The English is a sophisticated opening which is very popular at all levels of chess: from up-and-coming players to World Champions such as Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik. It has many attractions, including flexibility and diversity: White can play either aggressively or quietly, and positions are rich in both strategy and tactics.
In Play the English, Craig Pritchett provides an active repertoire for White, offering answers to Black’s key defences both in the main lines and sidelines. Drawing upon his wealth of experience in this opening from both sides of the board, Pritchett highlights the positional and tactical ideas for White and Black, and the subtle move-order nuances so important in the modern game. This book contains all you need to know to play the English with confidence in your own games.
About the Author
Craig Pritchett is an International Master and a former Scottish champion who has represented his country on top board in numerous Chess Olympiads. He’s the long-time chess correspondent of The Glasgow Herald and is currently Schools Chess Development Director for Chess Scotland. He wrote a landmark first book on the Sicilian Scheveningen in the late 1970s.
Reviews
“I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the life of a chess player at the sharp end of his profession. The game annotations are usually light and anecdotal; it’s definitely a book one can really enjoy reading.”
— Marsh Towers
“Play the English is a book that will be useful for players of a variety of strengths. Pritchett writes well and is good at explaining the various plans for both sides. The lines he advocates are likely to hold up for a long time – there is no ultra sharp quick knockout stuff that can be refuted by a single sharp move. Though the title is Play the English those who open with 1.Nf3 and 2.c4 will find much of it useful.” — John Donaldson