your opinion about the colle system?

I would like to hear your opinions about the colle opening.  For those that know it , how do you like it? also don you still use the opening?

I used it when I first started out. Its easy and you can get some nice kingside attacks. However the consensus here is that it shouldnt be used by players <1600 as it will stunt their progress too much.

My problem with it is it doesnt lend much room for variance. There arnt a lot of variations and you dont have much choice in the way of how you want to play it (tactical/positional). Id go for a more rich opening, even if its only slightly so.

The colle is certainly playable but it is much too passive... you get to play this sort of material as black when defending but never as white. If you have the first move then you might as well take advantage of that by being mroe ambitious. I personally don't like it as black can equalize, and that's the entire goal for the 2nd player. This is exactly why nobody 2200+ uses it unless one would like to "quick draw."

It would useful if someone or 2 would use game scores to illustrate (or refute) the points being made. Would Prie, Palliser, the author of Zuke 'em & The Phoenix agree? The discussion is superficial, so far, IMHO :-). !

I've recently had 3 games as black versus the colle against players of about the same rating. 2 draws and 1 win (and the win was mainly due to a mistake on my opponents part) so I will agree with the previous comments and say that I also find it passive and easy to play against. 

I think having the Colle as part of your repertoire is more than fine, even up to a pretty high level.  I think having the Colle as your repertoire is a mistake, even for a developing player...and that's the way it gets sold to beginners, as a kind of panacea.

As a solution for what to do against 1.d4 d5, it's not bad, even if it's extremely predictable.  I don't think it's much less ambitious than, say, the exchange Lopez.

What it has going for it is this...after d4d5, it's aggressive and successful against random crap by black...and it's equal but with a concrete plan against good play by black.

I feel like it's best abandoned against the Indians and Dutchies, and I feel like you need to be willing to consider a belated c4 against early bishop movers and sneaky Grunfelders.  But it's not a horrible replacement for the QG lines if for whatever reason you hate playing them.

Have a look at some of the attacks produced by Edgard Colle and you will change your mind. The Greek gift is often played and the dark-squared bishop gets out eventually.

Anyway, it is the semi-slav a move up, so surely it is at least as good as that very well respected opening...

The semi-Slav is a fine defense, but if the numbers were reversed, and white scored with it what black scores with it, it would be considered unplayable junk.  That's because it takes a solid foundation, then counter-punches against aggressive, initiative-seizing moves by white.

What's true for black is not always true for white.

The Colle probably is at least that good for white, but that's not a very high bar to get over, is all I'm saying.  And I say this as a defender of the Colle as a playable opening.

PROS: Safe and sound. A lot less theory to deal with than if you play the QGD instead, esp since your uncooperative opponents may play an Indian or Dutch Defense vs 1.d4 instead of 1...d5. An OK opening for OTB or Live Chess if you know what you're doing. 

CONS: A lot less theory in this case means Black has several ways to equalize without breaking a sweat and in some lines may even end up with better winning chances than White. Like the KIA it's what I'd call a "dead end" opening unlike the QG which leads to all sorts of different openings, systems and variations to deal with ie QGA, QGD Orthodox Defenses (Lasker, Tartakower, Exchange Var etc); Slav and Semi-Slav Defenses, Tarrasch Defense and QGA.

The only way to know about it for sure is to play it yourself, no one else is likely to predict your results with it or whether or not you'll like playing it.

I used to play the Colle System in tournaments. This was after I had read
a book on the Colle System by George Koltanowski. An excellent book.
It teaches you the basics of the Colle System.

The Colle System can also transpose into the Stonewall Attack after playing f4 later on.

Best Regards
DarthMusashi

Play colle only against a black setup including ...e6.

One commentator says the Colle is not played by chessists < 2200+. Isn't that the vast majority of players?! (By the way, has anyone ever seen an estimate of the gross number of chess players by, say, 100 Elo or 500 Elo or some such?It would be a useful, even if a wildly guestimate-ish figure.) 

"One commentator says the Colle is not played by chessists < 2200+."

Possibly that is a typo or an accidental misstatement by that commentator.  It seems likely he meant to say "greater than 2200".

I used to play it heavily.  Since the London got more popular people are better prepared against the Colle than they used to be.   It is still one of my openings and definitely a good go-to opening.  

At a low level it is great.  Unless your opponent is super aggressive or come out of the opening with your pieces developed and in a good position.  You often have a good kingside attack so you have a plan for the middle game.  That's not at all bad for a beginner... a decent development, a middlegame plan and hard to screw up.  

At a medium level you likely have to know quite a few alternatives and start to book up a bit.  But that's the same in any opening.  So for example you need to know when to play b3 and when not to...   Mover order starts to become much more important as well since your opponent often knows what you intend and has counter plans.   

I'm not at a high level.   I think the theory here hasn't changed much.  The kingside attack often doesn't work and you end up with a queenside pawn majority vs. blacks kingside pawn majority and draw.   I hope to have problems where my middlegame play becomes good enough that my opening choice dictates my endgame pawn structure.  But I'm not there yet so no personal advice. 

Has FM1127 been here since 2013?

i think you throw away your first move advantage but on the other hand im learning the larsen right now which can transpose in a zuckertort colle soooo