Reti Opening: The Main Setup for White

How to play the Reti opening? How to get into the Reti opening? What is Reti system? What is the main feature of the Reti opening? Is the Reti opening good to play?

This is a proper guide into the Reti opening when Black uses the New York System or setup. The content you can find here is going to explain you the basic ideas, pawn-structure, main plan for White and Black, what is the Reti bishop and the Reti Queen, etc.

There are also transpositions into the King's Indian Attack in certain cases, so don't forget to check our videos related with that opening in order to properly form your opening repertoire.

Chapters in the video:
0:00 Introduction to the Reti
0:55 Two main setups
1:37 What we want in the Reti?
2:22 Recommended move order
3:30 Hidden tip and tricks
5:19 What if Black opts for ...Bd6?
5:53 The Nh4 idea
6:57 Middlegame & model games
12:40 Outro

#retiopening #retisystem #chessopenings

🔊 JOIN THE CONVERSATION

[Geelse_zot]

Great video! I had no idea about these thematic moves at all. I thought 1.Nf3 was a flexible move that would just transpose into other openings. You explained it very well.

[mikedee]

Very clear overview of this system giving the essentials without too much analysis.

[jaafars.mahdawi]

The Reti is the system i started playing chess with, so it's always nostalgic for me to watch such simple yet instructive explanations about it. Several other lines are worth exploring too, though. Good job, sir!

[lorenzozorrer]

Please bring more on the reti with Bg2 and Bb2! Different setups for black against the reti, How to deal with the "Navara gambit"... etc

[Ebobster]

Excellent explanation of move order nuances and middle game & endgame ideas

[oppieisme]

I have only recently started using the Reti. To say I have been studying this opening would be an understatement. That being said, this video is wonderful. Its very informative and you do an awesome job explaining the examples given. I will be watching more of your content. Thank you!

[rayr]

Very deep analysis for intermediate players. The game typically transposes into something else, such as King Indian or Reti Gambit when the black opponent is unfamiliar with the New York System you illustrate in this video. But this video is still good because it identifies what we want in the Reti including how to set up the queen bishop battery without having to position the queen at a1. The Reti is a useful opening for intermediate players for two reasons. 1. if things don't go according to plan, you haven't overcommitted your pawns or compromised King defense. 2. Intermediate opponents are not as familiar with offcenter opening. You sometimes notice a subtle pause by an opponent after your initial move. I learned to play in Afghanistan when I had alot of times on my hands but could never truly advance due to a lack of tutelage. These videos change that. It would seem that a high caliber black player would foresee the slow development of the double battery of the Reti and preemptively challenge the center while the Queen is in her dressing room over in the corner, but what do I know.

[eclecticexplorer]

I have been working on a repertoire for white beginning with 1. Nf3. Ordinarily, I see the Reti nomenclature after 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4, so I prefer to call it the Zukertort. I love the flexibility of it, and at my level (around 1400 right now), a lot of players don't know how to respond. I have not been using 4. d3, though, so I will have to spend some time with it and the analysis tool on Lichess to decide whether to use it, but I did find this content very helpful regardless of which way I go. Depending on what black plays, my second move will usually be g3, d4, or c4 (which is my response to 1... Nf6).

At my level, black is more likely to play either d5 or Nc3 as their first move, and this entire video was based on 1... Nf6, which is only used around 10-12% of the time. It can transpose to the same position after 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6, which is black's second most common choice for move 2 at around my level (after Nc6).

I should mention that I came to liking the Zukertort and to finding this channel when I was working on the Colle system sometime back. I have also referred others to the Colle and to your video on it. For that one, you began with 1. d4, whereas I was starting with 1. Nf3. Within a few moves, we would arrive at the same position most of the time, but I was facing opponents who were making moves inconsistent with my Colle system prep, so I took a more flexible approach to the Zukertort.

My main objective in these lines was to avoid such openings as the Sicilian, the Caro-Kann, the French, and the Queen's Gambit, all of which are very rich in theory, and those who use them to tend to be better prepared for them than I am. 1. Nf3 has the flexibility to avoid all of these lines if I so desire, but it can also translate into these openings (or other openings) if someone prefers to play them that way. For me, it was more about keeping away from the lines that intermediate players are most familiar with.

[gambapuirida]

Awesome, as usual !
Réti can seem a vast territory when starting out haha
Even if I play mainly another line (2.c4) I really enjoyed this video on the Réti KIA, with its clear explanations about ideas and plans!
The white dark square bishop fianchetto parts were very instructive for me :)

[JHL]

Fantastic video! Great examples and explanations. I'd love to see more content on the Reti from you.

[kennethgatto]

Great video and very informative. More on the Reti, please.

[thinboxdictator]

interesting approach to Réti.
Currently I base my reti repertoire on Demuth's "modernized reti", which takes different approach to it, but your way is nice too.

I like more aggressive 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4, but I might try to include your way in case of 1.Nf3 Nf6 , because 2.c4 c5 (or 1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 ) may not be exactly what I want (tbf Adrien Demuth somehow managed to find fun even there).

[buk]

I play the Reti in different variations and very rarely i play the set up with the queen on b2 or on a1, although i heard about it. i very often play the original moves 1.Sf3 and 2.c4, leading to the Advanced Variation, which is the critical test to the original Reti. i really enjoyed the video, but its very deep for beginners. im looking forward for more courses about the Reti, and it would be good to find the mentioned games in the cut above which you are related to.

[Blizzy-xn]

i never thought the reti was that good. great vid

[remycarrard]

I would dream of having a chessable repertoire of Bad Bishop on the Reti 🙂 I have a reti directory but it is quite different and does not go for the KIA, but I find the KIA variants very interesting....

[kinglear]

This is a very nice video. which I will watch again. I hope you do more; e.g. on the Bg4 set-ups. I have sent the link to your Nge7 Advance French video to various people, and I will switch to it myself.

[Ebobster]

Very help video. Could you share what insights you have as how to play against Black’s same set up when Bg4 is played rather than Bf5? Thank you very much!

[tomas-widy]

in my youth, I played very often Rety, but after 26 years of pause, 1.e4 is enough

[kesetokaiba]

Nice video. What are your thoughts on white's setup (Nf3-g3-Bg2-O-O) without b3 and Bb2 played? This video opened up my eyes to the potential of b3-Bb2 in these positions, but I've played several strong players which do not go for this fianchetti (plural of fianchetto is fianchetti).

[fezii]

I always play the reti and tennison gambit against the Scandinavian, it works sooo well