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However, this opening gained popularity at the top level after the 1922 London Congress, especially after the match between GMs Alexander Alekhine and Max Euwe. History Of The London Systemĭeveloping the dark-squared bishop to f4 and outside the pawn chain is a natural idea that has been played for centuries. Once more, White can get out of the London System and play 3.Nc3 to get an edge, so you need to prepare for this. Qe2 Bb7.Īs with the other line, the prepared White player will know that deviating from the London moves is their best chance to gain an advantage. On the other hand, Black will play for a central break or a counter-attack on the queenside:ġ. The London's mainline leads to a balanced position where White will usually go for an attack on the kingside. Below are a few of the most common paths a London game can take: Mainline One of the advantages of the London System is that White will almost always play the same setup.

It puts little immediate pressure on Black.

A very sound way of getting a playable middlegame.Despite its being a solid opening by nature, the London also features aggressive lines and can catch Black off guard. This opening's main idea is to create a solid pawn structure in the center by pushing pawns to c3 and e3, but only after developing the dark-squared bishop outside the pawn chain. The starting position of the London System. Note that the old mainline was 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4, but the current theory states that playing 2.Bf4 instead of 2.Nf3 is slightly more accurate.

White enters the London System when playing Bf4 before pushing a pawn to e3, usually through 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4. For this reason, the theory on the London is not as extensive as it is for other openings. The London is considered a system because White can play the same basic setup for almost all of Black's responses. The London System is a popular 1.d4 opening for White which has the reputation of being very solid.

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