Chess: The Colle System

The Colle System was introduced by the Belgian Edgard Colle in the 1920s.  You don’t often see it played, but see if you like it.

White’s typical plan is as follows, without having to worry much about what Black is up to:

This formation:

(a)    is easy to remember – you don’t have to think too much!

(b)    is not an exciting and attacking opening, but it is a solid one - it’s difficult for Black to break through

(c)    allows white to spring into action by pushing the pawn to e4 and moving the Knight on d2 out into the battlefield.

The reason this is called a system is that White can position their pieces exactly like this almost without thinking about what Black does.