REVERSED OPENINGS some players enjoy playing White openings with the Black pieces (which leaves you with a tempo less) or Black openings with the White pieces (which leaves you with a tempo more). The English Opening (1.c4) becomes a reversed Sicilian (with a tempo more for White and a tempo less for Black) after 1...e5, 1.€3 e5 is a reversed French Defense, 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.0-0 €5 is a reversed King’s Indian Defense, 1.Nf3 d5 2.93 5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.04 is a reversed Griinfeld, and the list can go on and on. One reason to play a reversed opening is to steer the game into positions that you understand. For example, if you have mastered the King’s Indian Defense against 1.d4, why not play the same positions as White and make use of your knowledge and experience? To explore the philosophy of reversed openings in a deeper way, lets take a look at one and address its problems: After 1.c4 €5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 96 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Nf3 £5 we reach a popular position among players who are trying to win with the Black pieces (see diagram 86). The Opening / 103(English Opening that is actually a reversed Closed Sicilian) The position in the diagram is a well-known Sicilian position (known as the Closed Sicilian) with colors reversed. In the Closed Sicilian, White usually reaches the Black position here after 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 dG 6.f4 Nf6 7.Nf3. Though Spassky was successful with this opening many years ago, nowadays the whole White setup is considered to be rather insipid. Now we come to a strange thought. In the English Opening, Black plays this same position with a full tempo less (as the diagram shows) and tends to get excellent results! Why would a line that gives White nothing with an extra move be fine for Black, who is a move behind? This doesn’t make sense, does it? The answer, I believe, comes in two parts. First, the position after 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.93 96 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4 Nf6 7.Nf3 actually did give White many fine victories. The reason the Closed Sicilian lost its bite is that Black discovered a superior setup: 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.93 96 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.4 and now best, instead of 6...Nf6. is 6...e6! followed by 7...Nge7. This new positioning of the Black Knight allows him to stop White’s eventual f4-f5 advance (very important for White if he wants a successful kingside attack) with a well-timed ...f7-f5. This Knight can also help fight for the critical d4-square by joining its brother with ...Nd4 and ...Nec6. 104 / The Complete Book of Chess StrategyWhat this means is that, in our English position, White has peen tricked into adopting the “inferior” {3-square for his King Knight. This means that Black will be able to get in his ...f5-f4 advance and, as a result, will get reasonable chances against the white King. The other reason that Black likes this system (while White, playing the same position with a tempo more in the Sicilian, finds it unacceptable) is a bit more abstract. Basically, an opening that only leads to equality is not anything for White to crow about. However, if you use that same opening with the Black pieces and achieve that same equality, you should be absolutely delighted! The Opening / 105