English Defense

1...b6 prepares the fianchetto of the queen's bishop, aiming at e4 and the long diagonal before Black commits the kingside. The move order keeps ...e6, ...Nf6, ...Bb4 and ...Bb7 available in different combinations. The English Defense (often spelled English Defense) is also commonly defined by 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6. The 1...b6 order is popular at club level, where some players treat 1...b6 and 2...Bb7 as an all-purpose system.

The most frequent reply is 2. c4, which keeps a Queen's Gambit setup and prepares e4. 2. Nf3 can lead into a Queen's Indian Defense, and 2. Bf4 is almost as common. After 2. e4 the game becomes Owen's Defense. Engines give White a slight edge and also rate 2. e4 and 2. Nc3 highly. In practice the results are fairly close, and draws are unusually rare.

The typical structure arises once Black adds ...e6 and White occupies the center with c4 and e4. Black's play is hypermodern. The bishop on b7 and a check or pin from b4 put pressure on e4, ...f5 strikes at the center from the side, and ...Qh4 is sometimes used as well. The Perrin Variation, 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. e4 Bb7 4. Bd3 Nc6, sends the knight toward b4 to eliminate White's light-squared bishop, for example 5. Ne2 Nb4 6. Nbc3 Nxd3+ 7. Qxd3. The gambit lines are sharper. The Poli Gambit, 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. e4 Bb7 4. f3 f5 5. exf5 Nh6, gives up a pawn so the knight can come to f5. The Hartlaub Gambit, 1. c4 e6 2. d4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 f5, can be accepted with 5. exf5 Nf6 or declined with 5. d5. In the Eastbourne Gambit, 1. d4 b6 2. c4 Bb7 3. Nc3 e5, Black offers the e-pawn at once. If White avoids e4, for instance with 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Nf6, the game turns into a ...b6 form of the Nimzo-Indian.

Bird, Breyer, Nimzowitsch and Réti played early examples, but the opening was seldom seen in master play before the Second World War. P. N. Wallis of Leicester explored it around 1950. In the 1970s English players such as Tony Miles and Raymond Keene took it up. Korchnoi used it to win game 6 of his 1977 Candidates semi-final against Polugaevsky at Évian. It remains rare at grandmaster level, often as a surprise choice by players such as Short, Morozevich, Nakamura, Grischuk and Rapport. Speelman, Kengis and Georg Meier have used it most regularly.