Meeting the English: A Dynamic Repertoire for Black — GM Mahammad Muradli
The English Opening can be like a Sicilian with an extra tempo, and White usually spends that tempo on comfort. Develop quietly, keep the centre fluid, wait to see how Black commits, and only then choose a plan. The whole appeal of 1.c4 is that White gets to be patient while Black reacts.
GM Mahammad Muradli's repertoire is built to take that comfort away. From the opening moves, Black becomes the side asking the questions — either out-waiting White with a quiet finesse, or forcing an immediate confrontation in the centre. The tempo may belong to White, but the initiative does not.
Two ways to seize the initiative
Everything begins with 1...e5, and the repertoire has two faces. Against the fianchetto with 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2, Muradli likes the rare 3...h6!?, a waiting move that takes the g5-square from White's dark-squared bishop and keeps several Black setups in reserve. Black declines to commit until White reveals a plan, then reacts to it precisely.
Against the main 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3, the character changes completely. Instead of the routine 3...Nc6, Black plays the ambitious 3...e4!?, chasing the knight to g5 and complicating from the very first moves.
The point is the follow-up 4.Ng5 c6!, preparing ...d5 to seize the centre and, in several lines, offering a pawn. White can accept the material, but the cost is quick Black development and immediate pressure. Throughout, Muradli shows exactly when Black should hold the centre, when to sacrifice, and when to open the position.
Map of variations
1.c4 e5
2.Nf3 and rare second moves → Chapter 1
2.d3 / 2.Qc2 (reversed Sicilian) → Chapter 2
2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 h6!?
- 4.a3 and rare fourth moves → Chapter 3
- 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 and other sidelines → Chapter 4
- 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e4 (potential reversed Rossolimo structures) → Chapter 5
- 4.Nf3 (White's main direction) → Chapter 6
2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3
- 3.a3 and occasional options → Chapter 7
- 3.e3 (preparing d2-d4) → Chapter 8
- 3.g3 c6!? 4.d4 → Chapter 9
- 3.g3 c6!? 4.Nf3 d5!? 5.Nxe5 → Chapter 10
- 3.g3 c6!? 4.Nf3 d5!? 5.cxd5 → Chapter 11
3...e4!? 4.Ng5 c6!
- 5.d3 and other rare tries → Chapter 12
- 5.Qa4 (stopping ...d5, the c6-pawn will be pinned) → Chapter 13
- 5.Ngxe4 Nxe4 6.Nxe4 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Nc3 → Chapter 14
- 8.Ng3 → Chapter 15
Premium Course Features
This is a Modern Chess Premium course, built as a complete training system:
- 15 chapters
- 30 test positions
- 5 training positions
- Memory Booster
- To-Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
Rounding out Black's arsenal
Muradli has already given Black clear answers to different options from White. His A Complete Anti-Catalan Repertoire - 4...c5 meets the Catalan head-on, and The Dynamic Anti-Reti - 2...c5 handles 1.Nf3. Together with this course, they let Black face 1.c4, 1.Nf3, and the Catalan with the same fighting spirit and a consistent, active philosophy.
Get the course
If you want to meet the English on your own terms and play for the initiative from move one, this repertoire gives you the ideas and the concrete lines to do it. Add Meeting the English: A Dynamic Repertoire for Black to your collection and start solving the 1.c4 problem for good.