London System [A45-48, D00-02]

Written by GMs Eric Prié & Aaron Summerscale, IM Richard Palliser

Last updated Friday, February 17, 2017

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T
he London system is one of the most solid if least ambitious d-pawn specials. White
brings his dark-squared bishop outside his pawn chain before play e3 and c3, knights to f3
and d2, normally followed by Bd3 and 0-0.
'Theory' is not so important in these various London systems. What matters is the fastest natural
development, with the maximum activity for the pieces, the overall understanding of the set-up and the
side knowledge of some thematic "d-Pawn Special" themes such as: the promising attacking
structures, the attack on the b2 pawn by ...Qb6, the status of the bishop on f4, against both the knight
attack ...Nh5 and the exchange proposal ...Bd6 in the case of the Nimzo-London, etc. If White is to
achieve any advantage against an early ...d5 by Black then I feel he might have to explore the relatively
new idea of leaving his king's knight at home.

All the game references highlighted in blue have been annotated and can be downloaded in PGN form
using the PGN Games Archive.
 Contents

1 d4 ¤f6

1...d5 with

a) 2 ¤f3 ¤f6 3 ¥f4 London System 1...d5 without ...e6 [D02]

b) 2 ¥f4 c5 3 e3 Neo-London System – 1 d5 2 Bf4 [D00], 2...¤f6 3 ¤c3 Jobava-Prié Attack - 2 Bf4
& 3 Nc3 [D00]

2 ¤f3
2 ¥f4 c5 Neo-London System– 1...Nf6 2 Bf4 c5 [A45]

2...g6
2...d5 3 ¥f4 London System – 2 Nf3 & 3 Bf4 [D02]
2...e6 3 ¥f4
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3...c5/3...b6 London System - Anti-Nimzo without ...d5 [A47]

3...d5 London System - Anti-Nimzo [D02]

3 ¥f4 London System v King's Indian [A48]

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 Neo-London System - 1...Nf6 2 Bf4 c5 [A45]

Last updated 17/06/16 by the ChessPub Team

1 d4 ¤f6 2 ¥f4 c5!

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This lateral attack represents the acid test of White's 2.Bf4 move order.

3 e3
Options of lesser importance:
3 d5 The 'book' move. 3...b5!? Planning to win White's advanced pawn after ...b7.
a) 3...d6! the move that causes White the biggest headache, 4 ¤c3 g6 (4...e5 Woelk,R-
Kunz,H/corr 2000.) 5 e4 ¥g7 6 ¥d3 Grischuk,A-Gelfand,B/Tal Memorial Blitz, Sochi 2014.
b) 3...£b6?! 4 ¤c3 £xb2 5 ¥d2 transposes to the Tromp, 2...c5 3.d5.
4 a4 ¥b7
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(4...£a5+?! designed to interrupt the d5–pawn's protection, 5 ¤d2! Prie,E-Barsov,A/Nantes 2009.

4...b4 looks like the critical line, but still awaits the test of practice.) 5 axb5?! (If White has to
exchange a central pawn against Black's b-pawn anyway, he may as well keep the one that restricts
the opposing game most by 5 e4!? ¤xe4 6 axb5) 5...¤xd5 6 ¥g3 g6 (6...d6 7 e4 ¤b6 8 ¤c3
Prie,E-Govciyan,P/Grasse 2010.) 7 e4 ¤b6 Kamsky,G-Kramnik,V/Baku AZE 2010.
3 dxc5!? ¤a6! (3...£a5+ 4 £d2 Nabaty,T-Loncar,R/Zagreb Open 2014.) 4 £d4 £a5+ 5 c3 (5
¤c3?! ¤xc5 answering 6 b4 with 6...¤e6) 5...£xc5 Dorner,M-Philipowski,R/Germany 2004.
3 c3?! is just bad with the bishop on f4, 3...£b6! (3...cxd4 4 cxd4 £b6 Vukotic Jovsic,D-Martin
Martin,L/Madrid 2007, when 5 ¤c3 is the best practical chance.) 4 £b3 (4 £c2?! cxd4 5 cxd4
¤c6 6 e3 d6! Glendinning,J-Mannion,S/Grangemouth 2000.) 4...cxd4! 5 ¥xb8 Jakubiec,A-
Mista,A/Czechia 2006, 5...£xb3!
3 ¤f3? cxd4 4 ¤xd4? (4 £xd4 ¤c6³) 4...e5! 5 ¥xe5 £a5+ already winning a piece in Peroutka,I-
Okara,A/Pardubice 2007.

3...£b6
Keeping the tension.
3...cxd4 4 exd4 £b6 5 ¤c3! d6 (5...e6 6 a3 Prie,E-Murey,Y/Aix 2011. 5...£xb2? 6 ¤b5 ¤a6 7 a3)
6 ¥b5+! (6 a3 g6 7 ¥c4 ¥g7 8 ¤ge2 0–0 9 0–0 Ponomariov,R-Grischuk,A/Moscow RUS 2010.)
6...¥d7 7 a4! see Bauer,C-Bressac,S/Calvi FRA 2011.
3...¤d5 4 ¥g3 £b6 5 ¤c3 ¤xc3 6 bxc3 e6!? (6...d5 7 ¦b1 £a5 8 ¥b5+ Prie,E-Chabanon,J/Cap
d'Agde 2010.) 7 ¤f3 £b2! forcing 8 ¢d2 Prie,E-Korobov,A/Aix-les-Bains FRA 2011.

4 ¤c3
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Offering the b-pawn.

4 b3?! d5! (4...e6 5 c3 ¤c6 6 ¤f3 Klein,L-Womacka,M/Teplice CZE 2011. 4...d6 5 ¤f3 g6 6 ¤c3
¥g7 Prie,E-Libiszewski,F/Donostia ESP 2011.) 5 ¤f3 ¤c6 6 dxc5 £xc5 Vukotic Jovsic,D-
Vazquez Igarza,R/Madrid 2007.

4...£xb2
The acid test, which can lead to a repetition.
4...e6 5 a3 (5 ¦b1!? might be best, 5...cxd4 6 exd4 ¥b4 7 ¤f3 0–0 8 ¥d3 Semrl,M-Sale,S/Ljubljana
1996.) 5...d5! (5...¤c6 6 dxc5!? (6 ¤f3 transposes to [A47], see Ponomariov,R-Svidler,P/Moscow
RUS 2010.) 6...¥xc5 7 b4) 6 ¤b5 ¤a6 Bakalarz,M-Dzagnidze,N/Differdange 2008.
4...d6!? cutting the London bishop's control of the h2–b8 diagonal implies Black may threaten to take
on b2, 5 ¥b5+! (5 ¥d3?! g6 6 h3 ¥g7 Willems,M-Ikonnikov,V/Frankfurt/Griesheim 2006.)
5...¥d7 6 a4 a6 7 a5 £c7 Prie,E-Georgiev,K/Aix-les-Bains FRA 2011.
4...a6!? see Meister,J-Vovk,A/Wunsiedel Open 2016.

5 ¤b5 ¤d5
5...¤a6 is inferior, see Kaunzinger,A-Schoellmann,J/Bayern 2010.

6 a3
6 ¦b1 £xa2 7 ¦a1 repeats, Kamsky,G-Ivanchuk,V/Gibraltar 2014.

6...a6!
6...¤c3?! 7 ¤c7+ ¢d8 8 £c1 is good for White.

7 ¦b1 £a2
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8 £c1!?
8 ¦a1 £b2 9 ¦b1 is a forced draw.

8...axb5 9 ¦a1 £xa1 10 £xa1 ¤c6!

This must be best as it deprives White of the possibility of xb8.
10...¤xf4!? 11 exf4 c4 is interesting too.

11 ¥xb5
11 dxc5?! b4 12 a4 ¤c3 13 ¤f3 ¦xa4 14 £c1 f6! proved unpleasant for White in Prie,E-Gonzalez
de la Torre,S/Donostia ESP 2011.

11...cxd4 12 ¥xc6 bxc6 13 £xd4

Planning to sac the bishop on e5 after

13...f6
see Prie,E-Argandona Riveiro,I/Donostia ESP 2011.
 London System - Anti-Nimzo without ...d5

[A47]

Last updated 17/02/17 by the ChessPub Team

In contrast to the lines with ...d5, the London System seems a reasonable way to throw Black on his
own resources in the Indian defences.

1 d4 ¤f6
1...b6 is unusual but for the London system player poses no particular problems. Indeed we soon can
arrive at a familiar position, for example: 2 ¤f3 ¥b7 3 ¥f4 e6 4 ¤bd2 c5 5 e3 ¤f6 6 h3 ¤c6 7 c3
cxd4 8 exd4 ¥e7÷ Hollas,R-Moen,G/NOR 2002. 9 ¤e5
1...e6 is a good way of countering opponents who play the London: 2 ¤f3 c5 3 c3 ¤c6! 4 ¥f4?! see
Heinzel,O-Khenkin,I/5th Bayern-Ch Bad Wiessee 2001 for the follow-up.

2 ¤f3 e6
2...b5 3 ¥f4 The London system can be an excellent choice against unusual openings, as his solid
structure means that White can withstand any early aggression by Black. 3...¥b7 4 e3 a6 5 ¥d3 e6
6 0–0 c5 7 c3 ¤c6 8 ¤bd2 £b6 9 £e2 ¥e7 10 dxc5 With his forces ready for action, it is certainly
time for White to take the initiative. 10...¥xc5 11 a4 This thrust, breaking open the queenside is
often the problem for Black in the St George. 11...b4 12 ¤c4² Tolk,P-Haeck,K/Belgium BEL
2002.

3 ¥f4
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This move is perfectly adapted to the early commitment 2...e6 or 2...b6, as Nimzo players are forced
to play after 2 f3.

3...b6
Black aims for Queen's Indian type play.
3...c5 is critical, 4 c3 to be able to recapture towards the centre, (4 e3 cxd4! this is best, not giving
White the opportunity to recapture 'the good way'
a) 4...£b6?! 5 ¤c3
a1) 5 £c1 ¤c6 (5...¤h5!? Abdul Ghani,H-Bistric,F/Elista 1998.) 6 c3 d5 7 h3 ¥d7 8 ¤bd2
feels like an edge for White, Grachev,B-Savchenko,B/Moscow Blitz Championship 2015.
a2) 5 ¤a3! intending c4, which considerably reduces Black's choice, see Mitkov,N-
Tiviakov,S/Morelia MEX 2007
5...¤c6
a1) 5...cxd4?! 6 exd4 £xb2? 7 ¤b5 ¤d5 8 ¦b1 £xa2 9 ¥d2 a6 (9...¤a6?! Kosic,D-
Berczes,D/Budapest HUN 2007.) 10 ¦a1 £b2 11 ¥d3 Kveinys,A-Sulskis,S/Baltic Zonal,
Tallinn 2015.
a2) 5...d5?! 6 ¤b5 ¤a6 7 a4! Kosic,D-Rindlisbacher,J/Gabicce Mare 2014.
6 a3 (6 ¤b5 is critical, Kogan,A-Stocek,J/Lazne Bohdanec 1996) 6...¤h5! Pakleza,Z-
Moskalenko,V/Badalona ESP 2008 (6...a6!? Ponomariov,R-Svidler,P/Moscow RUS 2010), when 7
¥e5! cxd4 8 ¤b5
b) 4...b6 5 ¤c3!? This is a relatively unexplored continuation, which immediately seeks to probe
the dark square weaknesses created by Black's second and third moves. (5 c3 is good 5...¥e7 6 h3
0–0 7 ¤bd2 cxd4 Grachev,B-Leko,P/Moscow RUS 2008, 8 cxd4!) 5...cxd4 6 ¤b5 The point -
rather than the routine recapture on d4, White starts an immediate attack. 6...d6 The greedy
(6...¤d5 falls foul of: 7 ¥d6 dxe3 8 ¥c4 When White has a winning position.) 7 £xd4 ¤d5
(7...e5 8 ¥xe5 is very good for White. 8...dxe5 9 £xe5+ ¥e7 10 ¤c7+ ¢f8 11 ¤xa8 ¥b7 12
£c7 ¥xa8 13 £xa7 and White has every reason to be confident. He now has a rook and three
pawns for two pieces.) 8 ¤xd6+ ¥xd6 9 £xg7+– Ortega,L-Farago,I/Montecatine Terme 2000.
c) 4...¤c6 5 ¤c3!? (5 c3 transposes below.) 5...cxd4 6 exd4 ¥b4 7 ¥d3 Vitiugov,N-
Lysyj,I/Russian Championship, Kazan 2014.
d) 4...¥e7 5 ¤bd2!? (5 h3) 5...¤h5 6 dxc5 Romanov,E-Oganian,M/Russian Higher League,
 Kolomna 2016.
5 exd4 b6 6 ¤bd2 ¥e7 7 h3 0–0 8 ¥d3 ¥a6!? 9 ¥xa6 ¤xa6 10 0–0 b5 with good play, Kamsky,G-
Topalov,V/Sofia BUL 2007.) 4...cxd4
a) 4...£a5?! 5 ¤bd2! Prie,E-Pham,M/Pornic op 2006
b) 4...¤c6!? 5 e3 ¤h5 (5...b6 6 ¥d3 ¥b7 7 ¤bd2 ¤h5 The most aggressive way of dealing with
the London system. This type of approach can certainly work well for the Black player who wants
to mix it up a bit, but it also carries some risk. 8 ¥g3 ¤xg3 9 hxg3 h6 10 g4 Incisive play. White
wants to create a weakness on the kingside utilising the semi open h-file. 10...£c7 11 g5²
Stawiarski,E-Boudier,E/Bethune FRA 2001.) 6 ¥g5?! (6 ¥g3) 6...£b6! 7 £b3 (7 ¤bd2? £xb2!
Yedidia,J-Komljenovic,D/Paris 1996) 7...h6 8 ¥h4 g5 now that the white queen has deserted the
d1–h5 diagonal, see Prie,E-Narciso Dublan,M/Figueres 2008.
c) 4...£b6 5 £b3 £xb3?! 6 axb3 ¤c6 7 e3 Alonso Roselli,A-Vehi Bach,V/Sabadell Open 2014.
5 cxd4 £b6! (5...b5!? recommended by Andrew Martin, 6 e3 the most common,
a) 6 a4 b4? the development of the knight to d2 will fit perfectly with White's plans, Ehrke,M-
Feick,S/Germany 1992 (6...bxa4!)
b) 6 ¤c3!? is naturally more testing
6...a6 7 a4! (7 ¥d3 ¥b7 8 ¤bd2 ¤c6 Kreizberg,M-Kudischewitsch,D/Tel Aviv 2002, when White
should prefer 9 ¦c1) 7...bxa4 8 £xa4 Mufic,G-Vernacki,D/Sibenik CRO 2008) 6 £c2! ¤c6 7 e3
¤b4 8 £b3! (8 £c1?! Huang,Q-Li,R/Yongchuan CHN 2003, allows 8...£a5 9 ¤c3 £f5)
8...¤bd5 9 £xb6! (9 ¥g3 Crea,V-Trauth,M/Arco HUN 2005) 9...axb6 10 ¥g3! (10 ¥d3?!
Torre,E-Zhang Zhong/Manila PHI 2008) 10...¤b4 11 ¤a3! with a plus, see Prie,E-
Fedorchuk,S/Chamalieres 2007.
3...¤h5 4 ¥g5! (4 ¥d2!? also allowed White to gain space and a frightening advance in development
in return for the 2 bishops in Braga,F-Doghri,N/Manila 1992) 4...¥e7 5 ¥xe7 £xe7 6 e4! f5!
(6...d5 7 ¤c3 dxe4 8 ¤xe4 with a pleasant edge for White, Prie,E-Orban,A/Bad Kreuznach 2008)
7 ¤fd2! (7 e5 b6 Prie,E-Orban,A/Bad Kreuznach 2008) 7...£f7 8 e5 ¤c6 9 ¤c3! Prie,E-
Orban,A/Bad Kreuznach 2008.
3...¥e7 4 h3 (4 ¤bd2? ¤h5!) 4...c5 5 c3 cxd4 (5...b6 transposes to the mainline.) 6 cxd4 d5 7 ¤c3
¤c6 8 e3 reaches a well known position of the Slav Exchange.

4 e3
4 h3?! ¥a6! Prie,E-Manolache,M/Villeneuve-Tolosane 2006.

4...¥b7 5 ¥d3
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5 ¤bd2 ¥e7 6 h3 more accurate, in order to preserve the bishop pair, (6 ¥e2 ¤h5 Black is quick to
exploit White's inaccuracy and aims to unbalance the position in his favour, by bagging the bishop
pair. 7 ¥g3 d6 8 c3 ¤d7 9 0–0 0–0 10 £c2 g6 11 ¦fd1 ¤xg3 12 hxg3 c5= Saleh,N-
Akopian,V/Open Dubai UAE 2000.) 6...0–0 (6...¥d6!? 7 ¤e5!? Kamsky,G-Naumkin,I/Moscow
Open 2017.) 7 ¥d3 (7 c3 d6 8 ¥d3 ¤bd7 (threatening ...e5) 9 £e2 to defend the bishop on d3,
9...e5? 10 dxe5 dxe5 11 ¤xe5 ¤xe5 12 ¥xe5 ¤d7 13 ¥h2 ¤c5 14 ¥c2! with a solid extra pawn,
Prie,E-Karpatchev,A/Marseille 2006.) 7...c5 8 0–0 cxd4 9 exd4 d6 heading for a Hedgehog set-up,
(9...¥a6!?) 10 c3 ¤bd7 11 ¦e1 a6 12 a4 ¦e8 13 ¥h2 ¤f8 (13...£c7 14 £e2 Dragun,K-
Miton,K/Katowice Open (rapid) 2016.) 14 ¤c4 Kramnik,V-Duda,J/Berlin GER 2015.
5 h3?! To give the f4–bishop a retreat square, but this move is just an inaccuracy! 5...d6!
a) 5...c5 6 c3 cxd4 (6...d5 7 ¤bd2 ¥d6 8 ¤e5!? Prie,E-Macak,S/Wakefield Park ENG 2007) 7
cxd4! ¤c6 (7...¥e7 8 a3 0–0 9 ¤c3 Prie,E-Braun,P/Bad Kreuznach 2006) 8 a3 ¥e7 9 ¤c3 d5 10
¥d3 is more pleasant to play as White, Prie,E-Karpov,A/Ajaccio 2007
b) 5...g6 6 c4 ¥g7 7 ¤c3 is considered in [A48].
6 ¤bd2 (6 c4 ¤e4) 6...¤bd7 7 ¥d3 g6! 8 £e2 ¥g7 9 0–0 0–0 Prie,E-Delchev,A/Noyon FRA 2008.

5...c5
This appears to be a normal reaction. However, with a pawn here it will be practically impossible for
Black to fianchetto his king's bishop as the d6 point is too fragile.
5...d6 6 £e2! (6 ¤bd2 ¤h5 Buscara,S-Prie,E/Donostia ESP 2008) 6...g6?! 7 e4! ¤bd7 8 ¤c3 ¥g7
9 ¥a6! In order to be able to move forward with his e-pawn and thus seal the activity of the g7
dragon, White has to first get rid of the other bishop to avoid any capture on f3 leading to the loss
of his spear on e5. 9...£c8 10 ¥xb7 £xb7 11 e5 dxe5 12 dxe5 ¤d5 13 ¤xd5 £xd5 14 0–0 a
complete success for the opening, with some annoying concrete problems already for Black to
solve, Prie,E-Philippe,C/Gap FRA 2008.

6 c3 ¥e7
6...d6!? 7 h3 ¤bd7 8 0–0 a6 Okhotnik,V-Golichenko,I/Vasylyshyn Memorial, Lviv 2013.

7 h3 d6
 7...0–0 8 ¤bd2 (8 0–0 cxd4 9 cxd4 ¤c6 10 a3! Kamsky,G-Gundavaa,B/World Rapid Ch. Khanty-
Mansiysk 2013.) 8...¤c6 (8...¥a6!? 9 ¥xa6 ¤xa6 10 £e2 ¤b8! 11 0–0 ¤c6 12 e4 d5 13 e5 with
a French structure, Prie,E-Palleja,X/Lattes 1hKO op 2006.) 9 0–0! (9 a3?! routine, directed against
the manoeuvre ...d5–b4 but it is dubious here, 9...d6 10 £e2 Prie,E-Rayner,F/Donostia San
Sebastian 2006.) 9...cxd4 (9...¤d5 Prie,E-Picart,L/Avoine 2008, 10 ¥h2) 10 exd4 ¦c8 11 £e2
Munguntuul,B-Zhao,X/Chinese League 2015.
7...cxd4 8 exd4 (8 cxd4! poses Black more problems) 8...0–0 9 0–0 ¥a6! The refutation plan. 10 ¥xa6
¤xa6 11 £d3 £c8 12 ¤bd2 £b7 the ideal square for the black queen following the exchange of
light-squared bishops, Grachev,B-Karpov,A/Moscow RUS 2008.

8 ¤bd2 cxd4
8...0–0 9 £e2 a6 Secures b5. (9...¤c6 10 ¥h2 ¦c8 Grachev,B-Ivanchuk,V/Moscow RUS 2008) 10
0–0 b5 11 ¦ac1 ¤bd7 12 e4² Delgado Pico,L-Cortes Mamblona,J/Paretana ESP 2000.

9 cxd4! 0–0 10 0–0 ¤c6

10...¤bd7 11 £e2 ¦e8 12 e4 ¤f8 13 ¦fe1 ¤g6 from this post the knight somehow secures the
kingside while keeping an eye on the key f4 square, Prie,E-Rodriguez Cespedes,A/Figueres 2008.

11 £e2
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Reaching an important crossroads for the system, with this move order or another.

11...¦c8
11...¤b4 12 ¥c4 ¤fd5 13 ¥g3 ¤c7 this desertion of the kingside rebounded on Black at a gallop!
Prie,E-Giffard,E/Montpellier 2008.

12 a3 £c7 13 ¦ac1 £b8?!

13...£d7!?

14 ¥h2 £a8 15 e4
White managed again to carry out a textbook attack in Prie,E-Garza Marco,S/Castell de Sant Ferran
ESP 2008.
 London System - v King's Indian [A48]

Last updated 17/02/17 by the ChessPub Team

1 d4 ¤f6 2 ¤f3 g6
This is a King's Indian player's approach.

3 ¥f4 ¥g7
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3...d6 4 e3 ¤h5 5 ¥g5 h6 6 ¥h4 g5 7 ¤fd2 ¤g7 this manoeuvre of the knight reminds me of the
North Sea (or Norwegian) defence of the Modern, 1.e4 g6 2.d4 f6 3.e5 h5, keeping the g7–
square available for the knight. 8 ¥g3 ¤f5 9 £h5!? (9 c4?! neglects the black threat... 9...h5
Novikov,S-Kozul,Z/Budva MNE 2009, 9 ¥d3 plans f3) 9...¥g7 10 ¥d3 Hoang,T-
Harika,D/Ningbo CHN 2009.
3...c5!? 4 c3 £b6 5 £b3 Appel,R-Carbonnel,P/German Bundesliga 2014.

4 e3
4 c3 At first sight White is playing the most sedate of London systems, even taking the trouble to
reinforce d4 before it is attacked. 4...0–0 5 h3 (5 £c1 White prepares to go straight for the throat.
5...b6 6 ¥h6 d6 7 h4‚ Schlindwein,R-Solomunovic,I/Untergrombach GER 1999.) 5...d6 (5...c5 6
e3 £b6 7 £b3 d6 8 ¤bd2 ¥e6 9 ¥c4 ¥xc4 10 ¤xc4 Kamsky,G-Chirila,I/National Open, Las
Vegas 2015.) 6 ¤bd2!? (6 e3 transposes below.) 6...c5
a) 6...¤bd7 7 ¥h2!? (7 e3) 7...c5 8 e3 Kamsky,G-Trjapishko,A/Russian Rapid Team Ch. Sochi
2015.
b) 6...¤fd7!? 7 e3 e5 8 ¥h2 ¤c6 Markus,R-Lalic,B/Croatian Team Championship, Sibenik 2015.
 c) 6...b6 7 e4!? ¥b7 8 £c2 e5! Radjabov,T-Banikas,H/Baku Olympiad 2016.
7 dxc5 dxc5 8 e4 Kamsky,G-Grischuk,A/Thessaloniki Grand Prix 2013.
4 ¤c3 possibly threatens e4, 4...d6 (4...d5! transposes to a Barry or VKH Attack) 5 £d2!? (5 e4
transposes into a side line of the Pirc Defence) 5...0–0 (5...c6 prepares some typical Pirc counter
play on the opposite wing based on ...a5, ...b7–b5, 6 e4 b5 7 a3 ¤bd7 8 h3! Prie,E-
Legay,A/Argeles 2010, 5...h6!? 6 h3 g5 7 ¥g3 ¥f5 8 e3 ¤e4 9 ¤xe4 ¥xe4 10 ¥d3 ¥xd3 11
cxd3!? Prie,E-Vaisser,A/Belfort 2010.) 6 ¥h6 c5! the critical response. (6...¦e8?! forces White to
play a good move which was part of his attacking plan anyway, 7 ¥xg7 ¢xg7 8 0–0–0 c6 9 e4 ¥g4
10 ¥e2 ¥xf3 11 ¥xf3 ¤bd7 Prie,E-Maze,S/Morières 2006, 12 g4! with advantage.) 7 ¥xg7 ¢xg7
8 e3 ¥g4 9 ¥e2 ¤c6 unclear, Prie,E-Jaureguiberry,C/Creon 2007.
4 h4 This is a creative attempt to dissuade Black from castling. 4...d6 5 ¤bd2 c5 6 c3 cxd4 7 cxd4
¤c6 8 e3 ¥f5 Black is clearly leaving the issue of castling to the last minute. However, leaving the
king in the center holds it's own dangers. (8...0–0 looks fine as White is hardly in a position to
deliver mate and Black can seek to blow the center open with a timely e5.) 9 £b3 £d7 Now Black
gets into serious trouble. (9...¦b8 is more circumspect. Now 10 d5 can be met by the safe 10...¤a5
(or the uncompromising 10...¤xd5 11 £xd5 ¥xb2 12 ¦d1 ¥c2 when Black should not be worse.
13 £b5 £b6 is a key resource not available to Black in the game.)) 10 d5± Parant,F-Hulin,J/La
Fere FRA 2002.

4...0–0
4...c5 5 ¤bd2 b6 6 ¥c4 A provocative move. White wants to entice the Black d-pawn forward so he
can carry out his usual plan of sinking a knight on e5. 6...d5 (6...¥b7 is more flexible.) 7 ¥e2 ¤bd7
8 ¤e5 ¤xe5 9 ¥xe5 0–0 10 h4 Launching an attack similar to that seen in the Barry. 10...h5 11 c3÷
Lucena,S-Pompeo,F/Brasilia BRA 2003.
4...d6 5 ¥e2 ¤h5 (5...0–0 will transpose to the mainline.) 6 ¥g5 h6 7 ¥h4 g5 (7...c5!? 8 c3 £b6 9
¤bd2 Prie,E-De Andres Oterino,C/Gap 2011.) 8 ¤fd2 ¤f4 9 exf4 gxh4 10 c3 c5 is praised by
Johnsen & Kovacevic in their book 'Winning with the London System', but 11 dxc5! (11 d5?!
proved needlessly complicated in Stickler,R-Zentgraf,A/Bayern 2003, 11 ¥b5+ Banawa,J-
Yermolinsky,A/SPICE Cup Open, St Louis 2013.) 11...dxc5 12 ¤a3! and White stands clearly
better, Prie,E-Jean,O/Pierrevert 2007.
4...b6 5 ¥e2 ¥b7 6 0–0 0–0 7 c4 d6 8 ¤c3 ¤bd7 9 £c2 ¤h5 (9...a6 10 a4! as there is no black knight
to go to b4, Prie,E-Abergel,T/Nimes FRA 2009) 10 ¥g5 h6 11 ¥h4 c5 12 d5 ¤df6 (12...g5? 13
¥xg5!! Prie,E-Dumitrache,D/Marseille FRA 2010) 13 ¤d2 g5 Prie,E-Iturrizaga,E/Villeneuve-
Tolosane 2010.

5 ¥e2
5 h3 Preparing an escape square for the bishop. 5...d6 (5...b6 6 ¤bd2 ¥b7 7 c3 d6 8 ¥e2 ¤bd7 9 0–
0 c5= Masip Rodriguez,A-Garcia Gallego,A/Malaga ESP 2001) 6 c4 Alternatives with c3 are
solid, but at best White will emerge out of the opening with an equal and prospectless position
against correct play:
a) 6 c3 c5 (6...¤bd7 7 ¤a3 ¤e4 8 £c2 f5 Speelman,J-McShane,L/Hastings ENG 2000. 6...¤c6
7 ¥h2 ¤d7 A useful move for Black in this system. He prepares the ...e5 break and frees the way
for the f-pawns advance at the same time. 8 ¥e2 e5 9 0–0 £e7= Sapis,W-Pinski,J/Glogow POL
 2001. 6...¤fd7! 7 ¥e2 e5 8 ¥h2 ¤c6 would transpose.) 7 dxc5! dxc5 8 £xd8 (8 ¤bd2 ¤c6 9
¥e2 ¦e8! planning ...e5, Grachev,B-Karjakin,S/Moscow 2008.) 8...¦xd8 9 ¤bd2 ¤c6 (9...b6!?
Kamsky,G-Sjugirov,S/Sochi RUS 2016.) 10 ¥c7 ¦d7 (10...¦f8 Kamsky,G-Arun Prasad,S/Las
Vegas USA 2015.) 11 ¥h2 ¦d8 see Kamsky,G-Gordievsky,D/Moscow Open 2017.
b) 6 ¥c4 ¤bd7 7 0–0 £e8 Black gears up for the big ...e5 break. 8 c3 e5 9 ¥h2 White opts for a
more restrained approach than in Franklin-Vujatovic, when White punted an early e4. In this line,
White keeps the central tension. 9...£e7 10 ¤bd2= Mamedyarov,S-Ignatiev,A/Artek UKR 1999.
c) 6 ¤bd2 ¤bd7 7 ¥d3 This seems an unfortunate choice of square for the bishop, as it simply
encourages Black to go for the ...e5 break. 7...b6 8 0–0 ¥b7 9 a4 a5 10 c3 ¦e8 11 ¥h2 e5=
Arfert,P-Lange,W/Recklinghausen GER 2002, now the threat of ...e4 forces White to take action.
d) 6 ¥e2 transposes below.
6...¤bd7 7 ¤c3 b6! 8 ¥e2 ¥b7 9 £c2 (9 0–0 ¤e4! transposes below) 9...e5! (9...e6 10 0–0
transposes to 7...e6, below.) 10 ¥h2 exd4! 11 exd4 ¦e8 (11...d5 Prie,E-Kazhgaleyev,M/Asnieres
2006.) 12 0–0 ¤e4 Hamitevici,V-Jones,G/Hinckley ENG 2013.
5 ¤bd2 d6 6 ¥c4 ¤c6 7 c3 £e8 8 e4 ¥g4 9 £c2 e5 10 dxe5 ¤h5 If Black wants to win against the
London system, he must be prepared to mix it up a bit. There is nothing wrong with 10...dxe5 but it
leads to the sort of dull, lifeless positions that are typical of the whole variation. 11 ¥e3=
Franklin,M-Vujatovic,R/London 1991.

5...d6
5...c5 6 c3 d6 7 dxc5 dxc5 8 ¤a3?! ¤c6 9 0–0 ¤h5! (9...¥e6?! transposes below.) 10 ¥g5 h6 11 ¥h4
g5 (11...¥e6 12 ¤d2 ¤f6 Prie,E-Cornette,M/Montpellier 2006.) 12 ¤d2 ¤f6 (12...gxh4 13 ¥xh5
h3 14 g3 b5!) 13 ¥g3 Prie,E-Simon,O/Villeneuve-Tolosane 2007, when 13...¥f5 is level.

6 0–0
6 h3?! is actually the most popular move here, preserving the bishop against ...h5, but it loses a
precious tempo. 6...c5! 7 c3
a) 7 ¤bd2?! ¤c6!?
a1) 7...¥e6!? 8 c3 (8 dxc5? ¤d5) 8...cxd4
a2) 7...cxd4 8 exd4 ¤c6 9 c3 e5! may be simpler, transposing below.
8 c3 (8 0–0 cxd4 9 exd4 Cori,J-Iniyan,P/Montcada Open 2016, 9...e5!) White is ready to take on c5
now, so... 8...cxd4! is mandatory in this position. (8...¥e6?! is Yelena Dembo's recommendation,
but 9 dxc5! dxc5 is awkward, see Grachev,B-Dembo,Y/Budva MNE 2009.) 9 exd4 (9 cxd4 e5!
(9...¥e6!? 10 0–0 £b6 11 ¤g5 ¥d5! Kaufman,R-Kudrin,S/Philadelphia USA 2010.) 10 dxe5
dxe5 11 ¤xe5 ¤d5 Alekseev,E-Belov,V/St Petersburg 2004.) 9...e5! 10 dxe5 dxe5 11 ¤xe5 (11
¥g5 h6 12 ¥xf6 £xf6 Martini,B-Jovanovic,Z/Hungary 2005.) 11...¤d5 12 ¤xc6 bxc6 13 ¥g3
¦e8! Black enjoys a massive score here, see Cebalo,M-Cvitan,O/Vrsac 1985.
b) 7 0–0 £b6 8 ¤bd2.
7...£b6! this is just a very good method for Black, who achieves full development effortlessly,
a) 7...cxd4 8 exd4 (8 cxd4 £b6!? is interesting) 8...¤c6 (8...¥e6 9 ¤bd2 £b6 10 £c1 ¦c8 11 0–0
¤d5?! (11...¤c6 transposes below.) 12 ¥g3 ¥h6? 13 ¤c4! Mitkov,N-Morozevich,A/Novi Sad
SRB 2009.) 9 0–0 ¥e6 (9...¤d5 10 ¥h2 e5) 10 ¤bd2 £b6 11 £b1! (11 £c1 transposes below.)
11...¦ac8 12 a4 with chances for an edge, Andreikin,D-Grischuk,A/ICC INT 2016.
 b) 7...¥e6!? 8 ¤bd2 (8 0–0?! £b6 9 £c2 ¤c6 10 ¤g5?! (10 ¤bd2 transposes to 8 bd2.)
10...cxd4! Apicella,M-Kazhgaleyev,M/Paris 2004.) 8...£b6 9 £c2 the most natural, 9...¤c6 10 0–
0 ¦ac8 (10...cxd4 11 exd4 ¦fc8 Kudischewitsch,D-Lerner,K/Israel 2003.) 11 dxc5 (11 ¤c4?!
¥xc4 12 ¥xc4 cxd4 13 exd4 ¤xd4! Simecek,B-Orsag,M/Ceske Budejovice 1994.) 11...£xc5 12
¦fe1 d5= Dgebuadze,A-Gormally,D/Liverpool ENG 2006. .
8 £b3 (8 £c1 ¤c6 9 0–0 (9 ¤a3!? ¥e6 10 0–0 ¦ac8 11 ¦d1 Agdestein,S-Van Wely,L/Biel 1993.)
9...¥e6 10 ¤bd2 cxd4!? (10...¦ac8 11 ¦d1? ¤h5! Schinis,M-Zueger,B/Moscow 1994.) 11 exd4
(11 ¤xd4?! ¤xd4 12 exd4 ¤d5! Monin,N-Maletin,P/St Petersburg RUS 2011.) 11...¦fc8
(11...¦ac8) 12 ¤c4? Ruiz Sanchez,A-Vassallo Barroche,M/Totana ESP 2011, 12...£a6! winning.)
8...¥e6 9 £xb6 axb6 10 a3 ¤c6 (10...¥d7! is clever, see Grachev,B-Navara,D/Budva MNE 2009.)
11 ¤bd2 ¤a5! (11...¦fe8!? 12 0–0 Ehlvest,J-Sokolov,I/Cap d'Agde 1996, when 12...h6!) 12 0–0
¦fc8!? (12...¤b3 Rozanov,P-Hait,A/Moscow 1998.) 13 ¦fe1! (13 ¦fc1 Dreev,A-
Sokolov,I/Groningen 1991.) 13...h6 14 e4! Mueller,M-Boehle,L/Germany 1994.
6 c4?! ¤h5! 7 ¥g5 h6 8 ¥h4 g5 Prie,E-Maze,S/Besançon 2006

6...¤bd7!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zppzpnzppvlp0
9-+-zp-snp+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-zPN+-0
9PzPP+LzPPzP0
9tRN+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

6...¤fd7!? A slightly unusual deployment for this knight in the London system but it seems quite an
effective one:
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwq-trk+0
9zppzpnzppvlp0
9-+-zp-+p+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-zPN+-0
9PzPP+LzPPzP0
9tRN+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

7 h3 White should prepare the h2 retreat square for his bishop. (7 c4 e5 8 ¥g3 ¤c6 9 ¤c3 h6
 Preparing a general expansion on the kingside. 10 h3 f5= Lebel,P-Rohl,J/Bled SLO 2002.) 7...e5 8
¥h2 ¤c6 9 c4 Against this black set-up White should gain space and develop his knight on c3.
Now we reach an important junction for Black. 9...exd4 (9...f5 10 ¤c3 (10 dxe5?! dxe5 11 ¤c3
proved too early in De Waal,M-Stellwagen,D/Vlissingen 2005) 10...g5! introducing the direct
threat of ...g5–g4, dislodging the knight and winning the d4 pawn. (10...e4 11 ¤d2 ¤f6 12 ¦c1!
planning d4–d5, followed by c4–c5, or d2–b3 heading for the squares d4 and e6, (12 ¦b1 once
blessed with an exclamation mark by the encyclopaedic Ivanchuk, 12...¢h8 (12...h5!? 13 b4 ¢h7
14 a4 ¤e7 15 c5 d5 16 a5 a6! Prie,E-Claverie,C/Chamalieres 2008) 13 b4 g5 (13...¤e7 14 c5!?
Lenderman,A-Hunt,A/Washington International 2013.) 14 £c2 g4!? 15 hxg4 ¤xg4 16 ¥xg4 fxg4
17 ¤dxe4 ¥f5 found White struggling in Algra,J-Skovgaard,P/Helsingor 2009.) 12...¤e7 13 b4 g5
(13...c6?! Grachev,B-Karjakin,S/Moscow RUS 2010) 14 d5 ¢h8 Laveryd,P-Hillarp
Persson,T/Sweden 2000) 11 dxe5 dxe5 (11...¤dxe5 12 c5! (12 ¤d4? Patuzzo,F-Kleijn,C/Kallithea
2008) 12...dxc5 Prie,E-Nijboer,F/Amay - Wirtzfeld 2010, 13 £b3+ ¢h8 14 ¦ad1) 12 £d5+ (12
¤d5!? Prie,E-Nataf,I/Paris 2006) 12...¢h8 13 ¦ad1! it turns out that the king's rook is more useful
on the e or f-line, Pantev,V-Berbatov,K/Plovdiv BUL 2011.) 10 exd4 £f6 Introducing a forced line
where Black wins a pawn. (10...¦e8 11 ¤c3 ¤f6 12 ¥d3! best, preventing both ...e4 and ...f5,
a) 12 £d2 ¤e4 (12...¥f5 13 d5 ¤b8 14 ¤d4 ¥d7 15 ¥f3 firmly controlling the key square e4,
with a quiet edge, Prie,E-Jean,O/Montpellier 2010) 13 ¤xe4 ¦xe4 14 ¥d3 Prie,E-
Belkhodja,S/Chalons en Champagne FRA 2009.
b) 12 ¦e1 ¥f5!? (12...¤e4) 13 d5 ¤b4 14 ¤d4 Grachev,B-Tkachiev,V/Moscow RUS 2008.
12...¤h5 13 ¥c2 ¤b4 14 ¥a4 ¥d7 15 a3 ¥xa4 16 £xa4 ¤c6 17 ¦ad1 Grachev,B-
Aronian,L/Moscow RUS 2010.) 11 ¤c3 ¤xd4 12 ¤xd4 £xd4 13 ¤d5 c6 (13...£xb2?! 14 ¦b1
£xa2 15 ¤xc7 ¤c5 16 ¤xa8 ¥f5 17 ¦b5! should win, see Prie,E-Moussard,J/Caen (14) 2011.
13...£xd1? see Prie,E-Lebrun,X/Cap d'Agde 2006.) 14 ¤e7+! (14 ¤c7?! ¦b8 15 ¥xd6 £xd1 16
¦axd1 ¥e5! when nothing is clear because of the imprisoned knight on c7.) 14...¢h8 15 ¥xd6! (15
£xd4? ¥xd4 16 ¥xd6 ¦e8 Uzunoglu,E-Ozalp,B/Kemer-Antalya TUR 2011.) 15...¦e8 (15...£xb2
16 ¦b1 £xa2 17 ¦e1! promises White a big advantage by bringing his last piece into play, (17
¤xc8 ¦fxc8 18 ¦xb7 ¦d8 Wesseln,K-Forgacs,G/Delmenhorst 1987.) 17...¤f6! Prie,E-
Bedouin,X/Nimes FRA 2009, 18 ¥f1!) 16 ¦e1! (16 ¥g4?! Andrianov,N-Gareev,T/Mesa USA
2010, 16...f5!) 16...¤f8 17 £xd4 ¥xd4 18 ¦ad1 ¥g7 19 ¤xc8 ¦axc8 20 c5! with a strong pair of
bishops, Prie,E-Bedouin,X/Vandoeuvre 2009.
6...c5 7 c3 £b6
a) 7...¤h5!? 8 ¥g5 h6 9 ¥h4 g5 (9...cxd4 10 cxd4 g5 11 ¤fd2 transposes below.) 10 ¤fd2, when
10...cxd4! (10...gxh4 11 ¥xh5 would improve on 10...c5 in the previous note. 10...¤f4?! Nguyen
Thi Mai,H-Franklin,S/Budapest HUN 2010.) 11 cxd4 ¤f4! 12 exf4 gxh4 is Jovanic,O-
Jovanovic,Z/Zadar CRO 2011, following my analysis.
b) 7...¥e6?! 8 dxc5! dxc5 9 ¤bd2 possibly heading for c4 and also supporting e3–e4, (9 ¤a3?!
¤c6 (9...£b6? Prie,E-Hebden,M/Marseille 2006.) 10 ¤e5 ¤xe5 11 ¥xe5 ¥d5 (11...£c8 Prie,E-
Hanley,C/Montpellier 2006.) 12 ¥f3 Prie,E-Demuth,A/Cap D'Agde 2008.) 9...¤c6 10 h3 only
now! 10...¥f5 (10...a6?! 11 a4 £b6 12 ¤g5! Black is already in trouble, Prie,E-Llaneza
Vega,M/Donostia ESP 2009.) 11 ¦e1 Prie,E-Apicella,M/Nimes FRA 2009.
c) 7...cxd4 8 exd4 ¤d5!? 9 ¥g3 ¤c6 is interesting, see Dreev,A-Zvjaginsev,V/World Rapid Ch.
Khanty-Mansiysk 2013.
8 ¤bd2! ¥e6 9 ¤g5 ¥d7 10 ¤c4 £c7 11 h3! (11 a4?! h6 12 ¤f3 ¤h5! Karpov,A-Gelfand,B/Cap
d'Agde 1994.) 11...h6 12 ¤f3 ¥f5 (12...b6 13 ¥d3?! £b7 Jussupow,A-Topalov,V/Las Palmas
 1993. 12...¤h5?! Pert,N-Hawkins,J/Canterbury ENG 2010.) 13 ¥h2 ¤bd7 Karpov,A-
Gelfand,B/Cap d'Agde 1994.
6...¤c6 7 h3 e5! is unpleasant, (7...¤d7 8 c4 e5 9 ¥h2 transposes to 6...fd7.) 8 dxe5 ¤e4
6...¤h5!? 7 ¥g5 h6 8 ¥h4 g5 (8...f5?! 9 ¤c3 Prie,E-Libizewski,F/Marseille 2008) 9 ¤fd2 (9
¤e1?! is worse, as 9...¤f6 10 ¥g3 ¤e4 exchanges the bishop without Black having compromised
his structure, Uzunoglu,E-Menzi,N/Kemer-Antalya TUR 2011) 9...gxh4 10 ¥xh5 e5 Chemin,V-
Sunye Neto,J/Sao Paulo 2000, (10...c5 11 ¤b3! ¤d7 12 ¤c3 Buscara,S-Dionisi,T/Le Grand
Bornand 2010.) 11 dxe5! dxe5 12 ¤c3
6...¥g4?! This move generally makes a poor impression in the King's Indian and this case is no
exception. Black is forced to lose time. 7 h3 ¥f5 8 ¤bd2 c5 9 c3 ¤a6 10 £b3 ¦b8 11 £a3²
Fittante,G-Janotta,P/Cannes FRA 2000.

7 h3
7 c4?! e5! (7...¤h5!? 8 ¥g5 h6 9 ¥h4 g5 10 ¤fd2 ¤f4!? Domenech,V-Bailet,P/Marseille FRA
2010) 8 dxe5 ¤e4 Domenech,V-Manouk,T/St.Affrique 2010.

7...b6
Alternatives:
7...¤e4!? Black is ready to play ...e7–e5, but this knight is more unstable here, 8 £d3 f5!? (8...¤df6
Prié,E-Docx,S/Amay - Borgerhout 2010, 9 ¤bd2) 9 ¦d1 Prie,E-Duquesnoy,J/Marseille 2008.
7...c6?! a common move in the King's Indian in order to gain control over the b5 and d5 squares and
activate the queen, which simply does not help Black to achieve his goal of advancing his e-pawn
two squares. 8 c4 £e8 (8...£a5 9 ¤c3 e5 10 ¥h2 ¦e8 11 a3 Prie,E-Dourerassou,J/Montpellier
2006, 8...¦e8 9 ¤c3 e5? 10 dxe5 dxe5 11 ¤xe5! winning a pawn) 9 ¤c3 e5 10 ¥h2 Prie,E-
Macak,S/Birmingham 2006.
7...e6!? attempts to put a pawn on e5 in two goes but without weakening the d6 square, and is
important as it can arise from a Nimzo move order. 8 c4 b6 9 ¤c3 ¥b7 10 £c2 White stops ... e4,
10...£e7 (10...¤h5!? Ider,B-Hou,Y/Caleta ENG 2017.) 11 ¦fd1 ¤h5 (11...e5 12 dxe5 dxe5 is the
critical continuation but the resulting structure generally favours White. 11...a6 12 ¥h2 ¦fd8
Prie,E-Relange,E/Evry FRA 2008, 13 b4!, 11...h6!? 12 ¥h2 ¤h7 13 ¦ac1 f5 14 ¤b5 ¦ac8 15 c5!
Prie,E-Rozentalis,E/Montpellier 2007) 12 ¥h2 f5 Prie,E-Nemeth,F/Rochefort 2006, 13 ¤d2! ¤hf6
14 ¥f3
7...£e8 8 c4 e5 Raud,R-Krupenski,Y/Parnu/Tallinn EST 2001.

8 c4
8 a4!? White tries to soften up the black queenside. 8...a5 (8...a6!? 9 c3 ¥b7 10 ¥h2 ¦e8 11 ¤bd2
e5 held up well enough in Kamsky,G-Demchenko,A/Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2016. 8...¥b7?! 9 a5
bxa5 10 ¤bd2 ¤d5!? 11 ¥h2 c5 12 ¤b3 with an edge, Prié,E-Riff,V/6ème Trophee Int, Lyon
2011.) 9 ¤a3 this setup is a worthy try, 9...¥b7 10 c3 (10 ¥h2 e6 Nguyen Thi Mai,H-
Nguyen,A/Ho Chi Minh City VIE 2011.) 10...¤e4 11 ¥h2 Kamsky,G-Shankland,S/US
Championship, Saint Louis 2016.

8...¥b7 9 ¤c3
 XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-wq-trk+0
9zplzpnzppvlp0
9-zp-zp-snp+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+PzP-vL-+0
9+-sN-zPN+P0
9PzP-+LzPP+0
9tR-+Q+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

9...¤e4!
This exchange helps Black to solve his opening problems,

10 ¤xe4 ¥xe4 11 ¤d2

11 ¥h2 e5 (11...c5 Vallejo Pons,F-Mikhalevski,V/Heviz 2008.) 12 ¤d2 ¥b7 Ali Marandi,C-
Quesada Perez,Y/Merida MEX 2016.

11...¥b7 12 ¥f3 £c8! 13 ¥xb7

13 ¥h2 c5 Foisor,C-Fressinet,L/Caleta ENG 2016.

13...£xb7 14 £f3 ¦ab8!

Prie,E-Vachier Lagrave,M/Marseille FRA 2010.
 Neo-London System - 1...d5 2 Bf4 [D00]

Last updated 26/01/17 by the ChessPub Team

The London system is one of the most solid if least ambitious d-pawn specials. If White is to achieve
any advantage against an early ...d5 by Black then I feel he has to explore the relatively new idea of
leaving his king's knight at home.

1 d4 d5 2 ¥f4
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvlntr0
9zppzp-zppzpp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzPP+PzPPzP0
9tRN+QmKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy

By leaving the knight on g1 for the time being, White gives himself some extra options.

2...c5
An aggressive reaction from Black, but White can continue calmly in the knowledge that he is
effectively one tempo ahead compared with what Black gets in the Baltic Defence, 1 d4 d5 2 c4
f5.
Others:
2...¤f6 is obviously an important alternative: 3 e3 (3 c3 ¤h5 4 ¥g5 h6 5 ¥h4 g5 6 e3 is Prie,E-
Barsov,A/Rochefort 2009, 3 ¤f3 transposes to a normal London. 3 ¤c3 is the 'Jobava-Prié Attack',
see elsewhere.) 3...c5
a) 3...¥f5 4 ¤d2 (4 c3 e6 5 £b3 ¤bd7!? Ponomariov,R-COMP Fritz/Bilbao ESP 2005) 4...¤bd7
5 h3 c5 6 c3 e6 7 ¤gf3 ¥e7 8 a4 An interesting concept. White discourages b6 thanks to the
possibility of kicking the lady with a5. 8...0–0 9 ¥h2 ¦c8 10 ¤e5 ¤b6 11 g4‚ Arfert,P-
Kuehneweg,C/Recklinghausen GER 2002.
b) 3...e6 4 ¤d2 ¥d6 5 ¥g3 0–0 Prie,E-Motyka,M/Chamalières 2008, 6 ¥d3!.
4 dxc5!?
 a) 4 ¤c3 transposes to the 'Jobava-Prié Attack'.
b) 4 c3 £b6 (4...¤c6 transposes below, to the note to move 4. 4...cxd4 will also transpose, to
either an Exchange Slav or Caro.) 5 £b3 c4 6 £c2 g6 7 ¤d2 ¥f5 8 £c1 ¤c6 9 ¤gf3 ¥g7 scores
well for Black, see Yurtseven,M-Stefanova,A/Albena 2013.
c) 4 ¤d2 cxd4 5 exd4 ¥g4!? Wei,Y-Malakhov,V/World Rapid Championship, Doha 2016.
4...¤c6! the best move which also happens to be, as so often, the most natural one, threatening ...e7–
e5.
a) 4...e6 5 b4 ¤c6 (5...a5 6 c3 axb4 7 cxb4 b6? is weak, Thomas,R-Hernaez Fernandez,C/Brazil
CXEB 1999) 6 ¥b5 (6 c3 e5!? Black bravely takes up the gauntlet, Collins,T-Bedrosian,V/IECG
email 2001) 6...a5 (6...¥e7 is less testing, 7 c3 0–0 8 ¤f3 a5 9 0–0?? a bad blunder, Vandevoort,P-
Michiels,B/Belgium BEL 2004 (9 ¥xc6 bxc6 10 ¤e5 was better)) 7 c3 ¥d7! (7...¤d7?! 8 £a4! (8
¤e2 Prie,E-Loiseau,Q/Cap d'Agde 2012.) 8...e5 9 ¥g3 with advantage, Bellon Lopez,J-
Blechzin,I/Stockholm 2011.) 8 £b3! (8 £e2 axb4 9 ¥xc6 ¥xc6 10 cxb4 d4 11 ¤f3 ¤d5 the
London development of the queen's bishop may not be very valuable for White here, Rowson,J-
Dorfman,J/Port Barcares FRA 2005. 8 ¤f3? axb4 9 ¥xc6 ¥xc6 10 cxb4 b6 thematically
regaining the pawn, Reddmann,H-Steingraeber,K/Hamburg GER 2012.) 8...¤h5 (8...¥e7 9 ¤f3
Black has little compensation for the pawn, Chueca Forcen,A-Martin Martin,L/Madrid ESP 2012.
8...axb4 9 cxb4 ¤e4 10 ¤e2 £f6 11 ¤bc3 Prie,E-Flear,G/Argeles 2011. 8...¤e5!? is the most
challenging.) 9 ¤e2 ¤xf4 10 ¤xf4 Alcaraz Ortega,J-Silva Rodriguez,J/Almansa 2010, 10...£f6
b) 4...£a5+ to ensure the immediate recapture of the pawn, 5 ¤c3 (5 c3 £xc5 6 ¤d2 ¤c6 7
¤gf3 g6 8 ¥d3 ¥g7 is pleasant for Black, Vandevoort,P-Berthelot,Y/Guingamp FRA 2004, 5
¤d2 £xc5 6 a3!? an interesting idea inspired by Queen's Gambit reversed play, 6...£b6 7 b4 a5
White's slight edge counts for little, Kharlov,A-Kobalija,M/Dubai 2002.) 5...a6!
b1) 5...£xc5?! 6 ¤b5! (6 ¥xb8!? ¦xb8 7 ¥b5+ ¢d8! 8 ¤f3 (8 £d3!? Godart,F-
Jolly,J/Guingamp 2011.) 8...¥g4 Sedlak,N-Pavasovic,D/Sibenik 2005, when 9 ¥e2 is my
recommendation.) 6...¤a6 7 a3 (7 c3 e6 Prie,E-Manea,A/Condom 2012, 8 ¥e5!) 7...¥d7!
(7...g6 8 ¥e5! ¥g7 9 ¤f3 b6 10 b4! planning c1 and c4 with a big advantage, Georgiev,V-Zhu
Chen/Athens GRE 2006.) 8 b4 £b6 9 £d4 e6!? Georgiev,V-Byron,A/Treforest WLS 2010.
b2) 5...e6?! 6 a3! £xc5 7 ¤b5 ¤a6 8 b4 Stojanovic,A-Hoang Thi Nhu/Istanbul TUR 2012.
b3) 5...¤bd7? Miladinovic,I-Komljenovic,D/Sibenik CRO 2010, 6 £d4!
6 a3!? (6 ¥xb8?! ¦xb8 7 £d4 e6 8 b4 £c7 9 ¤a4 is a risky continuation for White, Tran,M-
Tran,X/Ho Chi Minh City VIE 2012.) 6...£xc5 7 ¤f3 (7 h3?! appears unnecessary at this stage,
Miladinovic,I-Jakovljevic,V/Cetinje 2009.) 7...e6 (7...¥g4?! Miladinovic,I-Jankovic,A/Banja
Vrucica 2009.) 8 ¥d3 ¤c6 9 0–0 Hobber,A-Rasmussen,A/Helsingor DEN 2012.
5 ¤c3!? (if 5 ¥b5 £a5+! transposes to 'Tromp 2...Ne4 Bf4 d5'.) 5...e5 6 ¥g5 ¥e6 7 ¥xf6 gxf6 8
£f3 the heart of White's idea with pressure against d5, 8...£a5! 9 ¥b5 0–0–0 10 ¤ge2 ¦g8! with a
strong initiative, Rowson,J-Shaw,J/Birmingham ENG 2005.
2...¤c6 3 e3 f6 Black tries a very energetic approach against the London System, contesting the e5
square right from the outset. 4 c4 e5 5 dxe5 fxe5 6 cxd5 (6 ¥g3 ¥b4+ is irritating for White.)
6...exf4 7 dxc6 £xd1+ 8 ¢xd1 fxe3 The opening smoke has dissipated and Black has much to be
satisfied with. Not only does he enjoy the bishop pair in a very open position, the White king is also
misplaced. 9 cxb7? Accelerating Black's development just cannot be right. (9 fxe3 is best, although
I still prefer the Black position.) 9...¥xb7 10 fxe3 0–0–0+³ Levar,N-Jurkovic,H/Kastav CRO 2002.
2...c6 3 e3 ¥f5 (3...¤f6 4 c4 a6 (4...¥f5 5 £b3?! Chistiakova,T-Nazarova,A/Nojabrsk 2005) 5 ¤f3
¥f5 6 £b3 b5 7 cxd5 cxd5 8 a4 Prie,E-Driessens,P/Montpellier 2009, 8...b4) 4 c4! e6
 a) 4...¥xb1? Berkes,F-Lupulescu,C/Dresden GER 2008
b) 4...dxc4!? 5 ¥xc4 e6 6 ¤c3 ¤f6 7 ¤f3 ¥e7 8 0–0 ¤bd7 9 h3 0–0?! (9...¤d5) 10 ¤h4!
depriving Black of an important asset, 10...¥g6 11 ¤xg6 hxg6 12 £f3!? (12 £e2?! Prie,E-
Sanduleac,V/Montpellier 2008) 12...¤d5 13 ¥g3 Schlindwein,R-Monteforte,K/Germany 2006
c) 4...£b6!? 5 £d2.
5 ¤c3 ¤d7 6 £b3 £b6 7 c5 (7 ¤f3!? dxc4! (7...h6? 8 c5 Prie,E-Flachet,T/Nantes 2009.) 8 ¥xc4
¤gf6 9 0–0 Eljanov,P-Kamsky,G/Moscow RUS 2008, when Black might have tried 9...¥e7!? 10
¦fe1 0–0) 7...£xb3 8 axb3 a6 (8...e5!? did not allow Black to completely equalize in Prie,E-
Delorme,A/Montpellier 2008) 9 b4 ¦c8 10 ¤f3 ¥e7!? (10...¤gf6 transposes to [D02].) 11 ¤d2
¥d8 12 ¤b3 (12 e4? Prie,E-Sermier,G/Besancon 2011. 12 f3! intending e3–e4.) 12...¥c7 13 ¥xc7
¦xc7 14 ¥xa6! Sedlak,N-Popovic,M/Sombor 2009.
2...¥f5 3 c4! (3 c3 c6 is fairly level, Prie,E-Bouvier,B/Creon (FRA) 2003. 3 e3 e6 4 ¥d3
Carlsen,M-Giri,A/Bilbao Masters 2016.) 3...dxc4 The most testing.
a) 3...c6?! 4 ¤c3 e6 5 £b3 £b6 6 c5 £xb3 7 axb3 ¤d7 8 ¤f3 (8 b4!) 8...¤gf6 (8...a6 9 b4 ¦c8
10 ¤d2 ¤gf6 11 ¤b3 ¤h5 12 ¥e3 e5!? Harikrishna,P-Bauer,C/Nancy FRA 2009.) 9 b4 (9 h3
Karlik,V-Vlk,M/Znojmo 2005.) 9...¤h5 10 ¥e3! ¥e7 11 b5 0–0 12 h3 ¤hf6 13 ¥f4 ¤e4 14 e3 f6
15 ¤h4 g5 (15...¤xc3 16 ¤xf5 exf5 17 bxc3 Prie,E-Dobrev,N/Nantes 2009.) 16 ¤xf5 exf5 17
¥h2 Van der Sterren,P-Sequera Paolini,J/Istanbul 2000.
b) 3...e6 4 £b3? b6? Stipic,B-Buzancic,T/Sibenik 2007.
4 ¤c3 ¤f6 5 e3 (5 f3?! overambitious, Karlik,V-Chernikov,O/Ceske Budejovice 1995) 5...c6 6
¥xc4 transposing above.

3 e3
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvlntr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-zP-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tRN+QmKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy

3 e4!? The Morris Gambit. This is obviously impossible when the black knight already stands on f6.
3...¤c6! this would be my automatic reaction but things are not simple.
a) 3...dxe4 4 d5 And now White is playing an Albin counter-gambit (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e5 3 dxe5 d4)
with the colours reversed and where the extra tempo provided by f4 can prove quite useful.
4...¤f6 (4...g6!? points at b2, Winants,L-Okkes,M/Netherlands NED 2006) 5 ¤c3 a6 (5...g6?! 6
¤b5! (6 f3 exf3 7 ¤xf3 Barva,A-Farkas,T/Hungary 2011. 6 £e2?! Kharlov,A-
Ofitserian,B/Russian Team Championship 2014.) 6...¤a6 7 d6!) 6 £e2 the typical Morris Gambit
Accepted approach,
 a1) 6 f3!? exf3 (6...e3? 7 £d3! Rozow,B-Muskewitz,B/Berlin 2009.) 7 £xf3!? (7 ¤xf3) 7...g6 8
h3 ¥g7 9 0–0–0 with typical compensation, In't Veld,R-Becic,S/Haarlem 2004.
a2) 6 a4?! g6 7 f3!? (7 ¤ge2?! ¥g7 8 ¤g3 doesn't regain the pawn, 8...0–0 Neumann,J-
Karpatchev,A/Bad Woerishofen GER 2010. 7 ¥c4 ¥g7 Gorovets,A-Kupreichik,V/Minsk 2004.)
7...£a5 Vlasenko,M-Geller,J/Tolyatti RUS 2012, 8 ¥d2
6...¥f5 Hanging on to the pawn. Alternatives:
a1) 6...g6 this is the standard procedure against the Albin (with colours reversed), intending to
return the pawn for attacking chances against the enemy king, 7 0–0–0 ¥g7 8 ¤xe4 ¤xe4 9 £xe4
0–0 (9...¥f5 10 £e3 ¤d7?! 11 d6! Trent,L-Solodovnichenko,Y/Milan ITA 2008.) 10 £e3! (10
¤e2?! ¤d7 11 £e3 ¤f6 12 ¤c3 b5! Black sacrifices a pawn just to open a file on the enemy
king, Eljanov,P-Ponomariov,R/Kharkiv UKR 2008. 10 ¥c4? ¥f5 11 £f3 McShane,L-Illescas
Cordoba,M/Gothenburg SWE 2005, 10 ¤f3 ¥f5 11 £e3 with the idea of h6 is pleasant for
White.) 10...£a5 11 ¢b1 Berkes,F-Prohaszka,P/Zalakaros Open 2015.
a2) 6...¥g4 7 f3! exf3 8 ¤xf3 g6 9 0–0–0 ¥g7 10 h3 ¥xf3 11 £xf3 with excellent compensation
already, 11...0–0 (11...¤bd7 12 d6! Prie,E-Dumitrache,D/Condom 2012.) 12 g4 ¤bd7
Grachev,B-Sveshnikov,E/Jurmala LAT 2012.
a3) 6...¤bd7 7 0–0–0 g6 8 ¤xe4 ¤xe4 9 £xe4 ¥g7 10 d6! Prie,E-Sulava,N/Vitrolles 2012.
a4) 6...e6!? 7 0–0–0 £a5 8 d6?! thematic, but this is more to the point after Black is committed to
...g6, Winants,L-Tregubov,P/Warsaw POL 2005.
7 0–0–0 The extra tempo fits well with this aggressive, rapid, development. 7...¤bd7 8 h3 £b6 9 g4
¥g6 10 f3! With a consequent lead in development, Winants,L-Korneev,O/Warsaw POL 2005.
b) 3...¤f6!? 4 e5 Laurent,B-Savchenko,S/Metz FRA 2005, when 4...¤fd7 looks best.
4 exd5
a) 4 ¤c3!? cxd4 5 exd5 dxc3 6 dxc6 £xd1+ (6...£a5? loses to 7 b4!! Bischoff,K-Estes/NED corr
1945) 7 ¦xd1 bxc6! White has little for his compromised structure, 8 ¥c7 Johnsen's
recommendation in his book 'Win with the London System', 8...e6! (8...f6 9 ¦d8+ ¢f7 see
Marzano,C-Zichichi,A/Bratto 2000. 8...¥g4?! 9 f3 ¦c8 10 ¥a5 ¥d7 11 ¥xc3 Hoffmeyer,F-
Hoffmann,H/Germany 2011.) 9 ¦d8+ ¢e7
b) 4 dxc5 ¤f6! 5 exd5 ¤xd5 6 ¥g3 e5 7 ¥c4 ¥e6 soon led to the recapture of the c5–pawn in
Reddmann,H-Boidman,Y/Hamburg GER 2004.
4...£xd5 5 ¤c3 £xd4!
a) 5...£f5?! 6 £d2? (6 ¥g3!) 6...cxd4 7 ¤b5 e5 8 ¤c7+ ¢d8 9 ¤xa8 exf4 and Black eventually
captured the knight in the corner, and won, Rowson,J-Stojanovic,M/Verona ITA 2006.
b) 5...£e6+? 6 ¤ge2 Romero Holmes,A-Fernandez Aguado,E/Catalan League 2015.
6 ¤d5 e5 (6...¥d7 may be worse: 7 ¤c7+ ¢d8 8 £xd4 ¤xd4 9 ¤xa8 ¤xc2+ 10 ¢d2 ¤xa1 11
¥d3) 7 ¤c7+ ¢d8 8 ¤xa8 exf4 9 ¤f3 (9 ¤e2? £d6! Winants,L-Adly,A/Turin ITA 2006)
9...£xd1+ 10 ¦xd1+ ¥d7 11 ¥b5 (11 ¥c4 ¤h6 12 0–0 unclear, Klaric,Z-Sermek,D/Makarska
Tucepi 1995, 12...¥e7!) 11...¢c8 12 0–0 f6 13 a4 ¥e7 14 ¦fe1 ¥g4 15 a5 intends to install a nail
on b6 and open the a-file in return for leaving the a8–knight to its destiny, see Winants,L-
Michalczak,T/Dresden GER 2007.
3 ¥xb8? This attempt to refute 2...c5 by exploiting the weakness of the a4–e8 diagonal is wrong,
3...¦xb8 4 dxc5 e6 5 £d4 ¤e7! 6 e3 ¥d7! 7 c4 ¤c6 8 £c3 Stefanova,A-Skripchenko
Lautier,A/Shenyang 2000, when 8...b6! is strong.
3 ¤c3 is seen in the 'Jobava-Prié Attack'.
3...¤c6
3...£b6 4 ¤c3! is nice for White.

4 c3
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqkvlntr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-+n+-+-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-zP-zP-+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tRN+QmKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy

4 ¤f3 ¥g4!? (4...¤f6 transposes to a normal London System) 5 c3 e6 6 £b3 £c8 7 ¤bd2 ¤f6 8
¤e5 with a plus, Kramnik,V-Gelfand,B/Moscow RUS 2007.

4...£b6
This is an interesting straightforward try at refuting the White set-up.
4...¤f6 would be an attempt to steer the game into more normal channels but White could avoid this
with: 5 ¤d2 which is advocated in 'Win with the London System':
a) 5 ¥d3?! hopes to hamper the development of the opponent's queen bishop outside the pawn
chain, 5...£b6! 6 £c1 (6 £b3? c4 7 £xb6 axb6 8 ¥c2 b5 Black has a potent queenside initiative,
Israel,G-Geenen,M/Belgium BEL 2005) 6...¥g4! 7 ¤d2 ¦c8 Paci,D-Bruno,F/Porto San Giorgio
ITA 2004, when 8 ¤gf3 should be played.
b) in my opinion, the radical 5 £b3!? could be the only move for White in this position in order to
achieve some stable equality, 5...c4! 6 £c2 g6 7 b3 ¥f5 8 £b2 £b6! Prie,E-Perez
Candelario,M/Elgoibar ESP 2006.
5...¥f5!
a) 5...cxd4 6 exd4 ¥f5 is less precise, 7 £b3 £c8 8 ¤gf3 e6 9 ¤h4!? (9 ¥e2 Ringoir,T-
Palac,M/Tromso Olympiad 2014.) 9...¥e4 (9...¥g6 Gonda,L-Erdos,V/Budapest HUN 2005.) 10
¤xe4 ¤xe4 (10...dxe4 Sedlak,N-Ragger,M/Achaea GRE 2012.) 11 ¤f3 ¥d6 12 ¥xd6 ¤xd6 13
¥d3 £c7 14 £c2 (14 0–0 0–0 Sandipan,C-Kasimdzhanov,R/World Rapid Championship, Dubai
2014.) 14...0–0–0!? 15 0–0 Carlsen,M-Wojtaszek,R/Reykjavik ISL 2015.
b) 5...e6 6 ¥d3 (6 ¤gf3 transposes to [D02].) 6...¥d6 can be met by 7 ¥xd6 £xd6 8 f4 when
8...¥d7!
b1) 8...cxd4 9 cxd4 0–0
b11) 9...¤b4 the knight has nothing to do here, 10 ¥b1 ¥d7 (10...£b6?! 11 a3
Boguszlavszkij,J-Vajda,S/Budapest 2000) 11 a3 ¤c6 Niehaus,S-Nogly,C/Dortmund 1992, 12
£e2!
 b12) 9...£b4? Moran Nuque,A-Harper,R/Bridgetown BAR 2009
10 a3 ¤e7 11 ¤gf3 Kramnik,V-Grandelius,N/Stavanger NOR 2016.
b2) 8...¦b8 proved too slow in Zaitseva,L-Sudakova,I/St Petersburg 2003.
b3) 8...0–0 Belotelov,D-Chirila,I/Obrenovac SRB 2008, when 9 ¤gf3 is critical.
9 a3! (9 g3!? ¤e7! 10 ¤gf3 c4! Doderer,H-Wokurka,W/Germany 1993/Corr Nr. 1, 9 ¤h3 ¤e7! 10
0–0 £b6 11 £b3 ¤g4! equalised in Kovacevic,V-Rajkovic,D/Medulin 1983) 9...cxd4 (9...0–0 10
¤gf3 ¤e8? is suspect, Winants,L-Hautot,S/Belgium 2000) 10 cxd4 Alekseev,V-Sarichev,S/Minsk
2000, 10...0–0 11 ¤gf3?! ¤g4!
c) 5...g6!? 6 ¤gf3 ¥g7 7 dxc5! Yemelin,V-Bernotas,A/Paul Keres Memorial, Tallinn 2014.
6 ¤gf3! (6 £b3 £d7! (6...£c8?! 7 dxc5! Kovacevic,S-Alvarez Abejon,A/Mostoles ESP 2008,
6...¤a5!? Gonzales,J-Yu Lie/Manila PHI 2008) 7 ¤gf3 (7 dxc5 e5 8 ¥g3 ¥xc5 9 ¤gf3 ¥d6
(9...£e7 10 ¥b5 ¥d6 11 ¥h4 a6! Bruno,F-Van den Bersselaar,J/Caleta ENG 2009) 10 ¥b5 £c7!
11 c4 0–0 12 ¦c1 Stefanova,A-Zatonskih,A/Kallithea GRE 2008, 12...¤a5!) 7...c4! 8 £d1 (8
¤xc4?! dxc4 9 ¥xc4 is incorrect, see Prie,E-Duff,R/Argeles 2011. 8 £b5?! a suggestion of
Johnsen's, see Nguyen Thi Mai,H-Bagi,M/Budapest HUN 2010.) 8...e6! (8...b5 Atalik,S-
Smeets,J/Wijk aan Zee NED 2007, 8...a6?! Trent,L-Haslinger,S/Halifax ENG 2008, 8...h6 9 b3!
Shengelia,D-Schachinger,M/Baden AUT 2012.) 9 ¥e2 (9 b3? Vidrih,J-Polajzer,D/Ptuj SLO 2008,
9...¥a3! Blockading the a-pawn while threatening ...b2. 9 ¤h4 Taylor,T-Prohaszka,P/Budapest
HUN 2008, 9...¥e4!) 9...b5! the most precise move order,
a) 9...h6?! 10 ¤e5! (10 0–0 Kovacevic,S-Moreno Trujillo,A/Lorca 2003, and now 10...b5! is
consequent.) 10...¤xe5 11 ¥xe5 Summerscale,A-Haslinger,S/Halifax ENG 2010.
b) 9...¥e7?! Berkes,F-Shulman,Y/Dresden GER 2008
10 0–0 ¥d6 11 ¥xd6 £xd6 Berkes,F-Robson,R/Paks HUN 2010.) 6...£b6! (the casual 6...e6 allows
7 £b3 (7 ¥e2!? £b6 (7...h6 Prie,E-Flear,G/Lattes open 2008.) 8 ¤h4 ¥e4 9 f3 ¥g6 10 £b3 c4 11
£xb6 axb6 12 e4! (12 ¤xg6 hxg6 Prie,E-Flear,G/Montpellier 2010.) 12...b5 13 0–0 b4 14 a3! bxc3
(14...b3!? Prie,E-Youssoupov,M/Montpellier 2011.) 15 bxc3 ¦xa3 16 ¦xa3 ¥xa3 17 ¦b1 ¤d8 18
¥e5! Prie,E-Youssoupov,M/Montpellier 2011.) 7...£c8 (7...£d7? 8 ¥b5, 7...£b6 8 £xb6 axb6 9
¥b5 with a pull in the ending, Mitkov,N-Pitirotjirathon,J/Dresden GER 2008) 8 c4!? (8 ¤h4 ¥e4
9 f3 Sapis,W-Korneev,O/Cappelle la Grande FRA 2004, 8 ¥b5?! Prie,E-Gomez
Esteban,J/Donostia ESP 2008) 8...cxd4 9 ¤xd4 Chernyshov,K-Seres,L/Budapest HUN 2004) 7
£b3
a) 7 dxc5 £xb2! (7...£xc5? Prie,E-Litwak,D/Marseille FRA 2010.) 8 ¤d4 e5! Prie,E-
Flear,G/Donostia ESP 2011.
b) 7 ¤h4!? ¥d7! Eljanov,P-Ponomariov,R/Moscow RUS 2010.
7...c4 8 £xb6 axb6 9 a3 (9 h3? a tempo loss, 9...b5 10 ¤e5 b4 with queenside play, Huppertz,A-
Roelli,C/Dresden GER 2007) 9...b5 (9...h6?! allows White time to link his rooks, 10 ¥e2 e6 11
¤e5 b5 12 0–0 with equality, Zaitseva,L-Demina,J/Iki Burul/Yashalta 1998) 10 ¦c1 h6?!
(10...¤h5! 11 ¥g3 ¤xg3 12 hxg3 h6) 11 h3 Vreljanski,D-Radojkovic,V/Belgrade SRB 2007,
when 11...¤d7! 12 ¥e2 ¤b6 13 ¥d1 ¤a4 is equal.
4...¥f5!? 5 ¤d2! (5 £b3?! £d7 6 ¤d2 Prie,E-Delorme,A/Cap D'Agde 2009, 6...c4! equalizes
immediately.) 5...e6 6 ¤gf3 ¥d6! 7 dxc5!? Youssoupov,M-Prie,E/Montpellier 2011.
4...cxd4 5 exd4 (5 cxd4 ¤f6 is an Exchange Slav [D10].) 5...¥f5! is a sub variation of the Exchange
Caro-Kann, see [B13].

5 £b3 c4
 5...¤f6 can again be met by: 6 ¤d2 when 6...c4
a) 6...¥f5?! 7 dxc5! £xb3 8 axb3 e5 9 ¥g3 ¥xc5 10 ¤gf3! the most accurate,
a1) 10 b4 ¥d6 11 ¥b5?! (11 b5 ¤e7 12 ¤gf3 ¤d7 transposes below.) 11...0–0! Dearing,E-
Bromberger,S/Budapest 2004.
a2) 10 ¥b5?! Danielsen,H-Anwesh,U/Visakhapatnam IND 2011.
10...¤d7 (10...e4 11 ¤d4 ¤xd4 12 exd4 ¥b6 13 ¥e2 0–0 14 b4 with a pleasant edge for White,
Stefanova,A-Sebag,M/Doha QAT 2011. 10...d4?! lost a pawn in Constantinou,P-Eames,R/London
2007, 10...¥d6? is also bad on account of 11 ¥b5 ¤d7 12 ¤d4!) 11 b4 ¥d6 12 ¥e2! the pawn has
to stay on b4 for the moment to provide an anchor for the manoeuvre b3–c5 (a5), (12 b5 is less
precise, 12...¤e7 13 ¥e2 f6! Prie,E-Braeuning,R/Avoine 2008.) 12...f6 13 0–0 Ipatov,A-Silva
Rodriguez,J/Barcelona ESP 2011.
b) 6...£xb3 7 axb3 ¤h5 Popovic,M-Collas,D/Plovdiv BUL 2008, when Kovacevic gives the
antidote: 8 ¥c7! intending b6 to profit from the pin on the a-file.
c) 6...e6 might be best for Black, but led to passivity as usual after 7 h3! preserving the bishop, (7
¤gf3 ¥e7 8 ¥e2 Popovic,M-Desnica,V/Valjevo 2011.) 7...¥e7 8 ¤gf3 0–0 9 ¥e2 Grachev,B-
Kamsky,G/Moscow RUS 2008.
7 £c2 (7 £xb6?! axb6 8 a3 b5 9 ¦c1 to avoid Black's ...b4 pawn break, (9 ¦d1 ¥f5 Liang Chong-
Yu,L/China 2010.) 9...¥f5 10 ¥e2 e6 11 ¤gf3 h6 Kosic,D-Halkias,S/Budapest HUN 2009.)
7...¥g4!? Black brings his light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain, planning to defend d5 with
a pawn on e6 in case of the further advance e3–e4, and with the probable intention ...h5–g6
a) 7...¤h5 8 ¥g5! h6 9 ¥h4 g5 10 ¥e2! "With a big White advantage" - Kovacevic. 10...¤g7 11
¥g3 ¥f5 (11...¤f5 12 ¤gf3 ¥g7 13 e4! Kovacevic,V-Pinter,J/Plovdiv 1983/EU-chT) 12 e4 ¥g6
13 h4 emphasizing the unhappy position of the g7–knight, Sedlak,N-Todorovic,G/Subotica SRB
2008.
b) 7...e6 8 ¤gf3 ¤h5 9 ¥e5 Huelsmann,J-Waldschmidt,G/Germany 2007.
8 b3! to get rid of the annoying pawn on c4 and open the a-file for the rook,
a) 8 ¤gf3 e6 9 b3 (9 h3 ¥f5 10 £c1 Sergeev,V-Potkin,V/Warsaw POL 2011.) 9...¥f5 Karlik,V-
Vass,F/Banska Stiavnica 2007
b) 8 ¥e2 ¥h5! (8...¥xe2 9 ¤xe2 e6 10 0–0 ¥e7 11 ¤g3! Berkes,F-Rustemov,A/Baden Baden
GER 2009) 9 ¥xh5 ¤xh5 when White had to part with his London bishop in Prie,E-Huerga
Leache,M/Elgoibar ESP 2007.
8...cxb3 9 axb3 e6 10 h3 Prie,E-Congiu,M/Condom 2009.

6 £c2
6 £xb6?! axb6 7 e4 e6 8 ¤d2 b5 9 ¥e2 b4 Black forces a near decisive weakening of the White
queenside pawn structure, Eichler,C-Lipinsky,F/Graz AUT 2001.

6...¥f5?!
 XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+kvlntr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-wqn+-+-+0
9+-+p+l+-0
9-+pzP-vL-+0
9+-zP-zP-+-0
9PzPQ+-zPPzP0
9tRN+-mKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy

This move would work better if White's and Black's king's knights were already developed to f3 and
f6 respectively, because Black's d5–pawn would be defended.
6...e5! GM Rainer Knaak's suggestion, 7 dxe5 ¥f5 8 £c1 ¤ge7!? 9 ¤f3 ¤g6 10 ¥g3 ¥c5 Basha,S-
Gibbons,A/Kemer TUR 2007.
6...g6 7 ¤d2 ¤f6 8 e4! Prie,E-Labarthe,A/Gap FRA 2008.
6...¤f6 transposes to 5...f6.

7 £xf5!?
Retreating the White queen to c1 is passive,

7...£xb2 8 £xd5 £xa1

This looks like the most natural move, other tries:
8...£c1+ It seems obvious to displace the White king before taking the rook, but is he just being
driven to a safer square? 9 ¢e2 £b2+ 10 ¢f3 ¤f6 11 £xc4 £xa1 12 £b3² Miles,A-
Minasian,A/IECC Ohrid MKD, 2001.
8...e6 9 £xc4 £xa1 10 ¥d3 (10 £b5 ¥b4 Is very good for Black.) 10...£b2 is very unclear. The
Black queen will escape, but White's mobile pawn centre and bishop pair adequately compensate
him for his sacrificed material.
8...¤f6? 9 £xc4 ¤e4 (9...£xa1 10 £b3) 10 £b5! the cold-blooded defence which wins a piece,
10...£c1+ (10...£xf2+ Sedlak,N-Czebe,A/Subotica SCG 2005) 11 ¢e2 £c2+ 12 ¢f3! no fear of
phantoms! Bogosavljevic,B-Miladinovic,I/Vrsac 2007.

9 £b5 0–0–0
9...a6 10 £xb7 ¤d8 Bistric,F-Sveshnikov,E/Bled 1991, when 11 £xa8 (11 £e4!) 11...£xb1+ 12
¢e2 e5 13 ¥xe5 £d3+ 14 ¢f3 £xf1 is unclear, although White might do best to take a draw by 15
¥c7 ¥e7 16 ¥xd8 ¥xd8 17 £c6+ ¢e7 18 £c5+

10 ¥xc4
White has managed to trap the Black queen and has also collected a pawn for his sacrificed
 exchange. The practical chances are certainly with White here:
10 £f5+!? Concentrates on Black's trapped queen, 10...e6 11 £c2 ¤a5!? Ortega,L-
Mazzilli,P/Palermo ITA 2007.
10 ¤f3? ¦d5! Kamsky,G-Reshetnikov,A/Russian Rapid Team Ch. Sochi 2015.

10...e5 11 ¥xe5!
11 ¤e2 ¥d6!? (11...exf4) 12 0–0 a6 13 £b3 Van der Werf,M-Krudde,F/LSG-SMB bord 4 2007.

11...¥b4 12 ¥d3!
12 ¥xg7? Carvalho,H-Mevel,A/Chartres 2005.

12...¥xc3+ 13 ¢f1
Hoang,T-Das,S/Mumbai IND 2012.
 Jobava-Prié Attack - 2 Bf4 & 3 Nc3 [D00]

Last updated 17/02/17 by the ChessPub Team

1 d4 d5 2 ¥f4
This can also arise from a Veresov move-order: 2 ¤c3 ¤f6 3 ¥f4

2...¤f6
2...c5 3 ¤c3 ¤c6!? (3...¤f6 transposes below. 3...e6 4 e4!? Prie,E-Doluhanova,E/Montpelllier 2013.
3...cxd4 4 £xd4 is considered in Suteev-Rudenskij,N/Moscow 1964.) 4 e3 (4 e4!? transposes into
the Morris Gambit with 4 c3!?, see the Neo-London.) 4...cxd4! 5 exd4 ¥f5 immediately
equalizing because of the poorly placed knight on c3, Lyrberg,P-Serper,G/Oslo 1994.

3 ¤c3
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zppzp-zppzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+PzPPzP0
9tR-+QmKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy

This is the 'Jobava-Prié Attack', much analysed by GM Eric Prié on our site (particularly from 2012–
3) and recently championed by the maverick Georgian GM Baadur Jobova.

3...c5!
Critical, but there are alternatives:
3...¥f5 4 f3 (4 e3 e6 5 ¤f3 has gained some recent attention, Chigaev,M-Iskandarov,M/World
Junior, Khanty-Mansiysk 2015. 4 £d2 Ilic,I-Levi,E/Auckland NZL 2000.) 4...e6 5 g4!? (5 £d2
see Naiditsch,A-Harikrishna,P/Wijk aan Zee 2014.) 5...¥g6 6 h4 h6 (6...h5 7 g5 ¤fd7 8 e3
Nabaty,T-Codenotti,M/EU-ch 16th, Jerusalem 2015.) 7 e3 a6 (7...c5!? Jobava,B-
 Mamedyarov,S/World Rapid Championship, Dubai 2014.) 8 ¥d3 ¥xd3 9 cxd3!? Naroditsky,D-
Kiewra,K/US Online League 2015.
3...e6 4 e3 (4 ¤b5!? ¤a6 5 e3 (5 a3 c6 6 ¤c3 ¥d6 7 e3! Jobava,B-Topalov,V/Baku Olympiad
2016.) 5...¥e7 6 h3 0–0 7 ¤f3 c5 8 c3 ¥d7 9 a4! Trjapishko,A-Gabrielian,A/Vladimir Dvorkovich
Cup, Taganrog 2017.) 4...¥b4!?
a) 4...¥d6 this is a major problem for White, 5 ¤f3 ¥xf4 (5...0–0 6 ¥d3 c5 7 dxc5 ¥xc5
transposes to 4...e7.) 6 exf4 which was very comfortable for Black in Cordova,E-
Kovalyov,A/American Continental, San Salvador 2016.
b) 4...¥e7 5 ¥d3 c5 6 dxc5 0–0 7 ¤f3 ¥xc5 (7...¤bd7!? 8 b4! Jobava,B-Andreev,E/Al-Ain Open
2013.) 8 0–0 ¤c6 (8...¥d7 9 e4 was the brief Jobava,B-Sarana,A/European Rapid Championship,
Minsk 2015.) 9 e4 Jobava,B-Malakhov,V/European Rapid Ch. Warsaw 2013.
5 ¥d3 c5 6 dxc5 ¤bd7 (6...¥xc3+!? 7 bxc3 £a5 is surely critical.) 7 ¤ge2 0–0! (7...¤xc5
Jobava,B-Shalamberidze,A/Georgian Team Championship 2014.) 8 0–0 ¤xc5 Demidov,M-
Panarin,M/Russian Rapid Team Ch. Sochi 2015.
3...a6 4 e3 e6 (4...g6!? 5 h4! Jobava,B-Savchenko,B/Bronstein Memorial, Minsk 2014.) 5 ¥d3 c5
Bortnyk,O-Kislinsky,A/Nabokov Memorial, Kyiv 2015.
3...g6!? feels rather provocative, 4 £d2 (4 e3 ¥g7 5 ¥e2 (5 ¤f3 is a Barry Attack.) 5...c6 6 h4!?
Eljanov,P-Radjabov,T/Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2016.) 4...¥g7 (4...c6!? 5 f3 b5 6 a3
Jobava,B-Winants,L/Tromso Olympiad 2014.) 5 ¥h6 (5 h4!? c5! Shyam,S-Santos
Ruiz,M/Montcada Open 2016. 5 ¤f3 heads back towards Barry waters once again.) 5...0–0 6 ¥xg7
¢xg7 7 0–0–0 c5!? Cabrera,A-Dvirnyy,D/Catalan League 2014.
3...c6 4 e3 ¥f5 5 f3 e6 6 g4 ¥g6 7 h4 is Juegel,M-Harff,M/Belgian League 2016.

4 e3
4 e4!? ¤xe4 (4...dxe4 5 d5 is the Morris Gambit, in the Neo-London.) 5 ¤xe4 dxe4 6 d5
Boguszlavszkij,J-Wang,X/Budapest HUN 2012.
4 dxc5? is Dang,V-Pham,M/Tan Binh 2000.

4...cxd4!
A positionally desirable exchange.
4...e6 allows White to solve the problem of his misplaced knight on c3, 5 ¤b5 ¤a6 6 c3 ¥e7 7 dxc5
(7 a4 0–0 8 h3 keeping the central tension, Short,N-Amonatov,F/Bangkok THA 2012.) 7...¥xc5 8
¤f3 0–0 9 ¥d3 ¥d7 10 a4 ¥e7! (10...¥xb5?! Bosiocic,M-Malikentzos,S/Kavala GRE 2012.) 11 0–
0 ¤c5 12 ¥c2 a6! equalising in Hoang,T-Kravtsiv,M/Chennai IND 2012.
4...£a5 Karlik,V-Polak,T/Olomouc CZE 2003, when 5 dxc5 is critical, transposing to the variation
4.dxc5!? a5+ 5.c3.
4...a6?! 5 dxc5! ¤c6!? (5...e6?! 6 ¤a4! Bauer,C-Berthier,H/Paris 2009.) 6 a3! e5 7 ¥g5 d4!?
(7...¥e6 Stefanova,A-Lacrosse,M/Caleta ENG 2011.) 8 exd4 exd4 9 ¤e4 £d5!? Nakamura,H-
Fressinet,L/World Rapid Championship, Dubai 2014.

5 exd4
 XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-sN-+-+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmKLsNR0
xiiiiiiiiy

This transposes to the ineffective (and rare) Exchange Caro with c3 [B13], but White has no good
alternative.
5 ¤b5!? £a5+! 6 b4 £xb4+ 7 c3 dxc3! with at least a draw, Schuettig,R-Holzapfel,D/Germany
2003.
5 £xd4 ¤c6 6 ¥b5 a6

5...a6 6 ¤f3
6 ¥d3 ¤c6 7 ¤ge2 (7 ¤ce2!? Carlsen,M-Bok,B/World Rapid Championship, Doha 2016.) 7...e6 8
£d2 b5 9 0–0 Jobava,B-Ponomariov,R/Baku Olympiad 2016.
6 ¥e2 ¤c6 7 ¤f3 ¥g4 8 0–0 e6 9 ¤e5 ¥xe2 10 ¤xe2 ¤xe5 11 ¥xe5 completely level, Kovacevic,V-
Kuljasevic,D/Sibenik 2010.

6...¥g4
6...g6?! Hoang,T-Ushenina,A/Gaziantep TUR 2012.

7 h3 ¥xf3 8 £xf3 ¤c6 9 0–0–0 e6 10 g4!

Rapport,R-Sutovsky,E/Tromso Olympiad 2014.
 London System - 1...d5 without ...e6 [D02]

Last updated 26/01/17 by the ChessPub Team

1 d4 d5 2 ¤f3 ¤f6
2...c6 3 ¥f4 This is a more promising time to try the London system, when Black has already
committed his c-pawn. (3 c3 ¥f5 4 ¥f4 ¤d7 5 e3 e6 6 ¥d3 ¥xd3 7 £xd3 ¤gf6 8 ¤bd2 ¤h5!?
White's opening has been very unassuming. Rather than fight for an advantage, he has been content
to simply get his pieces out. This encourages Black to try and take the initiative. 9 0–0 ¤xf4 10
exf4 White has lost his proud dark squared bishop, but in compensation has strengthened his grip
on e5 and has potential pressure along the e-file. 10...¥d6 11 g3 0–0 12 ¦fe1² Ulrichsen,J-
Strand,K/NOR 2002.) 3...¤f6 (3...£b6 4 £c1 ¥f5 (4...¥g4 5 ¤e5 Serrer,C-Kjetzae,J/Budapest
HUN 1999) 5 e3 Lazic,M-Szuhanek,R/Bjeljina YUG 2000) 4 e3 (4 ¤bd2 ¥f5 5 e3 e6 6 c4 As
usual in the d-pawn specials this break with the c-pawn is the best way to try for an advantage
when Black has developed his queen's bishop early. 6...¥e7 7 ¥e2 0–0 8 0–0 h6 9 £b3 £b6 The
position is about level. White has a slight space advantage but Black is very solid and has no
problems developing. 10 £c3 dxc4 11 ¤xc4= Wijesurija,G-Al Mutwae,H/Aden YEM 2002.)
4...¥g4 5 ¥d3 (5 c4 would be my choice, fighting for the initiative. 5...e6 6 £b3 Black lacks a
convenient way to defend b7.) 5...e6 6 0–0 ¤bd7 7 c3 White's approach to the opening is what gets
him into trouble. By trying to play "solidly" he allows Black to utterly take over the initiative.
7...¤h5 8 ¥g3 ¤xg3 9 hxg3 h5 Li,B-Wu,W/Suzhou, Jiangsu CHN 2001.
2...¤c6 3 ¥f4 The London system is a good way of taking all of Black's fun out of playing the
Chigorin defence. To me, the Black knight on c6 simply looks misplaced in the resulting positions.
3...¥g4 (3...¥f5 4 e3 e6 5 a3 This looks slightly bizarre, but with Black in no position to challenge
quickly in the center, White allows himself a tempo to keep b4 under control. 5...¥d6 6 ¥g3 ¤f6 7
c4 White's ability to make this pawn break assures him of the advantage. 7...0–0 8 ¤c3 ¤e4 9 ¦c1
dxc4 10 ¥xc4 a6 11 ¥d3² Ward,C-Brameld,A/St. Helier JER 1999.) 4 e3 e6 5 c4 (5 ¥e2 ¥d6 6
¥g3 ¤ge7 7 0–0 ¥xg3 8 hxg3 £d6= Rozic,V-Remete,Z/Szombathely HUN 2003.) 5...¥b4+
(5...dxc4 Lodhi,M-Sosa,L/Istanbul TUR 2000) 6 ¤c3 ¤f6 (6...¤ge7 7 ¦c1 White plays a clever
waiting game with his f1 bishop. The closed nature of the position allows him to take his time with
his development. 7...0–0 8 h3 ¥h5 9 a3 ¥xc3+ 10 ¦xc3 dxc4 11 ¦xc4 White has emerged with a
small yet persistent opening advantage. He has pleasant pressure along the c-file and the bishop
pair. 11...¤g6 12 ¥h2² Chernin,A-Kapnisis,S/Korinthos GRE 2000.) 7 ¦c1 (7 £b3 An unusual,
but by no means bad continuation. White allows Black to damage his kingside structure in return
for the bishop pair and active pieces. 7...¥xf3 8 gxf3 a5 9 a3 a4 10 £c2 ¥d6 Effectively a pawn
sacrifice, in return for forcing White to relinquish one of his bishops. (10...¥xc3+ 11 £xc3 Leaves
White with a safe edge.) 11 ¥xd6 £xd6 12 c5± Werner,D-Valaker,O/Budapest HUN 2003.) 7...0–0
8 h3 ¥xf3 9 £xf3 ¥xc3+ 10 bxc3 ¤e4 Chigorin players love the fight of knight's against bishops
 but most strong players prefer the potential of the bishops. 11 ¥d3 f5 12 £e2² Donchenko,A-
Kahn,M/Naumburg GER 2002.
Black can also delay this move: 2...e6 3 ¥f4 c5 (3...¥d6 4 e3!? Prie,E-Saucey,M/Montpellier 2003)
4 c3 ¤c6 5 e3 ¥d6 6 ¥g3 In general, this is quite a reasonable idea. The bishop withdraws and to
enforce a trade, Black will have to open the h-file for White's rook. 6...¤f6 7 ¥d3 (7 ¤bd2
transposes below) 7...£c7 8 ¤bd2 e5= Bandara,D-Nasri,A/Tehran IRI 2002.

3 ¥f4
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zppzp-zppzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
9+-+p+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzPP+PzPPzP0
9tRN+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

3 c3 ¥f5! 4 £b3?! a queen has nothing to do on b3 (b6) when the attack against the opposing b-
pawn can be adequately met by c8–c1, i.e. when there is no c-pawn exerting pressure on the
centre. 4...£c8 5 ¥f4 e6 Black is already ready to play ...c5, Prie,E-Van Wely,L/Zonal1 Linares
1995.

3...c5!
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-+-+-sn-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-+N+-0
9PzPP+PzPPzP0
9tRN+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

3...e6 is important as it can come from a 'Nimzo' move order (1 d4 f6 2 f3 e6 3 f4 d5) see
London System - Anti-Nimzo.
3...g6 4 h3 White can afford the time to preserve the bishop, 4...¥g7 5 e3 0–0 6 ¤bd2 ¤bd7 7 c3 b6
8 a4! a6 (8...a5?! 9 ¥b5! Prie,E-Boudre,J/Gap 2007) 9 ¥e2 ¥b7 10 £b3 ¤e4 11 ¦d1 ¤xd2 12
 ¦xd2 Black has difficulties finding a good square for his queen in order to link rooks, Prie,E-
Boudre,J/Marseille 2007.
3...¤h5 Black takes immediate steps to harass the dark squared bishop, which is usually White's
pride and joy in the London system. 4 ¥g5 h6 5 ¥h4 g5 6 ¥g3 ¤xg3 7 hxg3 Black has won the
bishop pair, but at the cost of slightly weakening his pawn structure. 7...¥g7 8 e3 c5÷ Sevillano
Leal,J-Magem Badals,J/Dos Hermanas ESP 2000.
3...¥f5 aims to keep the symmetry, 4 e3 (4 c4? dxc4 5 e3 ¤d5! and Black is on top, Bern,I-
Sulava,N/Caorle 1989) 4...e6 (4...c6 5 c4 The only way to fight for an opening advantage, although
with accurate play Black should be able to equalise. 5...e6 6 ¤c3 £b6 (6...¥e7 7 £b3 £b6 8 c5
Prie,E-Kludacz,M/Montpellier 2006, 6...¤bd7 7 h3?! £b6 Youssoupov,M-Prie,E/Montpellier
2011.) 7 £b3 Now the threat of c5 forces Black to take action. 7...dxc4 (7...¤bd7 8 c5 £xb3 9
axb3 a6 (9...¤h5!? 10 b4 ¤xf4 11 exf4 Georgiev,V-Pedersen,N/Odense DEN 2012, 11...g6!) 10
b4! (10 h3!? ¥e7 11 b4 0–0 Hoang,T-Nasir Ali,S/New Delhi IND 2012.) 10...¦c8 to impede b5,
11 h3 (11 ¤d2? ¤h5! Georgiev,V-Filev,G/Sofia BUL 2008.) 11...¥e7 (11...¤e4!? Supancic,D-
Cvetkovic,S/Pula 1984.) 12 ¤d2 ¥d8 13 ¤b3 now the arrival of a White knight on a5 will worry
Black, 13...h6!?
a) 13...0–0 14 ¥d6 (14 ¤a5!? ¥xa5 15 bxa5 Hansen,S-Fries Nielsen,J/Hillerod 2010.) 14...¦e8
15 ¤a5 ¥xa5 16 bxa5 e5 17 ¢d2 a key position in this rather common way of playing for Black,
see Prie,E-Lacroix,R/Muret 2012.
b) 13...¥c2!? 14 ¤a5 ¥xa5 15 bxa5 ¢d8 16 ¢d2 Prie,E-Varga,P/Chalons en Champagne FRA
2009.
c) 13...¥c7? 14 ¥xc7 ¦xc7 15 b5! and Black can almost resign, Grachev,B-Rychagov,A/Moscow
2010.
14 ¤a5
a) 14 ¥d6!? ¤e4 15 ¤xe4 ¥xe4 16 f3 ¥g6 (16...¥c2? loses a crucial tempo, Kharlov,A-
Sakaev,K/chessassistantclub.com INT 2004.) 17 ¤a5 ¥xa5 18 bxa5 Nikolic,P-Piket,J/Wijk aan
Zee 1989.
b) 14 ¥e2 Kharlov,A-Kosyrev,V/chessassistantclub.com INT 2004.
c) I reckon the untested 14 ¦a3! is the most precise.
14...¥xa5 15 bxa5 ¢d8!? (15...0–0 16 f3! Kamsky,G-Sher,M/Internet ICC 2007. 15...e5!?
Gelashvili,T-Nigalidze,G/Tbilisi GEO 2010.) 16 f3! Sharif,M-Grabliauskas,V/Lyon 1994.) 8 ¥xc4
¤bd7 9 h3 (9 0–0 Eljanov,P-Kamsky,G/Moscow RUS 2008, when Black might have tried
9...¥e7!? 10 ¦fe1 0–0) 9...¥e7 10 0–0 0–0 11 ¦fe1 ¥g6 Chances are roughly balanced. 12 ¦ad1=
Taleb,M-Anand,V/Dubai UAE 2002.) 5 h3 (5 c4?! is the aggressive option, when White has to
allow the displacement of his king after: 5...¥xb1 6 ¦xb1 (6 £a4+ Kamsky,G-Bortnik,A/ICC INT
2010, 6...¤c6) 6...¥b4+) 5...c5 6 c3 Far too routine. Most London system players are reluctant to
exchange their dark-squared bishops, but here, it was certainly the best choice. (6 ¥xb8 ¦xb8 7
¥b5+ And White can hope for some opening advantage.) 6...£b6 7 £b3 c4 8 £xb6 axb6 These
endings always follow the same pattern. Unfortunately for him, White cannot prevent the b5–b4
expansion, he must simply sit and wait for the inevitable pawn push. 9 ¤h4 ¥g6 10 ¤xg6 hxg6 11
¤d2 b5³ Nikolaidi,E-Mourtzouni,M/Athens GRE 2002.
3...¤c6?! A bizarre way of meeting the London system. Black voluntarily blocks his main source of
counterplay, his c-pawn. 4 c3 e6 5 ¤bd2 ¥d6 6 ¥g3 ¥xg3 7 hxg3 ¥d7 8 £c2 £e7 9 ¤e5 This is
necessary to stop Black from freeing his game with e5. 9...h6 10 ¤df3² Salgado Gonzalez,J-Ferrol
Muras,R/Poio ESP 2002.
4 e3
4 dxc5 White attempts to avoid the troubles that plague him in the normal main lines by (for the
moment) ruling out ...b6. However, giving up the center can seldom be right in the London
System or indeed most systems. 4...e6 (4...¤a6 5 e3 ¤xc5 6 ¤c3 a6 7 ¥e2 e6 8 0–0 ¥e7=
Straeter,T-Meins,G/Wattenscheid GER 2000.) 5 b4?! A very ambitious strategy, but trying to hang
onto the extra pawn is doomed to sad failure as the presence of the bishop on f4 will seriously
complicate the process of even transposing into an equal QGA with reversed colours, 5...a5
(5...¤c6 6 c3 a5 7 ¤d4 axb4 8 ¤xc6 bxc6 9 cxb4 ¤e4° Kahn,E-Almasi,I/Budapest HUN 2000.)
6 c3 axb4! this is the acid test of White's idea. White cannot maintain his extra pawn. (6...¥d7
Black envisages a bold pawn sacrifice. 7 ¤bd2 b6 Forcing the break-up of White's imposing pawn
chain. 8 cxb6 axb4 9 cxb4 ¥xb4° Crouch,C-Yakovich,Y/Port Erin IOM 2001.) 7 ¥xb8? (7 cxb4
¤c6!) 7...¦xb8 8 cxb4 b6 9 ¤d4 (9 £a4+ ¤d7! 10 c6 £f6 Bags the rook on a1) 9...£d7 already
favours Black, Wochnik,M-Alves,L/ICCF email Corr 2002.
4 c3 This seems a reasonable try for White to avoid the main lines of the London system. 4...£b6
( However, I guess the major deterrent is that Black can transpose to the Exchange Slav with
4...cxd4 5 cxd4 ¤c6 as in Bagheri,A-Prie,E/Nantes FRA 2003 see [D13]) 5 £b3 ¤c6 Objectively
best. (5...c4!? 6 £c2 (6 £xb6?! axb6 7 ¤bd2? (7 ¤a3 is better, 7...¤c6 8 ¤d2! White wants to
play e4 in one go, 8...¥f5 9 ¥c7? White falls to the b6 decoy, Hanreck,A-Ferguson,M/England
1997) 7...b5! (7...¤c6 8 a3 b5 9 ¦c1 Bagheri,A-Landa,K/Paris FRA 2005) 8 h3 h5! Black is
better, Einwiller,D-Prie,E/Bad Woerishofen GER 2003) 6...¤c6 7 ¤bd2 This is a crucial
difference which works in White's favour. Because he has accelerated his queenside development
Black has no time for tricky moves like ...f5. 7...¥g4 8 h3 ¥h5 9 ¤h4 White goes to great lengths
to ensure his queen will not be harassed. 9...h6 10 g4² Mastrovasilis,D-Mihailidis,A/Athens GRE
2002.) 6 dxc5!? (6 £xb6?! axb6 7 ¥c7 b5! Stentebjerg,P-Granberg,N/DEN-ch corr 1982)
6...£xc5 7 e3 g6 8 ¤bd2 ¥g7 9 h3 0–0 10 ¥e2 ¤d7! like a reversed Slav, Ricart,H-
Prie,E/Montpellier Masters op 1998.

4...¤c6!
4...£b6 5 ¤c3! Now there is no time for Black to take on b2 due to b5, so he is obliged to take a
more defensive posture, 5...¥g4 (5...e6 Ali,M-Garcia,R/Istanbul TUR 2000, when 6 ¤b5 ¤a6 7
a4 should be in White's favour.) 6 ¤b5 ¤a6 7 dxc5! leads to a definite edge, Tu,H-
Lane,G/Australian Championship, Melbourne 2014.

5 c3
5 ¤bd2 £b6!? (5...e6 6 c3 transposes to the London Anti-Nimzo Guide.) 6 dxc5 £xb2 7 ¦b1 is
risky, L'Ami,E-Lu,S/Wijk aan Zee 2017.
5 c4 This is an interesting attempt to regain the initiative. Unfortunately, I feel the bishop on f4 is
simply misplaced in the ensuing battle. 5...¥g4 6 dxc5 (6 cxd5 is the natural move but after
6...¤xd5 The drawback of White's bishop being developed to f4 is already exposed.) 6...e5 7 ¥g5
This clear loss of Tempo means White can already give up all pretence of an opening advantage.
7...¥xf3 8 gxf3 (8 £xf3 falls foul of 8...£a5+) 8...d4 Black has achieved a very pleasant queens
gambit accepted with colours reversed. 9 a3 h6 10 ¥h4 a5³ Storland,K-Dreev,A/Panormo GRE
 2001.
5 ¤c3?! ¥g4 6 ¥b5 e6 7 £d2 ¥xf3 8 gxf3 £a5! and Black was soon on top, Fluvia Poyatos,J-
Prie,E/La Tordera 2006.
5 dxc5? Ellis,L-Anderson,J/BCCA-ch corr9798 1997.

5...£b6
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9zpp+-zppzpp0
9-wqn+-sn-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-zP-zPN+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tRN+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

5...g6 6 ¤bd2 ¥g7 7 h3 An important move in most London systems to give the bishop an escape
square on h2, 7...0–0 8 ¥e2 (8 ¥d3 ¤d7 9 0–0 e5 Kharlov,A-Hillarp Persson,T/Skelleftea SWE
1999.) 8...¤d7 9 0–0 b6 (9...e5 10 dxe5 ¤dxe5 11 ¤xe5 ¤xe5 12 ¤f3 Wells,P-Hebden,M/South
Wales International, Cardiff 2014.) 10 £a4 ¥b7 Langeweg,K-Kouatly,B/Montpellier Zonal 1985.
5...e6 6 ¤bd2 transposes to 3...e6.

6 £b3
6 £c1 ¥f5 7 ¤bd2 ¦c8 It's very obvious that Black is quite comfortable here. 8 dxc5 This does
nothing to enhance White's chances. In fact, it does just the opposite. 8...£xc5 9 a3 e6³ Vegvari,F-
Kongsted,C/Budapest HUN 2002.

6...c4 7 £xb6
7 £c2 ¥f5! 8 £c1 h6 (8...¤h5!? 9 ¥g5 h6 10 ¥h4 g5 11 ¥g3 ¤xg3 12 hxg3 bags the two bishops,
Moradiabadi,E-Goloshchapov,A/World Blitz Championship, Dubai 2014. 8...e6 scores well, 9
¤bd2 £d8 see Hebden,M-Wells,P/British Championship, Bournemouth 2016.) 9 h3 (9 ¤bd2 e6
10 ¥e2 Hetzer,V-Schwartzman,G/Metz 1994) 9...e6 10 ¤bd2 £d8 Regular subscribers to this
sight will know that we believe Black has no problems here, and can even fight for the initiative on
the queenside. 11 ¥e2 is solid although I still like Black, (11 g4 This is the source of White's future
problems. In trying to pursue an active continuation, he simply weakens his position. 11...¥h7³
Kljako,D-Zelcic,R/Pula CRO 2002.) 11...b5! 12 ¤e5 ¤xe5 13 ¥xe5 ¥d6 and Black's queenside
space advantage is the decisive factor, Gonzalez Maza,R-Prie,E/Olot 2005.

7...axb6 8 ¤a3
 This is the only way to stop Black's plan of ...b5–b4.
8 ¤bd2 ¥f5 A slight inaccuracy, which could have let White off the hook, Lefever,D-
Pedersen,D/Brussels BEL 2000.

8...¦a5
XIIIIIIIIY
9-+l+kvl-tr0
9+p+-zppzpp0
9-zpn+-sn-+0
9tr-+p+-+-0
9-+pzP-vL-+0
9sN-zP-zPN+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-mKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

Probably the most accurate, controlling b5.

8...e6 Has served me well here, with the idea: 9 ¤b5 ¦a5
8...e5 is very combative, 9 ¤b5 ¦a5 10 ¤d6+ (Perhaps White should try 10 ¤c7+ ¢d7 11 ¤xe5+
¤xe5 12 ¥xe5 ¤g4 13 ¥g3 ¥d6 14 ¤xd5 ¦xd5 15 ¥xc4 With three pawns and a very solid
position for his piece.) 10...¥xd6 11 dxe5 So White regains his piece, but Black can charge a high
price. 11...¥a3! Detonating White's queenside pawn structure. 12 bxa3 ¤e4³ Lucena,S-
Coelho,L/Brasilia BRA 2003.
8...¦xa3!? is a very interesting exchange sacrifice that also exists with reversed colours against the
Baltic, 9 bxa3 ¥f5 10 ¤h4 ¥c2 11 ¦c1 ¥a4 followed by ...e6, ...xa3 and ...b5–4, Hoang,T-
Gonda,L/Budapest 2001.

9 ¥c7 ¥f5 10 ¥xb6

10 ¤h4 e6! 11 ¤xf5 ¥xa3 Of course. 12 bxa3 exf5 13 ¥e2 ¦xa3 14 ¥xb6 ¤e4 winning, Py,W-
Prie,E/Gap FRA 2008.

10...¦a6 11 ¥c7 ¢d7

 XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-vl-tr0
9+pvLkzppzpp0
9r+n+-sn-+0
9+-+p+l+-0
9-+pzP-+-+0
9sN-zP-zPN+-0
9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9tR-+-mKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

12 ¤b5!
12 ¥f4? e6 13 ¤b5 ¦a5 14 a4 ¥c2 favours Black, Kovacevic,S-Rausis,I/Las Palmas 1995, as
White's queenside falls apart.

12...e6 13 ¥e2 ¥e7 14 ¥d1 ¦ha8 15 a4 ¤a7

with good chances, Legky,N-Cvetkovic,S/Vrnjacka Banja 1989.
 London System - Anti-Nimzo [D02]

Last updated 25/01/17 by the ChessPub Team

1 d4 ¤f6 2 ¤f3 e6 3 ¥f4

The London System is effective against players who like to play the Nimzo-Indian and Queen's
Indian complex.

3...d5 4 e3 c5
XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zpp+-+pzpp0
9-+-+psn-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-+-zPN+-0
9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9tRN+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

4...¥e7 5 ¤bd2
a) 5 h3 0–0 6 ¥d3 c5 7 c3 cxd4 8 exd4 Black has simplified the position and given himself the
chance of a minority attack on the queenside. The downside is White's control of the e-file and
iron grip on e5. 8...¤bd7 Too passive. (Black should consider 8...¤c6 followed by ...d6.) 9 0–0
¤h5?! A wild goose chase. 10 ¥h2² Gros,P-Mazats,D/Aubervilliers FRA 2003.
b) 5 h4!? c5 6 c3 Prie,E-Brethes,F/Marseille 2008.
5...0–0?! (premature) 6 ¥d3 b6 (6...¤bd7 7 h3 b6 8 0–0 ¥b7 9 ¤e5 c5 10 c3 a6 11 a4 White's
position has played itself up until now. This thrust is played with the idea of denying Black the
prospect of queenside expansion with b5. 11...¦e8 12 ¤df3² Lucena,S-Rego,A/Brasilia BRA
2003.) 7 ¤e5 ¥b7 Although Black's position is very solid, my feeling is that White is always
slightly better in these positions, due to his superior light squared bishop. 8 £f3 c5 (8...¤bd7 9
£h3 ¦e8 10 ¤df3² is similar, Papadopoulou,T-Ziogas,P/Chania GRE 2000.) 9 c3 ¤bd7 10 £h3!
with a dangerous attack, Prie,E-Brethes,F/Condom 2009.
4...¤h5 5 ¥g3 ¤xg3 6 hxg3 c5 7 c3 ¤d7 8 ¤bd2 ¥d6 9 £c2 ¤f6 10 ¤e5 White can be quite happy
with the outcome of the opening. His grip on e5 and the open h-file give him more than enough
 play to compensate for the lost bishop pair. 10...a6 11 ¤df3² Lip,M-Castor,D/Penrith AUS 2003.
4...¥d6 faces both players with another set of subtle problems, 5 ¥g3 White offers the exchange of
minor pieces, safe in the knowledge that this exchange would open the h-file and restrict Black's
castling options. (5 ¤bd2 ¥xf4 6 exf4 White is very comfortable already, as he has an iron grip on
the e5 square. 6...0–0 7 c3 £d6 8 g3 c5 9 dxc5 £xc5 10 ¥d3 White's structure looks a little strange,
but it severely restricts any central expansion by Black. Meanwhile, White can prepare to occupy
his outposts on d4 and e5. 10...¤c6 11 0–0 ¦e8 12 ¦e1² Bagheri,A-Grecuccio,N/Leuven BEL
2002. 5 ¥xd6!? cxd6 6 c4 Prie,E-Mohota,N/Creon 2007, 5 ¤e5?! Prie,E-Kuciapa,A/Taverne le
Saint-Georges 2006) 5...0–0 (5...¤e4 6 ¤bd2 ¤xg3 7 hxg3 Now the Black king will never feel
secure on the kingside. 7...¤d7 8 e4 dxe4 9 ¤xe4 ¥e7 10 ¥d3² McKenna,J-MacRae,J/Coulsdon
ENG 2002.) 6 c4 c5 7 cxd5 ¤xd5!? after this the play begins to resemble a strange sort of Semi-
Tarrasch with White's bishop on g3, not c1, Kamsky,G-Ivanchuk,V/Beijing Grand Prix 2013.
4...a6?! a slow approach more commonly seen at club level, 5 ¥d3 c5 6 c3 ¥d6 7 ¥g3 ¤c6 8 ¤bd2
0–0 9 ¤e5 Carlsen,M-Yu,Y/Doha QAT 2015.

5 c3 ¤c6
5...¥d6 6 ¤e5 White lays down the cement on the e5 square nice and early. 6...0–0 7 ¤d2 £e7 8 ¥d3
¤bd7 9 £e2 White has a very aggressive plan in mind. He intends queenside castling. However,
this plan involved a considerable amount of risk, as Black is well placed to launch a queenside
counterattack. 9...¤e8 10 0–0–0?! c4 11 ¥c2 ¥xe5 12 dxe5 b5³ Hokkanen,P-Koskinen,H/Finland
FIN 2002.

6 ¤bd2
6 ¥d3?! White should first play bd2, to give himself the option of b1. 6...¥e7?! Very sedate. It
was now certainly time to take some aggressive action. (6...£b6! forces the White queen to a less
than ideal square, then 7 £b3 (7 £c1 is better but the queen is not well placed here.) 7...c4 is just
good for Black, who will follow the exchange of queens with ...b6–b5–b4.) 7 h3 0–0 8 0–0 ¥d7 9
¤bd2 cxd4 10 exd4 The opening stage has worked out well for White, who has a slight edge thanks
to his more active pieces and access to e5. 10...¦e8² Diehl,K-Rochol,J/Bad Wildbad GER 2002.

6...¥d6
 XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwqk+-tr0
9zpp+-+pzpp0
9-+nvlpsn-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-vL-+0
9+-zP-zPN+-0
9PzP-sN-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

Black fights for control of the key e5–square by proposing the exchange of the dark-squared bishops,
6...¥e7 7 ¥d3
a) 7 ¤e5!? 0–0?! 8 ¥d3 £b6 (8...¥d7 9 £f3 is another aggressive setup, Sahovic,D-
Franzoni,G/Biel 1980) 9 ¦b1 cxd4 10 exd4 ¤d7 11 0–0 White already enjoys enough assets to
renounce the attack, Prie,E-Perez,A/Chamalieres 2007.
b) 7 h4!? is Eric's novelty, 7...0–0?! 8 ¥d3 transposing below.
7...0–0?! Castling into the attack! (7...¤h5! Prie,E-Zimmermann,K/Mainz 2007) 8 h4
a) 8 h3 b6 9 0–0 ¥b7 10 £e2 (10 £b1 A multi-purpose move. White increases his influence over
both the centre and kingside and also gives himself the possibility of queenside expansion with b4.
10...¦c8 11 ¤e5² Alejandro,L-Vasquez,M/Lima PER 2002.) 10...¥d6 11 ¦fe1!? Carlsen,M-
Tomashevsky,E/Wijk aan Zee 2016.
b) 8 0–0 b6 9 £b1 An original position for the queen, however, on c2 she would be a potential
target for a Black rook. (9 ¤e5 The knight's arrival on this key square in the London system gives
him the edge. White enjoys kingside attacking chances and the better light-squared bishop.
9...¤xe5 10 dxe5² Mawira,H-Bensdorp,L/Haarlem NED 2000.) 9...¥b7 10 ¤e5 The point
behind White's previous move, the knight cannot be captured. 10...£c8 (10...¤xe5 11 dxe5 wins
the h7 pawn.) 11 ¥g3² Stefanova,A-Rodriguez Lopez,R/Mondariz Balneario ESP 1999.
8...¦e8 (8...¤g4?! 9 ¥xh7+! winning quickly, Bruno,F-Opacic,A/Verona ITA 2005) 9 ¤e5 with a
dangerous attack on the cards, Prie,E-Memeti,K/Stockay 2008.
6...¤h5 As is usual in these situations, the stronger player seeks to unbalance the position as early as
possible. 7 ¥g5 £b6 8 ¦b1 h6 9 ¥h4 g5 10 ¤e5÷ Khechen,N-Goloshchapov,A/Dubai UAE 2003.
6...cxd4 7 exd4 ¤h5!? Giri,A-So,W/8th London Classic 2016.

7 ¥g3
Preparing e5 and f4.
7 ¤e5 this is too early, however, for at this stage the knight is not stable because of the direct 7...£c7
8 ¤df3 (8 ¥b5? is ridiculous, Jones,J-Zalewski,L/ICCF Email 2002, 8 ¤xc6 ¥xf4 9 ¤xa7 ¦xa7
10 exf4 cxd4 with a slight edge due to the weakness on d4, Ilic,Z-Andonovski,L/Struga 2007)
8...cxd4 9 exd4 Nepomniashchikh,D-Portnov,D/Cherepovets 2001, 9...¤e4!
7 ¥xd6 £xd6 8 ¥b5 0–0 9 0–0 b6! (9...¥d7 10 ¥xc6 ¥xc6 11 ¤e5 ¤d7! is equal, Hebden,M-
Nelson,J/British Championship, Bournemouth 2016.) 10 a4 ¥b7 Prie,E-Inkiov,V/Amay 2007.
7...0–0
7...¥xg3?! 8 hxg3 Mission accomplished! 8...£d6 9 ¥b5 (9 ¥d3 e5!? (9...¥d7 10 £e2 Sedlak,N-
Hobber,A/Norwegian League 2013.) 10 dxc5! £xc5 11 e4 Georgiev,K-Brunello,S/Durres Open
2014.) 9...¥d7 (9...0–0?! 10 £c2 A key move in the attack, defending b2, guarding e4, with h7 in
the line of fire. (10 ¥xc6 bxc6 11 ¤e5 Barva,A-Sinkovics,P/Gyongyos 2003) 10...h6 11 ¥xc6
bxc6 12 ¤e5 Colovic,D-Todorovic,G/Herceg Novi 2001.) 10 ¥xc6 ¥xc6 11 ¤e5 £c7 (11...¤d7
12 ¤df3 proved unpleasant for Black in Pozin,S-Potkin,V/Eforie Nord 1998.) 12 £f3 h6 13 £f4!
Carlsen,M-Ghaem Maghami,E/Baku Olympiad 2016.
7...£c7? 8 dxc5 Scalcione,M-Sermek,D/Nova Gorica 1998.
7...£e7 is Cox's suggestion, 8 ¤e5 ¥xe5 9 dxe5 ¤d7 10 £h5 (10 ¤f3 is imprecise, 10...c4!
Ledger,S-Atlas,D/Kallithea GRE 2008, 10 f4 may be best) 10...h6 11 ¤f3 Prie,E-
Remille,T/Marseille 2007.

8 ¥d3
8 ¥b5 ¤e7 (8...a6 9 ¥xc6 (9 ¥d3!? Nisipeanu,L-Cornette,M/Baden Baden GER 2016.) 9...bxc6 10
£a4 Carlsen,M-Anand,V/World Blitz Championship, Doha 2016.) 9 ¥d3 (9 dxc5!? ¥xc5 10 ¥d3
b6 11 0–0 ¥b7 with no problems, Kramnik,V-Nakamura,H/Zurich Chess Challenge (blitz) 2016.)
9...b6 10 ¤e5 (10 e4) 10...¥b7 Stefanova,A-Sebag,M/Leon 2001.
8 ¤e5?! £c7 (8...¥xe5 9 dxe5 ¤d7) 9 f4 White has established a Stonewall formation, but 9...¤e4!?
(9...a6 10 ¥d3 b5 11 0–0² Papenbrock,V-Schroeder,C/Rostock GER 2002.) 10 ¤xe4 dxe4 led to a
comfortable equalization in Gonzales,J-Romanishin,O/Campillos 2006.

8...b6!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zp-+-+pzpp0
9-zpnvlpsn-+0
9+-zpp+-+-0
9-+-zP-+-+0
9+-zPLzPNvL-0
9PzP-sN-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

This leads to equality according to the 'Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'.

Alternatives:
8...£e7 9 ¤e5 (9 ¥xd6!? £xd6 10 0–0 e5 Kosic,D-Bui Vinh/Budapest HUN 2008) 9...¤d7 Black
pursues the fight for the control of the e5–square. This is a basic position of the London System,
often considered to be its refutation, but 10 ¤xd7!
a) 10 ¤xc6 bxc6 11 £a4 is interesting, attempting to take advantage of the black queen's
positioning, Baumann,R-Tushev,A/Chessfriend.com 2003
 b) 10 ¤df3 f6! Kovacevic,S-Gonzalez Garcia,J/Benidorm ESP 2008
c) 10 f4?! f6 11 ¤xc6 (11 ¤xd7?! Kosic,D-Caruana,F/Budapest 2007) 11...bxc6 12 0–0 e5
Legky,N-Fingerov,D/Odessa 2005.
d) 10 h4!? produces an interestingly unbalanced position, 10...cxd4! 11 exd4 ¥xe5 12 dxe5
¤dxe5 13 ¥xe5 ¤xe5 14 ¥xh7+ ¢xh7 15 £h5+ ¢g8 16 £xe5 f6 17 £e2 e5 when counterplay
for Black arrived just when needed via the semi-open c-file in Prie,E-Luther,T/Arvier ITA 2007.
10...¥xd7? (10...£xd7 11 dxc5 ¥xc5 12 0–0 is only a touch better for White.) 11 ¥xd6! (11 dxc5 is
nothing, Burmakin,V-Nabaty,T/Benidorm ESP 2009) 11...£xd6 12 dxc5! £xc5 13 ¥xh7+! ¢xh7
14 £h5+ ¢g8 15 ¤e4 with a winning attack, 15...£c4 16 ¤g5 ¦fd8 17 £xf7+ ¢h8 18 £h5+ (18
h4 also wins - see the stem game Prie,E-Svetushkin,D/Chalons en Champagne FRA 2009.)
18...¢g8 19 ¦d1! first discovered on the ChessPub Forum, but then played in Kamsky,G-
Shankland,S/23rd Eastern Class, Sturbridge 2014.
8...¦e8 also plans ...e5, so 9 ¤e5 ¥xe5 (9...£c7 10 f4 a6 11 ¥h4! allowed White to get a strong
attack in Prie,E-Mora,P/Chamalières 2008. 9...g6!? Minasian,A-Tissir,M/Abu Dhabi UAE 2004.)
10 dxe5 ¤d7 11 ¤f3 (11 f4 also proved interesting in Mitkov,N-Shulman,Y/Bolingbrook 2005)
11...a6 12 0–0 b5 13 a4! Prie,E-Flear,G/Narbonne-plage op 1hKO 2007.
8...£c7!? 9 dxc5! ¥xg3 10 hxg3 e5 11 e4 Black doesn't have quite enough for his pawn, Markus,R-
Papp,G/Sarajevo Open 2013.
8...cxd4 9 exd4 ¤e7?! Palliser,R-Rooney,P/Leeds 2016.

9 ¤e5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+lwq-trk+0
9zp-+-+pzpp0
9-zpnvlpsn-+0
9+-zppsN-+-0
9-+-zP-+-+0
9+-zPLzP-vL-0
9PzP-sN-zPPzP0
9tR-+QmK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

9 e4 ¥e7! Parrying the fork is the critical continuation, (9...dxe4?! 10 ¤xe4 ¤xe4 11 ¥xe4 ¥b7 12
dxc5 (12 ¥xd6?! Vager,I-Egin,V/St Petersburg 1997. 12 £a4!?) 12...¥xc5 13 £a4! teeing up a
cunning trap, Grachev,B-Gorodetzky,D/European Blitz Championship, Minsk 2015.) 10 e5 ¤h5 11
a3!? (Eric mainly focussed on 11 £e2 ¥b7 12 £e3) 11...a5 12 £e2 ¦a7! Grischuk,A-
Nakamura,H/Skopje MKD 2015.
9 £e2 ¥b7 10 ¦d1! Kamsky's preference. 10...¦e8 (10...¦c8!) 11 e4 ¥e7 12 e5 ¤h5 13 a3 (13 h4)
13...g6! (13...a5 14 ¤f1 g6 Kamsky,G-Goganov,A/Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2016.) 14 ¤f1 (14 0–
0!) 14...f5 Sedlak,N-So,W/Baku Olympiad 2016.

9...¥b7!
 This seems best.
9...¤e7?! is thematic, but probably inaccurate, 10 h4! ¥b7 11 £f3 Prie,E-Ramaswamy,A/St-
Affrique 2007.
9...£c7!? 10 f4 ¥b7 Sedlak,N-Drozdovskij,Y/Ajaccio 2006.

10 f4
10 0–0 £c7 11 f4 ¤e7 the thematic knight manoeuvre, Korobov,A-Dominguez Perez,L/World Rapid
Championship, Doha 2016.

10...¤e7!
With the idea

11 £f3 ¤f5 12 ¥f2 ¥e7 13 0–0

13 g4!? ambitious, 13...¤d6 14 g5 ¤fe4 and White was crushed in Karjakin,S-Adams,M/Utrecht
2016.

13...¤d6
Threatening to occupy the hole on e4.