1. d4 d5 2. Bf4
The London System is a chess opening for White that begins 1. d4 followed by an early Bf4, most directly 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4. Instead of fighting for the center immediately with 2. c4 like the Queen’s Gambit, White builds the same solid setup against almost anything Black plays: pawns on d4 and e3, the dark-squared bishop developed outside the pawn chain, knights on f3 and d2. That system character makes it one of the most popular openings at club level — you learn one structure, not a forest of theory.
The defining position arises after 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4: White stakes a claim in the center with the d-pawn and develops the bishop to f4 before locking it in with e3. The modern move order plays 2. Bf4 immediately (the "accelerated" London), while the older route goes 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4. From there White almost always continues e3, c3, Nf3, Nbd2, Bd3 and castles short — the famous London "pyramid" of pawns on c3, d4 and e3. Black’s setup barely changes the plan, which is exactly the point.
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. c3
Both sides develop naturally and 6. c3 completes the famous pyramid, meeting the ...c5 strike without ever loosening the center. From here White’s standard plans are Ne5 supported by the d4-pawn, or Bd3 and a slow kingside attack, while the c3–d4–e3 pyramid keeps the center locked and safe. Move order matters: if Black plays ...c5 before ...e6, the course switches to the sharper 4. Nc3, heading for Nb5 ideas against c7.
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c6 3. e3 Bf5 4. c4 e6 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. c5 Qxb3 7. axb3
Black’s queen eyes the b2-pawn the bishop no longer defends — the most principled try against the London. The course meets it head-on: 5. Qb3 offers a trade on White’s terms, and after 6. c5 Qxb3 7. axb3 White emerges with extra queenside space and a half-open a-file for the rook. Separately, if Black ever grabs b2 outright in the early ...c5 and ...Qb6 lines, the poisoned-pawn resource 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Nb5 — threatening Nc7+, forking king and rook — is a line every London player should know exists.
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 Bd6 4. Qg4
Black offers an immediate trade of dark-squared bishops to drain the position of White’s most active piece. The course’s answer is the aggressive 4. Qg4!, hitting the g7-pawn the bishop offer leaves loose: 4... Bxf4 runs into 5. Qxg7, winning a pawn and wrecking Black’s kingside, while 4... g6 concedes lasting dark-square weaknesses in front of the king. Either way, the bishop trade never comes for free.
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Bf5 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4
Black mirrors White’s idea and develops the bishop outside the chain. Because White is a tempo up in the symmetry, the course breaks it immediately: 3. c4! attacks d5 the moment Black’s bishop abandons the queenside. After 3... dxc4 White simply regains the pawn with e3 and Bxc4 and enjoys the freer game, while 3... c6 invites 4. Qb3, hitting b7 — the square Black’s bishop left behind.
Facing the London with Black, the worst plan is autopilot — the opening punishes opponents who let White build the full setup unchallenged. The most reliable counters target what the bishop on f4 left behind: the b2-pawn and the dark squares around White’s queenside. An early ...c5 followed by ...Qb6 forces White to deal with the b2 attack concretely; if White answers carelessly, Black simply wins a pawn. Trading the dark-squared bishop with ...Bd6 is the positional approach: it removes White’s best attacker, after which Black’s setup with ...e6, ...Nf6 and ...0-0 is rock solid. King’s Indian players instead fianchetto with ...g6 and strike at the center with ...c5 and ...Qb6, exploiting the fact that e3 came before the bishop could be challenged. Whatever you choose, develop with a concrete target — the London is only comfortable when Black plays without one.
Build the pyramid (c3, d4, e3), develop the bishop to d3 and knights to f3 and d2, castle short, then pick a wing: Ne5 and f4 launches the classic kingside attack, while dxc5 and b4 plans grab queenside space against an early ...c5. The dark-squared bishop is the soul of the setup — retreat it to g3 rather than allow a favorable trade.
Strike at d4 with ...c5 before White is fully coordinated, harass b2 with ...Qb6, and contest the e4-square so the d3-bishop stays passive. Trading dark-squared bishops via ...Bd6 takes the sting out of every White attacking plan. Full equality is realistic — the London concedes the advantage of the first move easier than main lines do.
The opening takes its name from the London tournament of 1922, where it appeared as a practical weapon against the hypermodern defenses that were new at the time. For decades it had a reputation as a quiet club-player’s system, but elite practice rehabilitated it: Gata Kamsky used it as a lifelong main weapon, and in the 2010s world champion Magnus Carlsen and other top grandmasters made it a regular part of elite tournament play. Its modern popularity exploded online, where its low theory load and clear plans make it one of the most-played openings at every rating level.
Let's play the London!
Let's learn the London system! Before we get started, I have to warn you: this opening is basically the same 5 boring moves over and over and nobody will be your friend. If you're ok with that, then let's get started with pawn to d4.
Let's continue with the London!
By the way - it's not too late to turn back! You can return to the home page and learn literally any other opening!! Still here? OK... second move of the london is bishop to f4.
We'll continue with our regular london system: pawn to e3.
Black has abandoned the guard of the g7 pawn - let's play queen to g4 to attack it.
Black has BLUNDERED! And this was their most common move too!! Before we recapture the bishop, we can takes a free pawn with queen to g7
Before we take back the bishop, let's trade queens. Queen takes queen on f6.
NOW we can finally take back the bishop - pawn to f4.
A free pawn is a free pawn!
Regular london stuff: pawn to e3.
Black just... gave us a free pawn? It looks weird but this has happened in over a million games. Pawn takes pawn on e5.
Instead of bishop taking back - we have an even better move! Queen to h5 check
now QUEEN takes pawn on e5.
Black just lost the game in like 5 moves hahaha
When black breaks out the symmetrical bishop variation, I recommend breaking OUT of the traditional london setup and instead going for something they probably haven't seen before: pawn to c4.
It looks like we just gave black a free pawn - but they're going to have a hard time holding onto it. Pawn to e3 opens up our light-squared bishop to attack their c4 pawn.
Black tried to hold onto their pawn but it's actually a huge BLUNDER. We have the very-cool queen to f3 here, hitting black's rook.
Black blocked our attack on their rook but now we have an even BETTER idea: bishop takes knight on b8, discovering an attack on the undefended f5 bishop.
Free bishop? Free bishop! Queen takes bishop on f5.
A pawn for a bishop - that's a good trade
The next normal london move is pawn to e3
When black goes for the c5 pawn-break here, I actually like breaking AWAY from our normal london setup and instead playing knight to c3. This is setting up a deadly trap that most of our opponents will fall for...
Black's most common move here is actually a BLUNDER. Now we can hop our knight into b5 and set up a knight fork on c7.
Taking with the bishop or the pawn are both great options. In this course, let's take with the bishop :) Bishop takes on e5.
Pawn takes knight on e5, of course.
Now we have an incredible sequence that will win us another pawn and a crushing position. First step: queen SACRIFICE on d5.
Do you see how we can win our queen back? Hint: Knight to c7 forking the king and queen.
We need to win our queen back, so knight takes queen on d5 of course.
There's a few different ways we can protect/save our knight here. I recommend the simple pawn to c4 to lock in black's position.
Well done! We are +4 on the eval-bar and the only thing to keep in mind is to NOT castle queenside because black's knight is eyeing our f2 pawn.
Black is offering us a free pawn - but we shouldn't actually take it. If we do, we'll lose the center and black will pretty easily regain the pawn again. Instead, let's continue with our normal london setup: pawn to e3.
Normally we play pawn to c3 here (and that’s perfectly fine), but there’s another option — a trap that HALF your opponents will fall for: knight to c3. Our goal is to get our knight onto c7 and fork black.
OUR OPPONENT FELL FOR OUR TRAP!! Knight to b5 immediately, threatening knight fork to c7. Black is going to lose material here. By the way, this position actually transposes into a line from the Jobava London course — one of my personal favorites on the site. If you’re enjoying this position, you’ll definitely love the Jobava London course.
Pawn to c3, blocking the check. Our threat on c7 remains.
We can win a pawn (and a good position) by playing bishop takes pawn on e5.
Pawn takes knight on e5, of course.
Our e5 pawn is under attack! We can defend it AND win a pawn of our own with queen to d5.
We have the center. We have more development. We have a safer king. We have 2 of our opponent's pawns. We have a 3 point eval advantage.
Yes — it is one of the most recommended first openings. You play the same solid setup against almost everything, so you spend your study time on plans and tactics instead of memorizing long forced lines.
The most testing tries are an early ...c5 with ...Qb6, attacking the b2-pawn the bishop on f4 no longer defends, or a quick ...Bd6 offering to trade off White’s best piece. Both require White to know concrete answers.
It is solid rather than boring. White’s standard kingside plan with Ne5, Bd3 and a pawn storm produces real attacks — and because the structure repeats, London players often attack with more confidence than their opponents defend.
Yes. Magnus Carlsen, Gata Kamsky and many other elite grandmasters have used it in top-level tournaments. It is fully sound at every level of play.
Far fewer than in main-line d4 openings. Most London positions follow the same recipe — the Chessreps course drills the lines where move order actually matters, including the critical ...Qb6 and ...Bd6 tries.
Reading about an opening is step one. The trainer at the top of this page drills all 28 lines against the moves real opponents play — the first lines are free.
Train the London System now