English Chess Forum

Hi all.
I need your help and advice please.
I was wandering what the best reply against 1.h4 is.
Brett Lund from Preston Chess Club has played this opening a couple of times against me and I have lost.
I have tried 1.Nf6 and g6 which seem to make matters worse because it encourages h5.
I have thought about playing 1.e5, however white can then play a4 and after the black's reply of d5, white then plays c4 and it transposes into the Global Opening.
I have been informed that when Brett plays for Spirit of Atticus in the 4NCL he mostly plays the English Opening.
I have beaten Brett a few times with Black by playing the King's Indian Defence against his English which I would like to post sometime in the future.
A couple of people have told me that the best reply against 1.h4 is for black to play 1.h5.
Is this true?
Many thanks.
Simon.

Simon Rogers wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 12:51 pm

I have thought about playing 1.e5, however white can then play a4 and after the black's reply of d5, white then plays c4 and it transposes into the Global Opening.

I'm not sure that you need to be so worried about that.

The books are only too vague when it comes to meeting 1 h4 ....

It seems to me however that if you know that your opponent will meet 1...e5 with 2 a4 d5 3 c4, then that is how you should play - Black is doing well after any of 3...c6, 3..d4 or 3..dxc4 here, but 3...dxc4 looks the most likely to punish, maybe you can follow up with ...Be6, Nc6-b4/d4.

(Personally, I think 1 h4 e5 2 d4 is the best way to go. I once beat a 2400-odd player at blitz on Lichess with this and he was so disgusted that he let his time run out at the end).

The one thing you don't play is 1...g6, I would have thought. Almost anything else is good.

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 1:35 pm

(Personally, I think 1 h4 e5 2 d4 is the best way to go. I once beat a 2400-odd player at blitz on Lichess with this and he was so disgusted that he let his time run out at the end).

Somebody took a game off me with 1 d4 a5, because I immediately resigned rather than waste my time with anything further

A bit far, no? He might have been intending to transpose to a playable line in the Kings Indian defence. Worth waiting to see whether he does something like that rather than, say, 2..Ra7, I would have thought.

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 9:43 pm

A bit far, no? He might have been intending to transpose to a playable line in the Kings Indian defence.

There was that remarkable Jon Speelman game from the 1994 Olympiad where after 4 moves, they reached a position where White had plausibly played four moves and Black one.

I think it went something like this

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. f3 d5 4. e5 Ng8

[SetUp "1"] [FEN "rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3pP3/3P4/5P2/PPP3PP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5"]

Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:31 pm

There was that remarkable Jon Speelman game from the 1994 Olympiad where after 4 moves, they reached a position where White had plausibly played four moves and Black one.

Although if the move 5.f3-f2 were legal, White might well play it.

The position turns out to be quite popular. According to online Chessbase, Jon is the only 2600 player to have tried it with Black, but his opponent is one of three to have lost from there with White.

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:55 pm

Somebody took a game off me with 1 d4 a5, because I immediately resigned rather than waste my time with anything further

It occurred in David Howell v Daniel Fernandez, 4NCL 2014. Howell took it seriously and won in 63 moves.

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 1:35 pm

The books are only too vague when it comes to meeting 1 h4 ....

It seems to me however that if you know that your opponent will meet 1...e5 with 2 a4 d5 3 c4, then that is how you should play - Black is doing well after any of 3...c6, 3..d4 or 3..dxc4 here, but 3...dxc4 looks the most likely to punish, maybe you can follow up with ...Be6, Nc6-b4/d4.

(Personally, I think 1 h4 e5 2 d4 is the best way to go. I once beat a 2400-odd player at blitz on Lichess with this and he was so disgusted that he let his time run out at the end).

Thank you Jonathan.