Jeremy Silman recommends Kostens - The Dynamic English. I dont know how
detailed/deep it is, but if you purchase, let us know.
Below is an English opening Silman recommends as a system to avoid the mainlines. The aim is to dominate the d5 square - followed by queenside play(by a3 and b4) or kingside play (by e4,Nge2,g3,Bg2,0-0,f4 - f5 etc.)
Hope this helps. Good luck!
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Nge2 0-0 7.0-0 d6 8. d3
I bought the Kosten book, and found it was exactly what I wanted. He starts from using the move order 1. c4 and 2. g3 to avoid too much theory and set the pace. The first part looks at 1. ..., e5 dealing the with the Reversed Sicilian, Botvinnik system, Keres System. The second part deals with black responses starting with 1 ..., c5 such as the Symmetrical lines, the Keres-Parma and Rubinstein systems, before sweeping up with other black attempts, such as heading for a Grunfeld or Dutch.
Kosten shows the main ideas in each line first, before going into a theoretical discussion. He is thorough without weighing you down. He admits to being a lazy chess-player as far as studying variations in the opening goes, and his book is ideal for someone similarly inclined or who does not have too much spare time.
In the end he leaves you with the confidence to play the English with 2. g3, knowing that after the game you can come back to his book and find the tactical ideas and strategic themes that you would have applied in the game if you had remembered them properly.
My only criticism is that there are occasions where he says things like "white has a big advantage and won easily from this position". I'd appreciate some more complete games with annotations in the same style Kosten uses elsewhere in the book, so I can understand how these games were won.
Thanks for the feedback on the book! I think I will check it out. Have you played any live games using the English yet? If so, what do you find is the most common response? c5,e5,Nf6????
Also, if yes, what time limits are you playing?
I have just begun to use it @ 3 days pm. But one opponent tried 1. c4 f5 2. g3 g5 and after 3. e4 he is lost, so that doesn't really count as a trial.
Check out Mihael Marin's Grandmaster Repertoire: The English Opening for a comprehensive repertoire based on the 2. g3 variation.
I am interested in the recommendation of Marin's book which has only been published in the UK today.
Much as I like the Kosten book, the Marin one seems to me to be in a different league, more like a course in understanding the opening, and a demanding one at that.
nice opening
Thank you for your suggestion. I have found that after using Kosten's book as an introduction, Marin's 3 volume work is exactly what I needed. If you do as he suggests, and rather than use it as a reference book take it as an advanced course and study it chapter by chapter, you get a rigorous tutorial in the themes, positional ideas and tactics of the English. I shall probably add the Karpov work to my library shortly, none the less.
1.How to play the english opening by Nigel Povah
2. Kosten Dynamic English
3. Mihail Marins books on the english
Read Povahs book and Kostens first and then stay for the rest of your life with Marins books. Study time : Approximately 5 years and then you will be a very dangerous english player. It sounds like a long time but it is not. 1.c4 will be your defense all the time. You play it all the time as white. Just keep going. Stick to it.
I am also interested in the English and have just bought Neil McDonald's 'Starting out: The English'. Can anyone give me any insights into how this compares with Kosten's book? It would be hard to call me an 'aggressive' player as per the subtitle of Kosten's book.
The English isn't agressive in the way that say the English Attack in the Sicilian is aggressive, it's slower and more positional than that, but it does have some bite. I've got Dynamic English and a couple other starting out books (but not the English). Based on that I'd guess that Kosten's book is probably more detailed, and focused. Dyanmic English is a repertoire book rather than an overview as is typical with the starting out books. That's a good thing though, it lets you exclude a good amount of unnecessary theory.
I am probably going to play the English for a while. Can anyone recommend a book that explains the main ideas well? I am considering Kosten's because I like his style of play and I've read his work on other openings. I don't want anything too detailed yet.