The usual line for the St. George would look something like this:
1)e4 a6
2)d4 b5
3)Nf3 Bb7
4)Bd3 e6
Note that ...e6 is not the move of choice if White plays the early c4.
5)0-0 d5
According to several sources, the "book" line is 5...c5, but I prefer to hold back the c-pawn in case of queenside pawn exchanges. Playing c5 would be fine if Black could be guaranteed that White would exchange pawns and allow Black's Bishop to develop to the c5 square, but your opponent may not be so cooperative. I have seen 5...Nf6 played, and I can't imagine why, since all Black does is expose his Knight to 6)e5. The alternative ...d5 is better, since Black gets into trouble with the St. George mostly because of no movement of the d-pawn, or timid movement, at least as the available games seem to indicate.
6)exd5 Bxd5
7)Nc3 Bc6
White has a small advantage, but,
8)a4 b4!
and Black is nearly equal.

The first three or four moves of the above line are fairly agreed upon as indicating the best of both sides in the St. George. Some differences are found on White's fourth move, but not often. An early e5, for example, or an unwise a3, may be played and both those moves are covered below. Starting with move five, however, one finds a bit more variation from White and Black alike, but the moves are not nearly as important as the ones discussed on these pages. (At least I think so now!)

Let's look next at a game in which my desire to play the St. George is immediately challenged.

Cotten -- Dizadji
2000 ----- 1846
Correspondence Chess League of America
National Team Championship X (1998?)
1)e4 a6
So far, so good.
2)c4 e5
After White plays c4, I have to make a choice. Do I continue immediately with b5, making a sort of gambit out of the St. George? Or do I adopt some different approach? The variation e4 a6 c4 b5 is known among some as, not surprisingly, the St. George gambit, and we'll consider it in a moment.
3)Nf3 Nc6
4)d4 ed
5)Nxd4 Bb4+
At this point, we really don't have a St. George anymore, but a rather odd King's pawn opening which led to a game of 34 moves before I resigned, seeing that I was probably half a dozen or so moves away from the losing end of a pawn-and-King endgame (six pawns per side!). The game was published in the July-August 1998 edition (Vol. 71, No. 4) of The Chess Correspondent, the magazine of the Correspondence Chess League of America (CCLA). Let's assume that I stayed with the St. George formation early on and played 2)...b5 (I didn't play it because I thought that White's c-pawn would look a little silly out there in the middle of the board after if I played ...e5.) We then would probably see White play:
3)d4
to dominate the center. Now, the line mentioned in the draft of Unorthodox Openings is 3)...e6. Problem is, White simply takes the b-pawn next and upon recapture by Black gets the pawn back again with his Bishop,
3)d4 e6
4)cxb5 axb5
5)Bxb5
Play this out on a board and it looks pretty clear that White is having an easy time of it. There is a possible improvement, however, if Black plays the odd-looking 3)...c6 instead of moving his King pawn. Although the c-pawn blocks the Bishop that will soon come onto b7, this is a temporary problem, and Black's Queenside is the better for it. Note that we have not played c5 in this variation. We have adapted the opening to the special circumstance of the early c4 by White. Notice also that the move ...Bb7 can wait for a while.
Let's begin again with the line below and see how Black fares:
1)e4 a6
2)c4 b5
3)d4 c6

4)f3 d5 Black contests the center and is nearly equal. Also, ...BB7 is possible, though not quite as strong as the text. Black should have no problems unique to the opening from this point on.

4)Nf3 e6 5)Bg5 Be7 Black is still a bit weak 6)Bxe7 Nxe7 Black is roughly equal. 7)e5 d6 8)exd6 Qxd6 9)Qa4 Black is fine.

4)Nf3 e6 5)Bg5 Be7 6)Bf4 Bb7 Or, 6)...d5. Here, d6 is too timid. 7)e5 Black is only a little worse off.

Now a persistent aspect of the St. George begins to make itself known; we see that a ...d5 thrust by Black into the center is useful, even it "blocks" our Bishop's diagonal when we place him on b7. There is no rush to put the Bishop there, however. The above lines have assumed White will not be in a hurry to exchange c-pawn for b-pawn. What if he is?
1)e4 a6
One note here: I do not recommend playing ...a6 in response to d4. You may reach an eventual St. George set-up by playing the similarly-themed Polish Defense of ...b5 should White choose d4 as an opening move. Transposition may make this point moot, but it does not hurt to have slight variations within one's opening repertoire.
2)c4 b5
Best for Black not to be "scared off" of b5.
3)cxb5 Bb7
There really is no need for Black to worry if White is going to pawn-grab early on. If White takes the a-pawn, he says good-bye to his e-pawn, and note that White's e-pawn needs protection now.
4)Nc3 e6
White can play 4)f3 here as well, protecting the e-pawn, but with 4...e6 Black gives White a weakened kingside and doubled pawns, albeit one extra, on the queenside. 5)d4 Bb4+ and Black threatens to exchange Bishops, although one idea here is for Black to support the Bishop with the a-pawn, forcing White to make the exchange and putting a pawn on the b4 square. 6)Bd2 a5 7)Bxb4 axb4 and Black is still down a pawn, but it would appear that White should not try too hard to keep the bounty. And the pawn on b4 seems to provide only more temptation.
5)d4 Bb4
Black is only slightly worse off. If White plays 1)c4, Black can play 1...a6 and reach the above positions quickly. Or, if White is dead-set against letting Black play the St. George, Black should have no trouble developing normally with a healthy game, as White's moves will not be of broad effect. If White declines the pawn by playing e3, Black should take the c-pawn. For example:
1)c4 a6
2)Nf3 b5
3)e3 bxc4
4)Bxc4 e6
NOT Bb7, which allows Qb3 and ouch!
5)d4 d5!
Or,
1)c4 a6
2)d4 b5
3)e3 bxc4
4)Bxc4 e6
5)Nf3 d5!
Which is the above line by transposition. Black benefits from knocking the only "center" pawn White has off the board. If White opens with e4 and secondly plays c4 (see above), Black probably shouldn't take this pawn. Play both situations out on a board and see the difference for yourself. Let us know if you find improvements!
The opening move of c4 is probably the hardest to play against using the St. George. We like the odd "English Scandinavian" [c4 d5 cxd5 Qxd5], which is not considered strong but which we think may have possibilities, especially if the Queen returns to d8 if White plays Nc3. It's an option you may want to investigate, yet not an opening to be played without preparation.
More likely than not, you will not find White players trying to "bump you off" the St. George. Although it is a more popular opening now than five or six years ago, it is hardly mainstream. Even though many chess openings formally thought foolish have been shown to have some potential, many will still scoff at your choice of the St. George. They should not, because the opening has many similarities to other more accepted defenses. But if your opponent wants to underestimate you, you should be polite and let him!

Now, we can consider the most aggressive attack that I know of, but with careful play it, too, can be repelled. Using the early c4 in conjunction with the early journey of the Queen Bishop, White can come to the positions below.
1)e4 a6
2)c4 b5
3)d4 c6
4)Bg5 Qa5+
The aggressive attack with the Queen Bishop needs to be repelled aggressively.
5)Qd2 Qxd2
If White had played Nd2, Black takes the c-pawn.
6)Nxd2 e6
7)Rc1 Bb4
8)Nf3 Bxd2
9)Bxd2 Bb7
10)Bd3 Ne7
11)Bb4 a5
12)Bxe7 Kxe7
13)cxb5 cxb5
14)Rc5 b4
White has the move, but Black should be able to keep pace with careful play.

Let's look at a line (not necessarily the only line) which involves two relatively common pawn moves for White, e5 and c3:
1) e4 a6
2) d4 b5
3) Nf3 Bb7
4) e5 f6
5) Bd3 fxe5
[If 5...e6 then 6)O-O fxe5 7)dxe5 Nc6 8)a4 b4 9)Nd2 Nh6 and Black is at only a slight disadvantage. If 7)Bg5, then 7...Be7 8)Bxe7 Nxe7 9)Nxe5 O-O and Black is fine, although White may keep busy.]
6) Nxe5 Nf6
7) O-O Nc6
8) c3 e6
9) a4 b4
And black is equal. The moves c3 and e5 need not be feared by Black. They do not necessarily lead to any better play for White than any of the other above moves. Note the move ...b4 by Black, as it is, along with d5 and the exchange of King Bishop for Queen Bishop, one of the characteristic moves of the St. George.

If White wants to develop his Queen's Knight early, Black has no problems:
1) e4 a6
2) d4 b5
3) Nc3 b4
Note we push the pawn here instead of developing. Let White find a good square for the Knight, then we'll develop!
5)Nd5 e6
6)Nf4 Bb7
And Black is already equal. Should the White Knight jump to a4, Black is still equal.

Now, let's look more deeply at the use of the kingside fianchetto by White, which can cause some problems for Black playing the St. George.
After
1)g3 b5
2)Bg2 Nc3
Black has no special problems due to g3 being White's first move. Possible also is
1)g3 b5
2)Bg2 c6
Odd, but, as we have seen, sometimes c6 is useful in the St. George. White stands slightly better.
Finally,
1)g3 b5
2)Bg2 d5
3)e4 dxe4
4)Bxe4 c6
White has a small advantage.

For Black, the above lines and notes should provide a strong foundation for using the St. George. What of White playing against the defense? We have seen, above, that there is really no way to avoid it, even with an early c4. The a6/b5 moves can be played against any opening move by White, with perhaps the exception of 1) Nc3 a6 2)a4, when Black should wait on b5 and develop normally, seeing as how White has opened with little threat.
1)Nc3 a6
2)a4 e5
3)Nf3 Nc6
And Black is at least equal. Or,
1)Nc3 a6
2)a4 d5
And Black has a small advantage. If Black intends to stay with the St. George, the d5 thrust has already been played. Transpositions in both lines are potentially plentiful, as they are in general with the St. George.
Let's consider White's most interesting line stemming from the "book" e4 a6, d4 b5. I like the possibilities of the early e5 by White, in what I call the Advance Variation of the St. George, keeping in mind Marconi's reference to the "French" aspects of the defense. This variation does not guarantee an advantage for White, but it does lead to a game of sufficient complications to ensure that White will not be burdened with playing against Black's favorite defense.