence of a half open c-file.

18 ... Rhd8

19 Rc2

19 ... Rc7



The sacrificial 19 ... c4!? should not be quickly discarded:

20 Nxc4 (20 bxc4 Rc5) 20 ... Nb6 21 Rfc1 Nxc4 22 bxc4
22 ... Rc5.

Although Black is down a pawn, his drawing chances are
pretty considerable.

20 Rfc1



20 Rd1 gives Black some counter play:

20 ... Ne3!? 21 Rxd8 Nxc2 22 Rd2 Nd4
(22 ... Nxa3? 23 Ra2 Nb5 24 Nc6+)
23 e3 Ne2+ 24 Kh1 Nc3.

Besides, since Black's pieces are rather scattered,
White shouldn't exchange rooks. He should instead
use them to target the disarrayed army.

20 ... Rdc8

21 e4



It's time to seize some space!

ENGLISH OPENING (SYMMETRICAL VARIATION)

1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5
5 e4 Nxc3 6 bxc3 g6:



What's the game plan for White?

(i) Decentralize the d5 knight through e2-e4.
(ii) Take advantage of Black's light-squared
vulnerability (Bf1-b5+-c4-d5/Qd1-b3/a2-a4) .

1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 d5 4 cxd5 Nxd5
5 e4 Nxc3 6 bxc3 g6:



What's the game plan for Black?

(i) Pressurize the a1-h8 diagonal, particularly
d4, by means of .... g6 and ... Bg7.
(ii) Use the half open d-file to further the above
objective.
(iii) Respond accordingly to White's light-squared
play (... Bd7, ... b5, ... Nc6, ... b4, ... e6).