Can White Avoid The Hedgehog In The English ?

....I don't think so, despite this being the reason Tony Kosten gives 1c4 c5 3g3 as a means to stop black's 'hog.

Eg 1c4 c5 2 g3 b6 3 Bg2 Nc6....followed by Bb7...ALTHOUGH it's not a Hedgehog with Nc6 (instead of Nbd7 in the formation is it ?)

SO...does this mean in order to get the Hedgehog against 1c4, it's necessary to play 1....b6 and then be prepared for the English Defence 1c4 b6 2d4 e6 if White plays 2 d4 ....?

Yeah, you just can't guarantee yourself a perfectly pure 'hog.  Too many move order issues out there.  But you could do a lot worse than hedgehogs against every English move order except one.

Depending on your preference, either 1. c4c5 2. g3Nf6 3.Nf3d5, or 1.c4Nf6 2.g3c6 are both strong options for black.

But heck, there are anti-lines for white against just about every popular defense.  That you really only need to know one for your English defense, and that it's pretty strong to boot, is a pretty good bargain.  And you more than make up for the study time there since you can play so many hedgehoggy lines against e4, via the Sicilian.

I wish I liked the hedgehog.

Oh, and against 1...b6, 2. e4 is no walk in the park, either.  So it's not like that exactly cuts down your prep time, either.

Thanks for the replies. About two weeks ago I'd been looking at what I think is called the Keres - Parma idea against the English....Nf6 followed by e6 and d5 (as the first poster mentioned ) against the c4, g3 set up....I've already forgotten the couple of hours I spent looking at it and concluding this type of Semi Tarrasch setup looked OK !

Since I play the Tarrasch against Queens Gambit (Yes I know I'm Mr NimzoIndian) I found this scheme appealing and I think I came to the conclusion that this was better for  Black than the Tarrasch would normally be against the QGD...

....but you know, to say you play the "Hedgehog" just sounds fantastic ! :-)