How to beat the sokolsky?

How to beat the polish/sokolsky/orangutan guys? please just give me a line that gives black an advantage or good chances of an advantage

play as if you're facing the English opening

I hope I contributed much.

I only play 1...d6 against all of White's first move.LOL

I second Tony.

The last time I faced 1. b4, I was playing the Tarrasch Defense setup against everything but 1. e4, so I played e6, d5, and c5 early. I think I played Nf6 before c5, so I would be able to meet bxc5 with Bxc5 without losing my g pawn. From there, I was able to improvise a strong center and get a pretty good game.

Nowadays, I play the Classical Dutch against everything but 1. e4 (I like openings that can be used against both 1. d4 and 1. c4, since they cut down the study time). Faced with 1. b4, I'm not sure if I'd play the Dutch or Tarrasch formations now. I do know that my first move would probably be 1. ... e6 either way.

I usually go with a solid setup of 1... Nf6, 2... e6 and then ...d5 and ...Nc6.

I was playing 1...e5 followed by 2...Bxb4 for a while, but then I was recently discussing this opening with a player I know from the club I play at and he recommended 1...c6!. Now this may look like a strange move but it makes perfect sense, and may even give black an edge. After 2.Bb2 you attack the b-pawn with 2...Qb6. After 3.a3 a5! white has only one good way to hold the pawn and that is with 4.c4 axb4 5.c5 Qc7 6.axb4 Rxa1 7.Bxa1. Then white's queenside pawns are overextended, and black can just develope normally and undermine them with ...d6 and/or ...b6 eventually. I can't wait to try this in a game.

You're completely right when you say 1...c6 is a slightly passive move because it doesn't hit anything, but to be fair, 1.b4 seems more commital, and if it isn't followed up with Bb2 at some point it doesn't seem to make sense (at least in my mind). There are several good openings where an early ...c6 is played against white's mainline openings (Caro-Kann, Slav etc), but I can't think of too many where playing b4 early is good (maybe some dutch lines, or Evan's gambit). If white follows up with something other than 2.Bb2, I think black could just develop normally with moves like ...Nf6, ...e5, and ...d5 (which is conveniently supported by the c6 pawn), or even 2...a5, or 2...Qb6 attacking the pawn anyway may be good. I think eventually white will feel he needs to play Bb2 at some point to justify 1.b4, and then ...Qb6 may be good if it hasn't been played already.

I am not claiming that this is a refutation. Infact, I think black can equalise against the Sokolsky in a number of different ways, but I doubt it will ever be refuted outright. Black may not be able to get more than equality with 1...c6, but even from the little bit of analysis I have done, and having never played a game with this move, I think I would prefer being black. Of course it is hard to have real 'theory' if white delays Bb2, because the position is not forcing and both sides have tons of options. But with a bit of common sense, I don't think black will have any problems, whether he plays 1...c6 or a different line.

I played 1) b4 against Plaskett and he absolutely creamed me - probly my most humiliating defeat ever - that was 15 years back an' I've never played it again since

The main line is pretty good for Black:

Except that 3 f4 is an improvement over 3 Bxe5:

Here's a nice defence.

1. b4 d5

Follow up d5 with Qd6 and then Nf6.

Play solidly and in the center.

And with that I agree, I've played the Sokolsky on and off for a long time, and 1 ... d5 is surely the hardest to play against.

Why do you say that? 

White cannot castle anymore, but has still a very strong attack.

But White has to be careful too :)

I played in a match a sort of reversed London System for black almost ignoring white moves

At move 9 the computer analysis says everything is fine for black + 0,5 pawn advantage.

1.  Your opponent played b5 on the second move

2.  Your opponent moved his knight 3 times by move 9

3.  You shouldn't put too much faith in what the computer tells you.  It told you that you were ahead by half a pawn by move 2.  Do you really believe that?