The Elegant English doubles as a pro-level opening guide and a playbook of winning chess strategies — enabling you to climb the ranks faster. It’s based on a highly instructive variation in the English Opening (1.c4). And with Grandmaster Michael Roiz shedding light on its diverse tactical ideas and positional themes, you’ll come out of the course stronger and more well-rounded. The entire course is dedicated to the Four Knights, King’s Fianchetto system in the English Opening (1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3), whose close study can do wonders for your opening play. The Elegant English Part 2 covers all of Black’s responses after 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3, except for 2…Nf6 which was covered in the first course of the series. It’s the same system in the English where Roiz enjoys an 83% win rate versus club players and 2600-grandmasters.
Get the Elegant English part 1 here / Get the Elegant English part 2 here
Here are three reasons to take a deep dive into this variation:
🎩 If you play 1.c4, then you’re all but guaranteed to reap the rewards of Roiz’ analysis. That’s because the Four Knights, King’s Fianchetto is one of the most popular ways to play the English Opening. The moves leading up to 4.g3 are natural and easy to find — so players of all levels walk into the variation often.
🎩 It lowers your learning curve when building or expanding your opening repertoire as Black. The arising formation — with a c-pawn on the fourth rank, active knights, and a kingside fianchetto — is a mainstay in the Sicilian Dragon, Pirc, Benko Gambit, and other fighting defenses. So if you want to repurpose the tactics and strategies inside when playing Black, you can.
🎩 And… when you merge that same structure with White’s first-move advantage, securing positional plusses becomes easier while your attacks hit harder and faster.
But The Elegant English is more than just an exploration of a single opening variation.
Through his crystal-clear commentary and in-depth analysis — reaching 15 to 20 moves — Roiz explains how to snowball your promising start to an undeniable advantage in the middlegame and endgame.
You’ll discover:
🎩 How to cut off an enemy pawn from the rest of its crew — so you can pick it off at the most convenient time.
🎩 When to compromise your kingside structure in exchange for big-time positional gains on other parts of the board.
🎩 How to craft a harmonious, well-coordinated position by getting rid of your most passive piece.
🎩 The critical positions where you must part ways with your magnificent g2-bishop. PLUS, the standard plan to safeguard the squares it left behind.
🎩 Little tactics and one-move threats, which lead to long-term improvements in your position.
🎩 Aggressive pawn thrusts that shut the enemy bishop away from the action. It feels like you’re playing with an “extra piece.”
🎩 The “Transformers” Attack which reorganizes your bunker on the kingside into a mean attacking machine.
🎩 Pawn sacrifices which drag enemy pieces away from where they need to be… so you can invade their position without breaking a sweat.
🎩 How to stir up winning chances in a seemingly dead-even position, with equal material and a symmetrical pawn structure.
Here is a sneak peek of part 2 of the Elegant English:
🎩 Against an early …e5-e4 push, you’ll cut off the foot soldier from the rest of its buddies. So that after the desperate tactics have fizzled, you’d have the pawn and the compensation.
🎩 Against King’s Indian setups with 2…d6, you’ll waste no time in breaking through the center, and activating your pieces. Meanwhile, the second player must endure a huge hole on d6… a king that will never be safe… or even both.
🎩 Against the ambitious 2…f5, you’ll uncork a disruptive check to stop enemy aggression cold. So that you’d have all the time in the world to win the bishop pair or a healthy pawn.
🎩 Against the Rossolimo-style 2…Bb4, you’ll hit the exposed bishop with “tempo moves” which simultaneously grab space, and take firm control of the dark squares.
🎩 Against the Reversed Closed Sicilian with 2…Nc6, you’ll create a kingside majority which doubles as an endgame insurance — while your free-flowing bishops give you excellent attacking chances in the middlegame.
Plus, through 10 hours of video, Roiz draws your attention to the core variations and thematic ideas in every chapter. So even when the game drifts away from theory, you can reliably find the route to an advantage.
Get your copy of the the Elegant English here
