TacticForge

Chapter 1 of 7

6.Be3 and the English Attack

After 5…Qc7 6.Be3 a6 Black is ready for anything. Against quiet development, …Nf6 and …Bb4 hit e4; against the English Attack with Qd2, f3 and long castling, …b5 starts the race on the queenside at once.

6.Be3 is White's most popular move against the Taimanov at club level. The bishop defends the knight on d4 and, with Qd2 and O-O-O, prepares the English Attack, White's sharpest plan against every Sicilian.

Black answers with 6…a6 and 7…Nf6, and the rest depends on where White's king goes. If White castles short with Be2, the bishop comes to b4 and pins the knight that defends e4. If White castles long, Black's pawns are already halfway to the white king: …b5, …Bb7 and …b4. Against 7.Bd3, a modern idea: …h5 and …Ng4, hitting the bishop on e3.

At a glance

7.Be2

…Nf6, and after 8.O-O, …Bb4. Castle once e4 is under pressure.

7.Qd2 or 7.f3

…Nf6, then …b5 and …Bb7. If White castles long, …b4 hits the knight on c3.

7.Bd3

…Nf6, and after 8.O-O, …h5 and …Ng4.

Key ideas

The Taimanov set-up

Four moves that suit every system: …e6, …Nc6, …Qc7 and …a6. The queen stops e5, the pawn on a6 keeps White's knights off b5, and the bishop on f8 waits to see whether b4, d6 or e7 is best.

Pin the defender of e4

The knight on c3 is the only piece defending e4. …Bb4 pins it, so …Nxe4 becomes a threat, and White has to spend a move holding the pawn.

Race on the queenside

When White castles long, Black's attack starts with moves already played: …a6 and …b5. Next comes …b4 to drive the knight from c3 and win the e4 pawn, or open lines against the king.

From history

A pianist's variation

Mark Taimanov, born in Kharkiv in 1926, was a Soviet grandmaster and a concert pianist, who formed a piano duo with his first wife, Lyubov Bruk. He won the Soviet championship in 1956, ahead of Yuri Averbakh and Boris Spassky, and wrote a book on the system that carries his name.

Fischer's victim

In the 1971 Candidates quarterfinal in Vancouver, Taimanov lost to Bobby Fischer 6–0. The Soviet authorities stopped his salary and barred him from travelling abroad. The sanctions were lifted after Fischer beat Bent Larsen by the same score. Taimanov later wrote a book about the match, How I Became Fischer's Victim.

Why "English"?

The set-up with Be3, f3, Qd2 and O-O-O is called the English Attack because English grandmasters, Murray Chandler, John Nunn and Nigel Short, made it popular against the Sicilian in the 1980s.

The lines

Click a move or use the arrows. Highlighted moves carry a note, and under each note you'll find the other moves played from that position, including the tempting mistakes. The number under the board is Stockfish's evaluation from your side: minus means your opponent is better.

Find a line: this chapter by moves

White plays 6.Be3

The main line: 7.Be2 Nf6 8.O-O Bb4

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Step through the moves with the arrows, or click a move.

White plays 7.Qd2

The English Attack: 7.Qd2 and 9.O-O-O

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Step through the moves with the arrows, or click a move.

White plays 7.Bd3

7.Bd3: …Nf6 and …h5

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Step through the moves with the arrows, or click a move.

White plays 7.f3

7.f3

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Step through the moves with the arrows, or click a move.

A model game

Games between masters, with the engine's evaluation under the board.

From the final of the 2000 FIDE World Championship in Tehran, which Viswanathan Anand won 3½–½. Anand reaches this chapter's main line with 8…Bb4 by another move order. Alexei Shirov gives up the exchange to open Black's king, but Anand's rooks take over the open files.

FIDE World Championship · 0-1

Shirov, Alexei – Anand, Viswanathan, 2000

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Step through the moves with the arrows, or click a move.

Take these into your games

Watch where White's king goes

Against short castling, put pressure on e4 with …Nf6 and …Bb4. Against long castling, push the queenside pawns without delay.

Keep e5 under control

The queen on c7 stops e5. Before moving her, check that White cannot push the pawn and kick the knight from f6.