HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING
Author: Anatoly Karpov
Batsford (2007)
www.anovabooks.com
191 pages
$20.95

Reviewed by Jeremy Silman

Though I'm a huge Karpov fan, my initial feeling when receiving this book (and giving it a quick once over) was disappointment. To me, it seemed like a bunch of games that didn't offer detailed instruction or in-depth recent theory. I put the book aside and promptly forgot about it, until one day HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING magically found its way onto my desk (no doubt Hilda, the world's most efficient cleaning lady, wisely decided that it deserved a better home than my floor).

Seeing this as an omen, I cracked it open and took a closer look. And, four hours later, I was in love with HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING. However, be warned: Karpov's book isn't a serious theoretical tome like ENGLISH …e5 by Raetsky & Chetverik or THE SYMMETRICAL ENGLISH by Carsten Hansen. It's also not a basic explanation of the opening – that kind of thing has been done before in STARTING OUT: THE ENGLISH by McDonald and CHESS EXPLAINED: THE ENGLISH OPENING by Franco. And I should also warn the reader that HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING isn't a repertoire book like the very popular THE DYNAMIC ENGLISH by Kosten.

So what is HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING? It's a collection of 30 highly instructive games on the English, 17 of which were played by Karpov (he presents games that he won and lost, and shows how he handled the opening from both white's side and black's).

Let's see what Karpov has to say in his foreword:
"Be assured that a careful study of the presented games will be more beneficial for mastering the English Opening than the blind memorization and learning by rote of different variations and schemes. As a result you will be able to penetrate deep into the opening and discover its close connection with the middlegame and even the endgame. You will discover strategical plans of struggle, learn some technical devices, and trace the development of various ideas in this opening."

Still, all this was apparent to me when I first glanced at it -- so why the change of heart? Because once you get away from the PR, you realize that the chosen games ARE extremely instructive, with quite a few thematic English Opening themes illustrated in clear, very entertaining fashion. But there's something more. In some way, the book feels very personal, as if Karpov is sharing a bit of himself via his love for both sides of 1.c4. Several battles vs. Kasparov are presented, and show us the mix of dynamics and deep positional ideas that make this opening so attractive. And in game 16, we see Kramnik wipe Karpov off the board in a demonstration of amazing subtlety. Clearly, Karpov appreciated the 14th World Champion's strategic virtuosity, since he fills the notes of that game with many other Kramnik examples.

When all is said and done, the reader that wishes to study this rich and fascinating opening for either side is advised to pick up a serious theoretical tome if they are rated 1900 or above. And if you're 1200 to 1800, the STARTING OUT or CHESS EXPLAINED English books are most likely the way to go (though I must say that THE DYNAMIC ENGLISH is a fantastic stand alone repertoire book if you wish to make this your system of choice). Once you decide that you are really into the English (or wish to find an anti-English system, or simply want to improve your understanding of dynamic positional chess), you can gain tremendous pleasure and knowledge by reading Karpov's excellent HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING.

Highly recommended for players from 1400 to Grandmaster. 

Click to buy (or get more information about): HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING

Other recommended books on the English are:

ENGLISH ...e5 by Raetsky & Chetverik ($22.95)

STARTING OUT: THE ENGLISH by McDonald ($16.95)

THE SYMMETRICAL ENGLISH by Carsten Hansen ($22.95)

THE DYNAMIC ENGLISH by Kosten ($19.95)

CHESS EXPLAINED: THE ENGLISH OPENING by Franco ($18.95)