The main difference between the Reti and the English?

[Kevin O'Rourke]

The main difference between the Reti and the English?

Would someone care to explain the obvious or main difference between these 2 openings please as I seem to get them confused or merged more often than not. Is it simply down to move order?

Thanks

[Matthew Turner]

Well the English is 1. C4 and the Reti is 1. Nf3 d5. 2. C4. If in the English Black intended to play d5 (after say e6 or c6) and White intended to play Nf3 then the two lines would lead to the same thing. The Reti simply takes out some possibilities for both sides.

[Paul Dargan]

English players who don't intend to play Reversed Dragon set-ups or don't fancy reversed closed sicilian/grand prix structures often choose 1Nf3 to avoid c4 e5 options for Black - but of course they cut-out some of their own options too

Paul

[Roger de Coverly]

please as I seem to get them confused or merged more often than not. Is it simply down to move order?

You can reach the same positions from different move orders. If you wanted to regard as a Reti everything that had a Knight on f3 and Black not playing .. e5 early on and an English as everything else, that would be a way of looking at it. Positions where both c4 and c5 had been played might normally be regarded as English, where they didn't transpose back into Queens Gambit or Kings Indian territory.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Well the English is 1. C4 and the Reti is 1. Nf3 d5. 2. C4. If in the English Black intended to play d5 (after say e6 or c6) and White intended to play Nf3 then the two lines would lead to the same thing. The Reti simply takes out some possibilities for both sides.

That is the original more restricted definition of the Reti Opening, but most people count 1 Nf3 2 g3 setups these days as well?

[Nick Burrows]

I would have said 1.Nf3 2.g3 is more generally the KIA - that sometimes transposes into a Reti

[Matt Mackenzie]

Though in those lines c4 can be delayed for some time, which can give the game a rather different character from it being punted on move 2.