The English Opening - Chess Openings Explained

[@anzsai]

Flower to e4 is such a strong move

[@smokeandmirrors-pk6ic]

No 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀💀

[@sparetime4914]

Once the flowers were placed I thought to myself, this comment section is going to be good.

[@ItsFuckinLoona]

Lmao same

[@newfahlstrom]

lmao

[@jackostripes5452]

WTF!!!! LOL

[@badrouchaib6153]

Hhahhahahhah

[@robsmalls9656]

At first I thought the flowers were some sort of joke Then, I realized WTF!!

[@Zaitann]

Everyone is complaining about the flowers but they couldn't move earlier since there was a pin on them by the bishop on G2.

[@jaywolfenstien]

I hate you. =)

[@randomexplorer81]

hahahaha 🤣

[@user-cj8bh3eo2p]

Lol

[@modernhippie2356]

Thats good. Hahahs

[@scooter229]

Zaitann, your profession should be professional KZbin commenter.

[@MrDajove]

Who the hell puts the flowers right there at the beginning and why doesn't he remove them immediately lol.

[@Abrasjefen]

+Jesse Donovan Haha, that was awsome. I REALLY hope it's on purpose. My kind of humor. "Just pretend it's not there, it's gonna be awsome funny!"

[@bigbrother5024]

+Jesse Donovan My guess: Ben Finegold was playing a joke on his in-house competition. Watch out for Jonathan's reply in Ben's next video :-)

[@tomsmith4452]

+Abrasjefen lmaoooo it was totally on purpose .. he even says it :D .. "enough of that now" as he removes it :D:D..

[@porters.5811]

I guess he's just not a beard guy. ;)

[@kydadon1529]

ɷɷ Heeyy Frienddsss I Have F0und W0rikinggggg Online Hacck visitttt : - t.co/zT7HPLXzPx

[@whuwhaaa2]

Literally 10 seconds into the video and i'm on the floor laughing. Who's bright idea was it to put the flowers there LMAO. I've never laughed this much at a chess video. 4 minutes in and he finally moves it. I'm dead lol.

[@jacobstaton99]

Ok

[@MrAlexBash]

im glad someone else has the same stupid sense of humour as me xD

[@nickfazzio5277]

I seriously just laughed uncontrollably all by myself for about 4 straight minutes. That flower move was too much!!!

[@setashua2327]

Right, it's too much laughter for a chess video !

[@ChilliPlantOwner]

It was amusing, but I can’t imagine it made your arse fall off. I’d sue if it is the case.

[@lemmingbcn]

Schrantz just refutes the dangerous Flowers Gambit in the English by the move "Enough of that..." (2 exclamation marks!).

[@douwehuysmans5959]

As recommended by Ben Finegold

[@randomexplorer81]

lol

[@michaelroditis1952]

hahahahaha Best comment ever (!!)

[@LFSPharaoh]

He wasn’t phased, he could see right through that pin haha

[@CONCIOUS19]

😂

[@VizualDK]

i've been studying the flora gambit my whole life and never have I seen such a brilliant display of confidence in the opening, you absolutely took advantage of the misplaced piece, and disregarded the attack, waiting to make your capture when the time was right.

[@evanjohnson4559]

Great lecture on the flowers gambit declined. Solid performance.

[@smokeandmirrors-pk6ic]

💀💀💀💀

[@davydawgdawg]

He wasted no time in blocking his entire face with flowers.

[@KanjoosLahookvinhaakvinhookvin]

David Holden very poor positional weakness

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

🌸🌸🙂🌸🌸

[@cdorresteijn]

He was glad to have two people in the room. Bet he never expected this video to have over 500k views seven years later.

[@zachhaywood1564]

Yep, before the chess boom of 2020. That room would probably be a lot fuller now.

[@Jarib79]

That flower is extremely knowledgeable in the english opening variations. I'm impressed.

[@spassthd8406]

6:00 How can he develop a knight? What about bishop takes on D5???

[@cpt.battlecock5264]

I guess its because white loses tempo.

[@cpt.battlecock5264]

But after analyzing through chess com that is the best move if

[@samarendrapani9913]

Yup. That was a piece blunder.

[@jonathanfield7250]

My guess is because the light-square bishop is super powerful in the English, he doesn't want to trade it for the queen so early, or it takes away a lot of later control for those light-squares. I could be off though.

[@ss9392]

@@jonathanfield7250 wtf no man unless there is positional or tactical compensation with a winning advantage a piece won is a piece won

[@siwalekunda]

The fact that they still went ahead and uploaded the flower to KZbin...get me that subscribe button.

[@augustsbautra]

Fun fact, the "player you have never heard of" at 21:20 is the current Minister of Economy of Latvia.

[@roumi123]

+Augusts Bautra lol ! for real?

[@thimojansen5136]

+Augusts Bautra who cares latvia is some shitty african country right ?

[@roumi123]

Thimo Jansen are you from Texas ?

[@thimojansen5136]

roumi123 Nope

[@roumi123]

Thimo Jansen how come?

[@glenhoffman4035]

At 5:58, after Nc6, isn't the Knight on d5 hanging? I think you are supposed to play Nb6 now and only play Nc6 after that.

[@gxtmfa]

No one showed? Well, damn- we’re here and we appreciate you for it!

[@AndrewBackhouse1]

For the record at 5:58 black is just losing a piece if he develops the knight on b8. Engine says +3.42 with no compensation. The correct move is Nb6 or Nxc3.

[@anjobee5798]

+Andrew Backhouse I agree he's gonna lose the knight

[@DanyIsDeadChannel313]

He made a mistake about that , I was looking too for that, also try not to use engine and use your brain and your ideas, cause in chess your point of view matters the most ,(but that doesn't mean it's great) and you have to gain more knowledge.

[@AndrewBackhouse1]

I noticed it without using an engine, then later checked before commenting as I'm not a master.

[@DanyIsDeadChannel313]

Andrew Backhouse never doubt yourself, trust your intuition. you can verify yourself but never underestimate yourself as long as you know you need to learn more

[@duckatheduck4566]

Andrew Backhouse yes never verify your suspicion with the engine. Blindly trust your intuition always.

[@QweRty-sc3ct]

wtf flower wants to have exposure .

[@fess04]

huh?....I thought tht was a gag.............the flower

[@porkchopexpress6969]

fess04 j

[@jackdajackichun175]

The plant is an amazing chess GM. I did not know that flowers could play such advanced chess. Are trees btw. able to beat computers?

[@gm2407]

They know all the branches.

[@jackdajackichun175]

@@gm2407 noice

[@mogulist10]

This is the funniest video I’ve watched in awhile

[@thefightguy5220]

Those flowers are amazing

[@markbroe423]

Great video. It's funny, the opening i play most with white is the English and the French with black and you hit them back to back. Would love to hear your analysis of the Budapest.

[@GamePerFrame]

I love how he hangs his knight in the beginning with Nc6, instantly plays Nf3 THEN Nb6 but after Nc6?? Nxd5 wins a piece, therefore first Nb6 is suggested ;) Remember your move orders buddy!!

[@BrendanClune]

Came for this

[@GamePerFrame]

@@BrendanClune 😀

[@runronnierun7213]

@33:49 Queen to E3

[@KF1]

33:50 what's the fastest mate? I see queen to e3, #1!

[@michaelroditis1952]

He probably doesn't think good under pressure..

[@KF1]

@@michaelroditis1952 Very few people do.

[@jameschurch2441]

Rook to e5# as well

[@MusicPlaylistsChannel]

@@jameschurch2441 King eats the pawn, not the fastest way then

[@aileann6548]

What about Qg4 then ?

[@georghahn338]

Dana Reizniece-Ozola a guy you have never heard of? Haha, for your information, Jonathan: this lady at the last chess Olympiad won against women's world champion Hou Yi Fan, and besides her excellence in chess she is also Minister of Finance in her home country Latvia!

[@eugenejoeseph4658]

that’s cool

[@spud2125]

The flower banter is soo good

[@Tompsf1]

4:20 1st instructional game (from 1968), not for latest theory but because it’s a nice game played by white. 21:16 2nd instructional game, from black’s pov. 34:45 3rd instructional game 48:16 Completed watching.

[@adubatta3420]

Tom Lau thanks

[@amosdraak3536]

TY!!

[@youtubistas]

The flower attack opening. The reverse colour sicilian with a pink touch. The greek 'flower' gift gambit.

[@cogybear]

Thought it was a monty python sketch when the flowers appeared but he just kept talking like the flowers weren’t fronting him.. it’s like they’re saying ‘I’m bigger than you chess boy, imma stand here n take your limelight, watch a gonna do.’ Nothing. You’ll do nothin chess boy

[@MrTheDif]

That poinsettia dominated the opening!

[@RationalThinker1859]

What lovely lovely flowers! I'd say flower to c4, immediately putting pressure on the flower guarding e3. This is standard when playing the Florist's Gambit. Red declines the gambit by playing flower to c4, attacking the c4 flower. And a then yellow flower continues with development.

[@charlesbedard3043]

33:52 When you wondered what's the fastest way, queen E3 checkmate in 1 .......

[@WalyB01]

Jonathan is the best! He should start streaming.

[@georget2063]

Forced mate at 33:41 would be Rg3 Kf2 Qh2 and then either Kf1 or Ke1 is met with Rg1 mate.

[@chessandmathguy]

That works. Faster is Qg3 then Qe3#/Qg4#

[@_s_l]

Telling the ideas behind moves and main ideas of the opening instead of making us memorize all those moves like idiots is really great!!

[@itsink6754]

Well memorizing moves helps with knowing the best counter or move against your opponent in the v early of games. If you happen to play against someone who knows more about that opening than you do you might get put into traps and/or positions that make you lose

[@_s_l]

@@itsink6754 believe me.memorizing isn't gonna help you.the moment ur opponent decides to go for a infamous sideline or totally out of theory line,you are on your own and u need to know why the hell u played the moves u played and what are your plans in the position.basically u need to understand the position rather than memorizing the moves.

[@wizardaby3071]

@@_s_l well even if the opponent plays something sideline its still a win win for a prodigy person cause they just memorised a new strong move which they will probably research later in coming days so they again know the strongest move to that counter move ,I understand how you feel about people memorising the game but its the bitter truth of chess ,"the person with most memorising power and best end game skills rules the world of chess like Magnus does , Magnus literally remembers games that he played years ago when he was newcomer

[@mugbhary]

U don’t ve to ask anyone to subscribe ,, the content is so good that it’s an automatic option

[@ArchdukeJames]

I REALLY ENJOY THE SHOUTING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE VIDEO.

[@nothosaur]

c4 is explosive!

[@gm2407]

The most explosive opening in chess.

[@khytron06]

The floor is made out of floor

[@sunungukaimabhera7902]

What were the flowers meant to hide? They immediately gave him an allergy with a tempo! They were an absolute pin to his face.

[@johnaffleck6572]

verrry interresting. gave the impression I could play the English; which is pretty good trick, since i would actually get my ass kicked for sure. Seriously, very nice video.

[@dmaster20ify]

It's very very very instructive this video. And I especially like [40:43], where Sam Sevian had the option to win a pawn by giving up his dark squared bishop. I have been trying to improve my calculation skill, and have devised numerous philosophies to aid me. The idea of calculation being various roads that you must trod on to reach your destination, with road signs giving you a hint on the right route to use. I thought that in this situation, bishop takes knight was the correct road to turn on; but when grand master Jonathan Shranz said it was wrong and showed concrete variations I was shocked! Where am I going wrong in my evaluation functions. Is it that I needed to do more calculations, or is more instinctual judgement of Chess positions is what that needs improvement.

[@chessandmathguy]

He's not a grandmaster lol.

[@werners5191]

The thing I like about c4 is that as white, from move one, you dictate the opening - it's the English. While when opening with e4, your opponent can turn it into a Sicilian, French, Petroff, etc., and you are playing your opponent's game and he's probably more schooled on it than you are.

[@ZhuGeLiang6969]

yea right.. thats why i dont like e4 for white... since people like prepare 99% for that move.. and im not a high player, thats mean the black is not GM that knows all the tricks and trap and how to counter english..

[@rishitshah83]

@@ZhuGeLiang6969 English is great... The opening as well as the spelling 🗿

[@vitalydmtrysvidler8023]

i have to watch this video again , very instructive.

[@Znmann]

fantastic lecture Jonathan

[@MusikPiratCH]

Yasser is by far better! :P

[@jemir8012]

I hope you still making new videos because it really help a lot to us beginners. Thank you for the Nice video.

[@soulman71901]

He is like Wilson from "Home Improvement".Plant is just one way to hide the face :)

[@bilalkhares9337]

@5:58 isn't Nc6 a blunder because the knight on d5 is defended once but attacked twice so white could just take the knight?

[@goodteacher5815]

Same question on my mind. Came to comments section looking for an answer. Let me know too.

[@chriswilson1968]

Bg5 looks like a good move @ 13:00. If he blocks with Pf6 you go Qb3 check then maybe ideas of Rf7. If he takes with Ba4 then you take back on D8, he takes with Rd8 then you go Rc8 then you trade rooks and then you go Bc5 and attack the pinned bishop. Whichever choice black makes is good for us, kinda looks better if he takes on A4.

[@psychoreaper86]

In 33:49 isn't it check mate in one after Qe3?

[@MrDajove]

Qg4 too I think

[@matthieurouyer1826]

+psychoreaper86 I yelled the same thing at my computer screen :p

[@leventeadamszabo1914]

Aye, both Qe3 and Qg4 are checkmates in 1 move and it't funny how he's wondering: "what's the fastest way..." :)

[@jamesmanuelpardo6766]

Re5 too

[@stevenooms1366]

@@jamesmanuelpardo6766 Re5 leaves d4 undefended.

[@MrMartinmozz]

16:50 - 17:49 AMAZING series of moves!

[@SeanDaRyan]

that talking plant really helped my game

[@joshreji7510]

I don't tend to play this opening often but I frequently watch the start of this video jus for the flowers

[@matatmat]

if youre going to be a flower ventriloquist at least make it look like your lips aren't moving

[@troubledjoe6201]

Those flowers are actually his Royal Highness the Rangdo of Arg during mating season

[@tesla_was_cool9096]

at 14:52 why not just block with your queen? is there something i'm not seeing?

[@tomifaux]

+tesla_was_cool discovered attack on black's queen when white does Ng5+

[@tastybrain]

Great video! Learned a lot. One bit of advice. The camera change around the 34th minute was ill-advised. Otherwise, very useful information here. Thanks!

[@sophistschoice4431]

Thanks for another great vid - very helpful. If an opponent responds to the English opening with a semi-slav type structure, is it best to transition into a more 'main-line' attack and put the bishop on D3 (as opposed to the fianchetto)? Similarly, if an opponent can force an exchange (their dark square bishop for Knight on C3) AND double your pawns on the C file, do you generally abandon the English?

[@yalanyalan698]

Go Johnathan Schrantz! Heavily overlooked gambit king ;)

[@bid19123]

At 6m why did white not take the knight on D5? it was not protected

[@KT-dq6wv]

Slight mistake on 5:57. Knight is hanging, so it has to move to b6 before Nc6

[@oja60]

5:58 The presenter says Be6 is not very common today, instead black usually plays Nc6? That would immediately loose a piece right ? Nxd5 or Bxd5 ? What am I missing ?

[@DavidRodriguez-hh6kx]

Wow it's been four years since I studied chess and I lost 400 ELO. here we go again learning the basics of the english opening, thanks for the content!

[@nobodyelse-h6h]

did you go from 2400 to 2000 or from 401 to 1?

[@DavidRodriguez-hh6kx]

@@nobodyelse-h6h I think the lowest elo is 100

[@additionaddict5524]

5 years ago! Wow, thanks for the lessons

[@shubhuhack7119]

Your videos are very instructive

[@garagavia]

That flower gag got me :')

[@graybadger8894]

It is difficult to find info about how to play the English opening. It would be really nice if you could make a several part series on the English and how counter black's various defenses.

[@OwenRona]

At 19:43, I was hoping that white played Qf7+ winning Black’s Queen and either rook after

[@sumansaurabh1640]

I didn't understand why at 05:58 black plays Nc6? wouldn't white capture the Knight on d5 as it is only defended by the queen and attacked twice?

[@andsviat]

I'm pretty much sure that that joke (flowers in the beginning) was conceived by Finegold.

[@_s_l]

If u can do some more videos about english with great games.......that would be fantastic

[@chessanalysis64]

Brilliant , Thanks a lot Jonathan.

[@hadesofshadows3622]

My favorite opening with white by far, as it is way more unique and unpredictable. Opponent will most likely have less prep to this than u

[@No-oneInParticular]

Great video. Thanks so much xx

[@altgreven9211]

I would be interested in the queen´s gambit trade variation after 11.f3 from the white side. (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d5: d5: 5.Bg5 c6 (...Be7 is also possible) 6.Qc2 Be7 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 0-0 (im not sure what to do if he plays Nh5/Nf8) 9.Nge2 Re8 10.0-0 Nf8 11.f3! and we are in the starting position from the mainline. Im would like to learn how to push in the center while creating a pawn weakness. how the game could develop. and how i can expliot his pawn weakness. thx, alet

[@javiacedo3679]

Excellent video,thanks.

[@williams.1130]

Thought the flowers were a joke but I guess not. Or are they? If so, well played sir, well played. I like your commitment.

[@apreinders6673]

I can't understand, it is at 5:58 (the reversed Sicilian after c4-e5, Kc3-Kf6, g3-d5, cd5:-Kd5:). Why doesn't white just take the knight on d5? Am I missing something here?

[@aluminiumknight4038]

I think he confused the move order

[@chessandmathguy]

4:21 why does he do first name, last name for Mikhail Botvinnik, but reversed for Portisch? I should mention that other notable Hungarian players include Leko Peter and Polgar Judit.

[@AhPhoey]

@5:57 That hangs Black's knight, right? Am I missing something???

[@ss9392]

Yep the Knight hangs

[@azothfeaire6550]

Hey, I have a question. At the time 5:58 the white knight c3 takes black knight d5? I don't really understand if this is intentional?

[@null8295]

he made a blunder, the right move is Nb6 not Nc6

[@lorendisney5068]

A good start. I've noticed that white can get in trouble in the English when black plays c6. Why is that?

[@icelandtraveladventure]

It feels like the flower was an office prank. Strong move.

[@contactkeithstack]

Man that first game is incredible

[@thefluffypanda2]

Honestly, 4 years later and still, wtf dude with the flowers

[@danielrangel1241]

In 5:59 black develops a knight but isn’t that move a blunder cause the only piece protecting d5 is the queen?

[@MusikPiratCH]

In the Botwinnik-game Schrantz simply missed the move Qf7+ (when the Black king is on e7) winning the Black queen again! :P 5.Rb1 is Yasser Seirawan's trademark! xD

[@KevinMarasinghe]

Nice video, (love the inclusion of Botvinnik-Portisch) but false advertising! This video should be entitled "The Reverse Dragon" not "The English Opening". 95% of the English was left out...no closed systems, no symmetrical English, no 1....Nf6 systems.

[@Samuel-cu9vo]

5:58 why dont you just take the piece as white since the D5 knight has only one defender?

[@dsorangerpvpandpve]

I was hoping someone would explain this

[@rickberglund2134]

0:18 Yes! Poinsettia! Perfect..! This video wouldn’t have been the same without it..!!

[@SebastianVigl]

Instructing to see a chess instructor with an instructive game.. ;) I liked that lection very much..

[@Pain420]

5:56 Nc6 is not an option right? The knight on d5 would just be lost.

[@geovannig8849]

The red flowers gambit?

[@VaSavoir2007]

At 05:59, rather than Nf3 after black plays Nc6, I don't understand how Nd5 doesn't simply win black's knight.

[@angryspacemonky1720]

At 33:51 you missed Qg4 mate and thank you for the lesson

[@eriksonpanjaitan6927]

if my opponent opening 1.d2-d4 d7-d5 2.f2-f4 what is the good reply thanks

[@Komnenos1234]

No one shows up to his lecture. Lectures anyway. Simply the most savage man on the planet.

[@adamhasson8927]

What is the name of the song at the end of the video ?

[@SeanDaRyan]

what if black plays D5? whats the best move for white