1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4
The Jobava London System is an aggressive chess opening for White defined by 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4. It borrows the London System’s bishop on f4 but replaces the quiet c3 with the knight on c3, and that one change transforms the opening’s character. The knight eyes the b5-square, where it attacks c7 in tandem with the f4-bishop, creating concrete threats as early as move four. Where the classic London builds a fortress, the Jobava London picks a fight.
The starting position arises after 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4, and the move order matters: 2. Nc3 comes before the bishop develops, blocking White’s own c-pawn on purpose. White is not planning a slow c3 pyramid; the plans are Nb5 hitting c7, e3 with Bd3 aiming at h7, or f3 and g4 launching the kingside pawns. Black’s third move sets the agenda: 3... e6, 3... c5, 3... c6 and 3... Bf5 are the main tries, and against each one White has a forcing, well-mapped response rather than a universal setup. The same position can also come from 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. Nc3, but starting with 2. Nc3 makes an immediate ...c5 unattractive because it would leave d5 loose, whereas the bishop-first order allows independent ...c5 lines.
1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nb5 Na6 5. e3 c6 6. Nc3 Nc7 7. Nf3 Bd6 8. Ne5 O-O 9. Bd3
Against the natural 3... e6, the knight jumps to b5 immediately: c7 is attacked by both knight and bishop, and ...Na6 is the standard defense. White happily retreats after ...c6; Black’s knight is misplaced on a6/c7, and White switches to the attacking scheme with Nf3, Ne5 and Bd3. The bishop and knight battery aimed at h7 generates real mating attacks, including Bxh7+ sacrifices in several course lines.
1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nb5 e5 6. Bxe5 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Ne4 8. Qxd5 Qxd5 9. Nc7+ Kd8 10. Nxd5
Striking the center with ...c5 is principled, but it loosens d5 and the queenside. After 5. Nb5 Black’s thematic 5... e5 break runs into a forcing sequence: White grabs the e5-pawn, takes on d5, and the family fork Nc7+ wins the queen back with two extra pawns and a shattered Black position. Black has better fifth moves, but the punishment of the natural line is the heart of this variation.
1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 Nc6 4. Nb5 e5 5. Bxe5 Nxe5 6. dxe5 Ne4 7. Qxd5 Qxd5 8. Nxc7+ Kd7 9. Nxd5
Developing the knight to c6 looks active but walks into 4. Nb5, when c7 is already creaking. The freeing try 4... e5 loses material by force: White captures twice on e5, takes the d5-pawn, and Nxc7+ forks king and queen. Black ends up three pawns down with the king stuck on d7. This is the signature Jobava London trap, and it catches natural-looking play over and over at club level.
1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. f3 e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. e3 Bd6 8. Nh3
When Black develops the bishop to f5, White attacks it directly: f3 prepares g4, and the g- and h-pawns charge up the board with gain of tempo. White’s knight comes to h3 and f4 to trade off Black’s light-squared bishop or support the storm, and the long castle follows. Black spends moves saving the bishop while White builds a kingside attack, a completely different game from anything in the regular London.
1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c6 4. e3 Bf5 5. f3 e6 6. g4 Bg6 7. h4 h6 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Bd6 10. Nge2 O-O 11. O-O-O
Against Black’s Caro-Kann-style setup with ...c6 and ...Bf5, White again gains space with f3, g4 and h4, trades the light-squared bishops on d3, then castles long. With kings on opposite wings and White’s g- and h-pawns already advanced, the attack plays itself: g5 pries open the files in front of Black’s king while Black’s queenside counterplay is several tempi behind.
Facing the Jobava London with Black, job one is surviving the opening tricks: the Nb5 jump against c7 and the forced sequences after a careless ...e5 break win material against autopilot play. The cleanest prophylaxis is an early ...a6: it takes b5 away from the knight entirely and asks White to show a constructive plan, which is exactly the question the opening would rather not answer. If you prefer development first, ...e6 is fine, but meet 4. Nb5 with ...Na6 and be ready to spend a tempo on ...c6; do not allow Nxc7+. A quick ...c5 is the most principled central counter, but follow it up accurately: the thematic ...e5 break loses by force in several lines, so check the d5-pawn and the c7-square before opening the position. Developing the bishop with ...Bf5 or ...Bg6 is natural, but know that White will throw the f-, g- and h-pawns at it; keep ...h5 or ...h6 in reserve so the bishop is never trapped. Positionally, Black’s trumps are real: White’s knight blocks its own c-pawn, so Black can fight for c5 and the queenside light squares without fearing c4. Trade pieces where possible, keep c7 covered, and the Jobava London’s initiative fades into an equal middlegame where White’s setup has no second wave.
Create threats before Black finishes developing. Nb5 attacks c7 the moment it is unguarded; against ...e6 setups, switch to Nf3, Ne5 and Bd3 with a direct attack on h7, often castling long or sacrificing on h7. Against ...Bf5, play f3, g4 and h4 to harass the bishop and storm the kingside, castling queenside behind the e3–f3 chain. The dark-squared bishop on f4 supports almost every plan. Keep it.
Neutralize the tricks first: an early ...a6 stops Nb5, and ...c6 or ...Na6 covers c7 if the knight has already jumped. Strike at the center with ...c5 once the tactics are accounted for, since White’s blocked c-pawn cannot fight back with c4. Trade light-squared bishops, avoid the premature ...e5 break, and aim for an equal middlegame where White’s early aggression has spent itself.
The opening is named after Georgian grandmaster Baadur Jobava, who pioneered it at the top level in the 2010s and showed that the strange-looking combination of Nc3 and Bf4 carried real venom against elite opposition. Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport became its other leading champion, which is why some sources call it the Jobava–Rapport System. The setup itself is a hybrid: it crosses the London System’s Bf4 with the early Nc3 of the Veresov Attack (1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5), keeping the London’s sound structure while abandoning its quiet reputation. Its popularity surged in the online era, where its trap-heavy lines and low mainstream theory make it a favorite surprise weapon from club level up to grandmaster blitz.
A reliable weapon that either traps your opponent outright or hands you a great attacking position.
Hey folks, I'm excited to invite you to learn the Jobava London! Although I am mostly known for opening with knight to c3, in my earlier years I was a little more conservative and played this opening instead. Especially in blitz, it felt like a cheat code, and many have fallen for its tricky traps. So, why did I ever stop playing it? I still can't answer!
I can already see Black hoping for pawn to c4, dreaming of the renowned Queen's Gambit. But we are going to surprise 'em with my absolute favorite knight move.
Most of the time, black is terrified that we are going to grab the whole center with pawn to e4, so they rush to prevent it. Now we get to unleash our weapon with the London-style development of the bishop. Also, notice how we are getting closer to castling queenside.
I'm getting serious Fried Liver Attack vibes here! If you look closely, this setup is basically a mirrored version of it on the queenside. You MUST remember this deadly piece coordination against the c7 pawn, threatening a devastating fork. This tactical theme will pop up in many scenarios, but in this specific position, Black is already DOOMED!
Funny enough, desperately giving up a pawn is Black's only attempt to stop our knight from landing that c7 fork. But we won't mind collecting some pawns!
Yes, our powerful dark-squared bishop has fallen, but our initiative is far from over! We recapture with tempo, immediately attacking their knight on f6.
No matter where the black knight chooses to escape, we have a brilliant tactical sequence ready to win us yet another pawn!
For a brief moment, Black is actually up a full queen! But don't panic, we have a royal fork on the menu!
Let's take back what is ours!
When the dust settles, we are sitting on 3 clean extra pawns! From here, simply develop your kingside pieces, for example by playing pawn to e3 and knight to f3. Just please don't castle queenside and blunder into their knight taking on f2!
In most of our games, we're going to face this Queen's Gambit Declined-style setup. At the cost of blocking the light-squared bishop behind the pawn chain, black wants to unleash their dark-squared bishop to create an uncomfortable pin on b4. I don't like allowing them to get comfortable, so let's immediately threaten that c7 fork once again!
Unfortunately, we are not winning on the spot here, as black has a couple of ways to defend the c7 pawn. But hey, at least we forced the black knight to the rim, which is dim! Now, we just calmly continue developing the rest of our pieces.
Black is not forced to kick our knight on b5 right away, but long-term, it is the only way to bring their knight on a6 back into the game.
It is completely understandable that Black wants to avoid our bishop taking on a6, which would completely ruin their queenside pawn structure. However, the trade-off is that their knight on c7 is still a hopeless piece. Meanwhile, our knights have a much brighter future ahead of them!
Black offers to exchange the bishops, which we can sometimes ignore, as recapturing with exf4 will grant us firmer control over the e5 square. Yet even better is to secure the outpost right away!
Now it's time to attack!
I absolutely love this type of position! In fact, launching this attack is the whole point of the Jobava London if Black plays too passively. The pawn avalanche begins here and will continue with pawn to g5 to kick the black knight, fully supported by pawn to h4. And don't forget about your pieces: that bishop on d3 is perfectly placed to support the offense!
Black offers a trade of dark-squared bishops, but again we are in no rush! Remember, we always have our go-to capture waiting as long as that black knight stays stuck on a6.
The queenside is in ruins and the bishop on c8 is a pretty sad piece. The only hope black has of breaking free is pawn to c5, so we must counter that.
I actually don't mind allowing black to double our pawns here, because this is a completely different story from black's ugly doubled a-pawns on the queenside! Our doubled pawns are not weak at all. In fact, the new f4 pawn will give us an iron grip on the e5 outpost.
Let's get closer to castling short and take more control over the weakened dark squares.
The game will revolve around two sweet outposts on c5 and e5, which are secured by our dominating knights. Don't fear the check from Black's queen on a5, as after pawn to c3 the knight is protected by our queen. Just castle next and let Black have a knightmare!
I can't explain why, but black just seems to hate their dark-squared bishop! Though it is actually a very solid choice in this position, let's go ahead and take it anyway.
In return for giving up the bishop pair, black gained a very solid pawn mass in the center. Because of this, we need to carefully continue our development.
Now it's time to build the famous pawn pyramid!
And here is where caution is needed! Black is ready to take over the whole center with pawn to e5, so whatever you do, please don't blindly play the bishop to d3 and then walk into a pawn fork on e4. So let's make a little retreat space for our dark-squared bishop, since we know it is going to be in some trouble soon!
Black is attacking our dark-squared bishop, but we already anticipated that!
Since I already cautioned you, it should come as no surprise where our light-squared bishop is developed.
I know it's not the most exciting line in the world, but as long as we don't do something stupid (which I know you are entirely capable of!), Black will have a really hard time finding a plan. Any move they make with their e-pawn just creates new weaknesses. Meanwhile, we get smooth development after castling short, and we can even consider expanding on the queenside with pawns to a4 and b4.
You might not like this, but from here we actually need to continue in the style of a standard London System. Sorry :)
Now it's time to build the famous pawn pyramid!
The Jobava London plays Nc3 instead of the regular London’s c3: 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4. The knight on c3 enables an early Nb5 attacking c7, making the Jobava London a sharp, trap-laden attacking opening, while the classic London is a quiet, repeatable system.
Yes. It is fully sound and was proven at grandmaster level by Baadur Jobava and Richard Rapport. Accurate defense equalizes, as in most openings, but at club level its early threats against c7 and direct attacking plans score heavily.
The Nb5 jump against c7. If Black plays a natural early ...Nc6 or ...c5 and then breaks with ...e5, White can capture on e5 and d5 and fork king and queen with Nc7+, winning material by force. Several course lines drill this exact sequence from both the winning and the defending perspective.
Stop the tricks first: an early ...a6 prevents Nb5, and ...c6 or ...Na6 keeps c7 defended if the knight has already jumped. Then strike at the center with ...c5, which is hard for White to answer because the knight on c3 blocks the c-pawn. Avoid the premature ...e5 break.
Yes. Baadur Jobava, after whom it is named, used it against world-class opposition in the 2010s, and Richard Rapport made it a regular weapon as well. It remains a popular surprise choice in elite rapid and blitz play.
Reading about an opening is step one. The trainer at the top of this page drills all 23 lines against the moves real opponents play. The first lines are free.
Train the Jobava London System now