Most openings ask you to learn a tree of replies. The London asks you to learn a shape. You play 1.d4, bring the dark-squared bishop to f4 straight away, and build a pyramid of pawns on c3, d4 and e3 behind it. Against nearly everything Black tries, you end up in the same position, with the same plans.
That makes it one of the best openings to learn first with White, and a good one to keep for life. This article explains the idea, where it came from and who it suits, then walks through the trainer's chapters, one for each way Black tries to bother it.
The idea
The London's key move is Bf4, played before e3. In most d-pawn openings the dark-squared bishop gets shut in behind the e3 pawn. Here it comes out first, and only then do the pawns close the door behind it. The rest follows a picture rather than a move order:
- Pawns on c3, d4 and e3, a triangle Black can lean on but rarely break
- Knights on f3 and d2, the d2 knight backing up a later
e4 - The other bishop on d3, aiming at Black's king on h7
- Castle short, then choose a plan
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If Black offers to trade bishops with ...Bd6, step back to g3 and keep yours. From here your plans are simple and few: a knight to e5, the queen to f3 or e2, and the e4 break once your pieces are ready. The ideal setup line builds it once, move by move.
A little history
The setup is older than its name. James Mason, an Irish-American master, played it in the 1880s, and a handful of masters such as Blackburne, Janowski and Rubinstein took it up from time to time. It earned its name at the London tournament of 1922, where it turned up in seven games, among them games by Capablanca, Alekhine and Rubinstein.
For most of the next century it stayed rare at the top, a quiet choice for players who wanted to avoid theory. That changed in the 2000s and 2010s, when grandmasters such as Gata Kamsky, Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik played it in serious games. Club players followed, and today it is one of the most popular ways to open with 1.d4 at every level. It has no code of its own in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings: it falls under A46, A48 and D02, depending on Black's reply.
Sources: Wikipedia's London System, and the books it cites.
Who it suits
The London suits you if you:
- Want one setup for White that works against almost anything, with little to memorise
- Like a safe king and a solid centre, and are happy to outplay your opponent slowly
- Would rather understand plans than learn long forced lines
It suits you less if you want sharp, open fights from move one, or like to sacrifice early. Even then, the Jobava London gives it a sharper edge. The usual complaint is that the London is dull. It is solid, not dull: the middlegames are rich, and the side that knows the plans wins them.
Bishop hunters: ...Nh5 and ...d6
Your bishop on f4 is the London's best piece, so Black often tries to trade it off. The knight jumps to h5, or Black prepares ...e5 with ...d6 to chase it. Two habits keep it safe.
Against an early ...Nh5, before you've played Nf3, your queen on d1 looks straight at h5. Only the g6 pawn guards the knight, so if Black chases the bishop with ...h6 and ...g5, it costs a piece.
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Against ...d6, play h3. It gives the bishop a retreat on h2, where ...Nh5 and ...e5 can no longer trade it off. See early ...Nh5 and ...d6 means h3. The rule holds without the fianchetto too: against ...d6, ...Nbd7 and ...e5, the bishop goes to h2 and c4 hits the chain if Black pushes on with ...e4 (...d6 and ...Nbd7).
The classical ...e6 and ...Bd6
Black's most common plan is to put a bishop on d6 and offer a trade on f4. Let it happen. After ...Bxf4 exf4 your doubled pawn isn't a weakness: the f4 pawn grips e5, and the e-file opens for your rook.
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If Black adds ...Nh5 to hunt the bishop, step to e5, where it trades on your terms. If Black then plays ...f6, it's a trap: Bxd6 and g4 win the knight on h5. Lines: recapture with the pawn, Be5! and the knight trap.
The mirror: ...Bf5
When Black copies you with ...Bf5, the usual e3 lets Black get comfortable. Play 3.c4 instead. It hits d5, and with Black's bishop gone from c8, b7 is short of defenders: your queen can come to b3.
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If Black takes on c4, you win the pawn back with e3 and Bxc4 and come out ahead in development. See the mirror and mirror with ...dxc4. Black can also wait a move, with ...Nf6 and then ...Bf5 after e3. The answer is still c4 (...Nf6, then ...Bf5).
...Nc6, and the early ...c5 with ...Qb6
Black has two ways to go after d4 quickly. ...Nc6 blocks Black's c-pawn, so d5 can never be shored up with ...c6. Answer with c4, a3 to keep the knight out of b4, and Bg5 to pin the f6 knight and win d5 (...Nc6 and ...Bf5).
With ...c5 and ...Qb6, Black's queen hits b2. Once c3 is in, Qb3 guards it and offers a queen trade that opens the a-file for you (guard b2 with Qb3). If ...Qb6 comes before c3, the pawn is poisoned:
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Play through it in the poisoned pawn. With ...c6 instead of ...c5, the queen gets to b6 just as fast. There Qc1 guards b2, then c4 and c5 push the queen away (...c6 and ...Qb6).
Fianchetto setups
When Black puts a bishop on a long diagonal, the London still works, but the plan changes with Black's centre:
- The King's Indian,
...g6,...d6and...e5: playh3, drop the bishop to h2, and if...e4locks the centre, switch to the queenside withc4andb4(the King's Indian) ...g6with...d5: e5 stays open, so put a knight there, trade off the g7 bishop and lock e5 in withf4(Ne5 and f4)- The Queen's Indian,
...b6and...Bb7: the b7 bishop watches e4, so fight for that square withBd3,Nbd2andQe2(the Queen's Indian setup)
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The Dutch, and the Jobava London
Against the Dutch, 1...f5, the bishop on f4 is even better than usual: it eyes e5, the hole that ...f5 leaves behind. In the Stonewall, with pawns on d5, e6 and f5, Black's dark-squared bishop is its best piece, so trade it off yourself and leave Black with the bad bishop on c8 (the Stonewall).
If you want the London with more bite, try the Jobava: 2.Nc3 before Bf4. The knight jumps to b5 to hit c7, and after ...Na6, Bxa6 leaves Black with broken queenside pawns for the rest of the game.
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See Nb5 and Bxa6.
What to play for
In the middlegame, the London gives you three plans, and the position tells you which:
- A knight on e5, backed by
f4if Black chases it, with the queen and the d3 bishop pointing at the king. This is the London's main attack - The e4 break, once the d2 knight, the queen and a rook back it. Use it when Black's play is on the queenside, or when Black has committed to
...c4 - The queenside, with
c4andb4, when Black locks the centre with...e4
In the endgame, your c3–d4–e3 pawns are hard to attack, so slow endgames suit you. Aim for a knight on e5 against Black's light-squared bishop, which is often shut in behind its own pawn on e6. Keep your dark-squared bishop unless trading it wins something: it guards e5. And watch for a protected passed pawn on c4 if Black closes the queenside; break the chain with b3 before you trade down.
Each line in the trainer ends with its own goal, so you finish every line with a plan.
Train this opening
The trainer has every line in this article, nineteen in all. Learn each one with the coach, practise it from memory, then let the review bring it back before you forget it. The move tree shows all of them at once.