The English Defense

In the 1970s, a group of strong English players (especially Miles, Speelman, Keene and later Short) developed a slightly unusual opening starting after the moves 1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6. Just like in the Grünfeld or Alekhine Defense, Black gives up the center. But instead of provoking pawn advances by moving the knights early, he wants to bring his bishops into play first (most often on the b7 and b4 squares). This approach contradicts the orthodox development rule (knight before bishop), but isn't it better to bring out a few pieces instead of using up a lot of tempi to provoke with the knight?! The original nature of the game and the good preparation on the part of the grandmasters mentioned above ultimately earned this setup recognition as the English Defense. This opening, which is still quite young and unexplored, has recently attracted some top players (Morozevich, Ponomariov, Mamedyarov) who have used it successfully in their games. In his latest DVD, GM Dejan Bojkov from Bulgaria examines this line in detail and provides you with all the information you need to succeed with the English Defense, embedding typical positional and tactical ideas in comprehensive theoretical knowledge. Video time: 5 hrs 9 mins (English)