{\u0022Game1\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: Introduction\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/wdGlcwDu\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:09:38\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: Introduction\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/wdGlcwDu\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:09:38\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ Hi! You\u0026#x27\u003Bve probably heard about an opening for white called the London System. In this study, I will teach you the basics of this popular opening. } 1. d4 { We will be starting with d4. It is not as aggressive as e4 can be but d4 is a good middleground between aggressive and solid games.\u005CnTo start off as an example I will show you the ideas where black plays 1...d5. 1...Nf6 is a popular choice as well. [%cal Gd7d5,Gg8f6] } 1... d5 2. Bf4 { This is the trademark move of the London Opening, where you play d4 and Bf4. The idea is to build a solid pyramid in the center with e3 and c3, and the bishop on f4 will be very well placed.\u005CnThis is as far as I will go for this chapter. In the next few chapters I will go into more detail on the ideas. [%csl Ge3,Gc3,Gf4][%cal Ge2e3,Gc2c3] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game2\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: Introduction\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/wdGlcwDu\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:09:48\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: Introduction\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/wdGlcwDu\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:09:48\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ The London Opening can bring you great results and easily teach you very important ideas in chess. In this chapter I will show you the must\u002Dknow ideas when playing the London Opening } 1. d4 { In this chapter I\u0026#x27\u003Bll explain the main ideas you will do in most London Opening games. } 1... d5 2. Bf4 { Our London Opening move.\u005CnPlan Part #1: Start with d4 and Bf4. } 2... Nf6 { [%cal Gg1f3,Ge2e3] } 3. e3 { Plan Part #2: Build a Pyramid! Play the moves e3 and c3 as soon as you can!\u005Cn3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.c3 Qb6 6.Qb3 c4 7.Qc2 Bf5 [%csl Gc3][%cal Gc2c3] } 3... c5 { When c5 hits you never want to take on c5. The main reason is because when you take something you RELEASE TENSION and releasing tension is bad. You don\u0026#x27\u003Bt want to capture with your d4 pawn cause then you\u0026#x27\u003Bre just gonna destroy your own pyramid. Instead you let them take us. If they ever play cxd4, you almost always capture back with the e\u002Dpawn. [%csl Gd4][%cal Gd4c5,Gc5d4,Ge3d4] } 4. c3 { Your goal is to have e3 already played and to MEET C5 WITH C3. [%csl Ge3][%cal Gc7c5] } 4... e6 { Plan Part #3: Develop your remaining minor pieces.\u005CnThe question is, where? The answer? Where they are closest to the CENTER!! The center is where your pieces are the most powerful, so we should get our pieces towards there. Thus, the best squares for our pieces are Nd2, Nf3 and Bd3. [%cal Gf1d3,Gb1d2,Gg1f3] } 5. Nd2 { I recommend developing the queen\u0026#x27\u003Bs knight before the king\u0026#x27\u003Bs knight, because there are some nasty things that can happen if you play Nf3 too early. You can avoid these annoyances by developing the queen knight first. [%cal Gb1d2,Rg1f3] } 5... Nc6 6. Ngf3 { Both knights are out to their best squares\u005CnHere black can play either Bd6 or Be7. Be7 is more passive. I created a sideline so you can see my recommendation for what to do if they play that.\u005CnThe mainline runs Bd6. [%cal Bf8e7,Bf8d6] } 6... Bd6 { IDEA #4: The \u0026quot\u003BStandoff\u0026quot\u003B as GM Simon Williams likes to call it. There are two pistols aiming at each other. When black plays Bd6 aiming at your bishop, you\u0026#x27\u003Bve got to remember to NOT TAKE, but to drop this bishop back to g3.\u005CnIf you take, you help black to develop the queen and they can play e5 next. That is unacceptable.\u005Cn6...Be7 [%cal Rf4d6,Gf4g3] } 7. Bg3 { Generally when you are given a choice whether to make an exchange or not, you should NOT do the exchange, but KEEP THE TENSION and let your opponent make the exchange. If black takes the bishop on g3, which weaker plays often do, you get a free open file and g\u002Dpawn battering rams. These are both excellent resources when you do your kingside attack. [%cal Bd6f4,Bh2g3,Gh1h8,Ge8h8] } 7... O\u002DO { 7...Bxg3 8.hxg3 h6 9.Ne5 Super important move. The idea is to stop black playing e5 and we want to increase our control of this square by playing f4. Qd6 10.f4 We upgraded our \u0026quot\u003BPyramid\u0026quot\u003B into a \u0026quot\u003BStonewall\u0026quot\u003B and we can do a very good kingside attack. cxd4 11. exd4 } 8. Bd3 { We completed idea 3, developing all our minor pieces [%csl Bd2,Bf3,Bd3] } 8... Re8 { Okay here is a typical example where black is going to play e6\u002De5, break up the center and free up his position and his light squared bishop.\u005Cn**GOLDEN RULE** #4: You should *NEVER* allow black to play e5. You have to block this square. [%csl Be5,Yc8][%cal Rf8e8,Re8e6,Be6e5,Yc8f5] } 9. Ne5 { **GOLDEN RULE** #5 Play Ne5. You have to play this at some point in the London System in order to get into the middlegame. With the move Ne5, we are:\u005Cn1. Preventing black from playing e5. *Super important, please take note of this*\u005Cn2. Occupying the center, the very best thing you can do\u005Cn3. Getting ready to play f4 next (Stonewall) and thereby setting up potential for a kingside attack. [%cal Gf2f4] } 9... Qc7 { The knight is attacked by too many pieces and not supported enough. [%cal Rc6e5,Rd6e5,Rc7e5] } 10. f4 { GOLDEN IDEA #6: Convert the \u0026quot\u003BPyramid\u0026quot\u003B into what\u0026#x27\u003Bs known as a \u0026quot\u003BStonewall\u0026quot\u003B. (Pawns on c3, d4, e3 and f4)\u005CnThis is your main goal in the London System out of the opening. You want to have:\u005Cn1. Got all your pieces out and working, controlling both light and dark squares\u005Cn2. Stopped black playing e5 (played Ne5)\u005Cn3. Built your stonewall successfully } 10... b6 { Now what do we do? We\u0026#x27\u003Bre in the middlegame. The plan is pretty straight forward: Put everything on the kingside and checkmate black. :)\u005CnThe attack will depend on your game\u003B I can\u0026#x27\u003Bt really give you exact guidelines. [%cal Bd2f3,Bd1f3,Yf3g5,Yf3h5,Bg3h4,Be1g1] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game3\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: Crashing on the Kingside\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/aM78B0pJ\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:09:59\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: Crashing on the Kingside\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/aM78B0pJ\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:09:59\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ I think this is a decent example by me on how to attack on the kingside in the mainline London Opening. } 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 { Starting with d4 and Bf4 } 2... c5 3. e3 e6 4. c3 { I built my pyramid } 4... Nc6 { Black developed the knight } 5. Nd2 { I develop my queen knight } 5... h6 { An utterly pointless bunny\u002Dear move. I BEG YOU not to play moves like this in your games. } 6. Ngf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 { Developed all my minor pieces [%csl Bd2,Bf3,Bd3] } 7... Bd6 { Standoff. Do we take? Of course not, because that releases tension, and releasing tension is bad. [%cal Rd6f4,Rf4d6] } 8. Bg3 O\u002DO 9. Ne5 { Ne5, the key move. Occupying the center } 9... Qc7 { The knight is attacked } 10. f4 { Which beautifully makes us go into a Stonewall. Because we prevented e5, black\u0026#x27\u003Bs light squared bishop stays blocked in and will most likely be a dead piece for black the whole game, while all of the white pieces are very happy. :) } 10... a6 { Maybe black is going to try and undermine this white queenside pawn chain [%csl Rb2,Rc3,Rd4][%cal Bb7b5,Bb5b4,Gb4c3] } 11. Bh4 { I reposition this bishop, getting ready to swap off that knight that protects the black king [%cal Gg3h4,Rh4f6] } 11... Be7 12. g4 { Here comes the attack!! [%csl Rf4,Rg4][%cal Rg2g5] } 12... cxd4 13. exd4 { ALWAYS recapture with the e3 pawn\u005CnThat way you still have your queenside pawns there to safeguard that area so black has decreased chances of counterplay } 13... Nh7 { A really bad move. Black was clearly intending to defend, but the worst defensive moves are the ones that go back into passivity...Just like this one. This move was the beginning of the end for black. } 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Ndf3 { Bringing in another piece and getting ready to push more pawns [%cal Gg4g5,Gh2h4] } 15... Rd8 16. h4 g6 17. Bc2 { The next plan, to attack along this diagonal [%csl Bd3][%cal Bd3c2,Bd1d3,Gc2h7] } 17... Na5 18. Qd3 { [%cal Rc2h7,Rh4h5] } 18... Nf8 { Black keeps doing PASSIVE DEFENSE and it\u0026#x27\u003Bs hurting him. } 19. h5 f5 { Finally he tried to close this diagonal but it\u0026#x27\u003Bs a bit too late. } 20. hxg6 { I got a pawn and am ready to utilize my rooks. [%csl Gg6][%cal Gh1h6] } 20... Nc4 { [%cal Rc4b2] } 21. O\u002DO\u002DO { Protecting the b2 pawn and bringing the other rook into the attack [%csl Gb2,Bd1][%cal Gc1b2,Bd1h1,Bh1h6] } 21... Bd7 { All of black\u0026#x27\u003Bs play is just too slow } 22. Rxh6 Bb5 { [%cal Rb5d3] } 23. Nxc4 { Removing his best piece [%csl Bc4][%cal Be5c4] } 23... Bxc4 24. Qd2 { [%cal Bd2h2,Bd1h1,Rh1h8] } 24... Qg7 25. Rdh1 Nxg6 26. gxf5 exf5 27. Bxf5 { Attacking } 27... Rd6 28. Bxg6 Rxg6 29. Rh8+ { [%cal Rh8a8] } 29... Kf7 30. Ne5+ Kf6 31. Rxa8 { Finally the attack materialized. } 31... Rg1+ 32. Rxg1 Qxg1+ 33. Qd1 Qe3+ 34. Kb1 Qe4+ 35. Ka1 { Black resigned. He\u0026#x27\u003Bs a whole rook down and his king will fall soon. This was a great game that shows how you can attack in the London System where black is helpless. } *\u0022}, \u0022Game4\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: Crashing on the Kingside\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/aM78B0pJ\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:10:08\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: Crashing on the Kingside\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/aM78B0pJ\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:10:08\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 { Stage 1 Complete } 2... e6 3. e3 Nf6 4. c3 { Stage 2 Complete [%csl Re3,Rd4,Rc3,Rb2,Rf2][%cal Rb2c3,Rc3d4,Re3d4,Rf2e3] } 4... c6 { Okay here black is playing in Semi\u002DSlav Defense style, but the main problem is the light squared bishop and how it\u0026#x27\u003Bs stuck inside its pyramid. This is why we played Bf4, to avoid this problem! [%csl Bb7,Bc6,Bd5,Be6,Bf7][%cal Rc8b7,Rc8e6] } 5. Nd2 { [%cal Gb1d2] } 5... Be7 { The more passive square. At this point I think white is much better [%csl Rd6][%cal Bf8e7] } 6. Ngf3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 { Stage 3 Complete [%csl Gd2,Gd3,Gf3] } 7... c5 { Okay here black realized her mistake and played c5. But she lost one important tempo and it helps me to develop an attack quicker. [%cal Rc7c6,Rc6c5] } 8. h3 { My idea is to tuck this bishop back to h2, then play Ne5 and finally f4. [%csl Ge5][%cal Gf3e5,Gf4h2,Rf2f4] } 8... O\u002DO 9. O\u002DO cxd4 { She released the tension: This is really bad [%cal Rc5d4] } 10. exd4 Qb6 11. Qb3 { We have to meet Qb6 with Qb3 (more explanation in chapter 6) } 11... Qc6 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 { dxe5 was also good, but I wanted to play f4 [%csl Bf4][%cal Gd4e5,Bf2f4] } 13... Nd7 14. Bh2 { I\u0026#x27\u003Bm getting ready to play f4 [%cal Gf2f4] } 14... Bd6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 { Black is ready to play e6\u002De5 [%csl Be5][%cal Rd6e5,Rd7e5,Be6e5] } 16. f4 { So I stop her } 16... b6 { Black wants to develop the bishop to b7, but why waste two moves? The bishop won\u0026#x27\u003Bt be doing anything there at all\u005CnDon\u0026#x27\u003Bt spend the time developing pieces to squares they won\u0026#x27\u003Bt be improved on!! [%cal Bc8b7,Bb7b6] } 17. Rae1 { Bringing my last piece in [%csl Be1,Bf1] } 17... Bb7 { Okay now I need to come up with an attacking plan. My first will be to transfer my queen near her king. } 18. Qd1 Rfe8 19. Qh5 h6 { Honestly I was expecting g6, so h6 came as a surprise to me [%cal Rh7h6] } 20. Qg4 Nf6 { I was kinda happy to see this move because it blocks her f\u002Dpawn which is the only way she will be able to play e5. [%csl Rf7][%cal Re6e5,Rf7f6,Gd7f6] } 21. Qh4 Re7 { And now I just need to do some maneuvering and calculation } 22. Re3 { [%cal Ge1e3,Ge3f3,Gg2g4,Gf1e1] } 22... Kh8 23. g4 Ng8 { Knight goes back to the corner. Super passive and this is the beginning of the end for black. } 24. g5 Rae8 25. Nf3 { [%csl Ge5][%cal Gf3e5] } 25... f6 26. Rf2 fxg5 27. fxg5 Rf8 28. Ne5 { Now I\u0026#x27\u003Bm attacking the weak light squares [%csl Gg6][%cal Ge5g6,Gd3h7] } 28... Rxf2 29. Ng6+ Kh7 30. Nxe7+ Kh8 31. Ng6+ Kh7 32. Qxf2 hxg5 33. h4 g4 34. Ne5+ g6 35. Qf7+ Kh8 36. Nxg6# { That shows you the kind of epic, brutal games you can play in the London Opening! } *\u0022}, \u0022Game5\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: Sacrificing Combinations\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/FycTdhBm\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:10:16\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: Sacrificing Combinations\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/FycTdhBm\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:10:16\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ The London is NOT a boring opening. It can be very tactical for white too, and there are sacrifices that you may find in the 1 e4 openings. In this chapter I will show you a typical combination } 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. c3 c5 5. Nd2 Nc6 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Bg3 O\u002DO 8. Bd3 Qe7 { Black is threatening to play e6\u002De5. How do we stop it? Can you guess the right move? [%csl Re5][%cal Re6e5] } 9. Ne5 { We block the e6 pawn! [%csl Ge5] } 9... Nd7 { Here if you want you can play f4 and go into an immediate Stonewall, but here there is a nice combination. } 10. Nxd7 { This combination works only if black recaptures with the bishop and not the queen. Recapturing with bishop will look most natural to average players, so be happy! [%csl Gd7][%cal Gc8d7,Re7d7] } 10... Bxd7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15. Ne4 g6 16. Nxc5 gxh5 17. Nxd7 Rfc8 18. Nf6+ Kg7 19. Nxh5+ Kg6 20. Nf4+ Kf6 21. Ke2 *\u0022}, \u0022Game6\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays D5\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/0EhrFeJ2\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:10:24\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays D5\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/0EhrFeJ2\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System, Steinitz Countergambit\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:10:24\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ And now in the next few chapters I\u0026#x27\u003Bm going to go over the specific variations on what black can play against the London Opening and I will tell you the ideas. We will start out with 1.d4 d5 } 1. d4 d5 { We\u0026#x27\u003Bve already talked about this a fair bit but I\u0026#x27\u003Bd just like to go over a few extra things before we move on to 1...Nf6. } 2. Bf4 { Okay so black can play this early c5 move and I talk about this Nf6 + c5 on move 2 setup in more detail on chapter 9. [%cal Bc7c5] } 2... c5 3. e3 { Building our pyramid } 3... Nf6 4. c3 Nc6 { In chapter 2, The Essential Ideas, I recommended you play Nd2 before Nf3. If you\u0026#x27\u003Bre wondering why that is, I encourage you check out the sideline 5.Nf3 to see what happens. [%csl Gd2,Rf3][%cal Gb1d2,Rg1f3] } 5. Nd2 Qb6 { Okay so this is a move I wanted to talk about a bit. Black\u0026#x27\u003Bs idea with the c5 move was for the queen to come to b6 and attack the b2 pawn. This is a move you need to watch out for in the London System, but if you know how to meet it then you\u0026#x27\u003Bre ok. [%csl Rf4][%cal Rd8b6,Rb6b2,Yf4c1] } 6. Qb3 { Each side is hoping the other side will take the queen, in which case the a\u002Dfile will be opened up. } 6... c4 { Here black tries to force white to trade queens, but we will just move to c2. [%cal Rc5c4] } 7. Qc2 { And now black has to deal with the white pawn breaks b3 and e4. White is better because he has the active pawn breaks, and black\u0026#x27\u003Bs c5\u002Dc4 gaining\u002Dspace move is, in fact, a passive move. [%csl Ge4,Gb3][%cal Ge3e4,Gb2b3] } 7... e6 8. b3 { There it goes with our pawn break b3. White gets a very good game } 8... cxb3 9. axb3 { White has the better pawn structure [%csl Gb3,Gc3,Gd4,Ge3,Gf2,Gg2,Gh2,Ra7,Rb7,Rd5][%cal Gc3c4,Gc4d5] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game7\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays D5\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/0EhrFeJ2\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022A45\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Indian Defense\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:10:34\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays D5\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/0EhrFeJ2\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BA45\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BIndian Defense\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:10:34\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ In this chapter I\u0026#x27\u003Bll explain what to do if black plays the King\u0026#x27\u003Bs Indian Defense: that is with Nf6, g6, Bg7, d6 and 0\u002D0. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 { Now at this point if black plays d5, we transpose back into our first chapters. But today we\u0026#x27\u003Bre going to talk about when black plays g6. } 2... g6 3. Nc3 { GOLDEN RULE #1: As soon as they go g6, you play Nc3. Why? Because we want to win in a very aggressive (not reckless) way. You\u0026#x27\u003Bll see what I mean! :)\u005CnHere if black is playing the King\u0026#x27\u003Bs Indian Defense, he\u0026#x27\u003Bll play Bg7 quickly. But if your opponent plays the Grunfeld Defense or wants to stop our ambitions of playing e4, he may play d5. [%csl Gc3][%cal Gb1c3,Bf8g7,Bd7d5] } 3... Bg7 { So if your opponent is a King\u0026#x27\u003Bs Indian Defense player and he just plays Bg7 quickly... } 4. e4 { *GOLDEN RULE* #2 And we play e4!! This is a bit similar to the 150 attack in the Pirc Defense, where we\u0026#x27\u003Bre going Qd2, 0\u002D0\u002D0 and going to attack black on the kingside.\u005CnAND this opening has an added benefit over normal Pirc openings because black hasn\u0026#x27\u003Bt played d6 too early, so he can\u0026#x27\u003Bt go e5 too quickly. Our London Bishop keeps good control of the e5 square. } 4... d6 5. Qd2 { Planning to castle queenside and go Bh6, exchanging off this g7 bishop, a key piece [%cal Ge1c1] } 5... O\u002DO 6. O\u002DO\u002DO { Some of black\u0026#x27\u003Bs best moves are Nbd7 and Nc6, because both of these moves aim to at least create some central counterplay with e5. [%cal Bb8c6,Bb8d7,Be7e5] } 6... Nc6 { Here black is trying to play e5, so I think now we should stop this and go for CENTRAL CONTROL. } 7. Nf3 { *GOLDEN RULE* #3: DO your best to delay black from playing e5. [%csl Ge5][%cal Gf3e5] } 7... Bg4 { How do we stop e5 now? [%cal Rg4d1,Ge7e5] } 8. Qe3 { Qe3! The rook will be facing the queen on d8 [%cal Gd4e5,Ge7e5,Gd6e5,Gd1d8] } 8... Nd7 { Still trying to go e5. How do we stop e5 now?? [%cal Rc6e5,Rd7e5,Rg7e5,Rd6e5,Be7e5] } 9. Bg5 { Pinning the e\u002Dpawn. Very clever! [%csl Re7][%cal Rg5d8] } 9... Qe8 { Trying really hard to enforce this move. And ONLY NOW that the queen has been misplaced to e8, do we go Bh6. } 10. Bh6 { Swapping off this key defensive bishop. [%csl Rg7,Gf8][%cal Rh6f8] } 10... Bxf3 11. gxf3 e5 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. dxe5 Qxe5 14. Nd5 { And white is in total control. The f and h pawns are ready to storm up the board. Plus we removed that important g7 bishop. Imagine if black had that dark squared bishop now! He\u0026#x27\u003Bd be having brilliant influence across to b2, and his king would be well defended. [%csl Rg7][%cal Rg7b2,Gf3f4,Gf4f5,Gh2h4,Gh4h5] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game8\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays Grunfeld\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/2PjQPTuC\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D01\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Rapport\u002DJobava System\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:10:43\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays Grunfeld\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/2PjQPTuC\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD01\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BRapport\u002DJobava System\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:10:43\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn1. d4 { In this chapter we\u0026#x27\u003Bll look at when black plays Nf6+g6, and combines this with d5.\u005CnThe method I recommend involves e3. So this means we can transpose into this variation if black plays d5 and Nf6 early, and only after that do they play the move G6. } 1... Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 { Remember as soon as they go g6 you go Nc3 } 3... d5 { If your opponent is a Grunfeld Defense player, or they just want to stop you playing e4, then they will play this d5 move.\u005CnSo now we can\u0026#x27\u003Bt go e4, so what do we do? [%cal Re2e4] } 4. e3 { This is my recommendation. You play e3. } 4... Bg7 5. h4 { And then you play h4. So this is what I think you should play when your opponent plays D5. So when you can\u0026#x27\u003Bt play e4, play e3 and h4.\u005CnGOLDEN RULE #1: PLAY E3 AND H4 (Against Grunfeld) } 5... O\u002DO 6. h5 { Because now we\u0026#x27\u003Bre going all out with h5!! :) } 6... Nxh5 7. Rxh5 { BOOM! We sacrifice the exchange with Rxh5!! } 7... gxh5 8. Qxh5 { And Qxh5. We sacrificed the exchange, but honestly black is losing here!! We just develop our pieces and threaten mate. Bd3, Nf3\u002Dg5, 0\u002D0\u002D0 Rh1. Black won\u0026#x27\u003Bt be able to defend this. [%csl Bg5][%cal Bf1d3,Bg1f3,Bf3g5,Ba1h1,Be1e2] } 8... f5 9. Qh2 { Very subtle move, getting out of any Nf6 tempos on the queen, and simply threatens to take on c7! [%cal Rh2c7] } 9... Na6 { Don\u0026#x27\u003Bt take the knight because it will open the file for black [%cal Yf1a6,Ga8b8,Gb8b2] } 10. O\u002DO\u002DO { [%cal Gd1h1,Gf1d3,Gg1f3,Gf3g5] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game9\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays Copycat\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/bYXi8n8f\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022D00\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Queen\u0027s Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:10:53\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays Copycat\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/bYXi8n8f\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BD00\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BQueen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Pawn Game: Accelerated London System\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:10:53\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn1. d4 { In this chapter I\u0026#x27\u003Bll look at a variation you may see frequently } 1... d5 2. Bf4 Bf5 { It\u0026#x27\u003Bs where black plays this copycat move Bf5. There is a slight weakness with this move and that is that it leaves the b7 pawn unguarded.\u005CnHere you have two ways to play. The safer way is to play e3 and Bd3. The more aggressive, riskier way is to play c4 and Qb3. [%cal Rd1b3,Rc2c4,Ge2e3,Gf1d3] } 3. c4 { c4!! And this idea is to attack with a quick Qb3 similar to how black plays Qb6 against us. } 3... e6 4. Nc3 { Develop a piece first } 4... c6 5. Qb3 { And now you attack this pawn like black does to us. [%cal Rb3b7] } 5... Qb6 6. c5 { And now black MUST take the queen cause our bishop on f4 is preventing the black queen from going to c7 [%csl Rc7][%cal Rf4c7,Gb6c7] } 6... Qxb3 7. axb3 { And now you have the plan to go b3\u002Db4\u002Db5, maybe play e3 and even Nf3\u002Dh4 to exchange off black\u0026#x27\u003Bs best piece [%csl Re5,Gb5][%cal Ge2e3,Gg1f3,Gf3h4,Re6e5,Ga1a7,Gb3b4,Gb4b5] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game10\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays Copycat\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/bYXi8n8f\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022A45\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Indian Defense\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:11:08\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays Copycat\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/bYXi8n8f\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BA45\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BIndian Defense\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:11:08\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 { The Benoni Systems [%cal Rc7c5] } 3. d5 { White\u0026#x27\u003Bs best choice } 3... b5 { Here black plays this b5 move, as it is iconic in the Benko Gambit. You may encounter this move if you\u0026#x27\u003Bre playing against a Benko Gambit player. White should not fear. [%cal Ba2a4,Ra4b5] } 4. a4 { First we provoke the pawn forward. } 4... b4 { [%csl Gf3][%cal Ge2e4] } 5. f3 { And now, I think this is white\u0026#x27\u003Bs best choice. f3 prepares e4. } 5... d6 6. e4 Nbd7 { Now that we controlled the center, we need to develop our pieces. [%csl Gd5,Ge4,Gf3,Bb1,Bd1,Bf1,Bg1] } 7. Nd2 { The knight controls the weakened light squares [%csl Yc4,Yb3][%cal Yd2b3,Yd2c4] } 7... g6 8. Nc4 { Preparing to play Qd2 and Bh6 [%csl Bd2][%cal Bd1d2,Yd2h6] } 8... Bg7 9. Qd2 O\u002DO 10. Bh6 { Exchanging off black\u0026#x27\u003Bs painful dark squared bishop } 10... Ne8 11. Bd3 { White has a small edge here, a space advantage and black will lose their best piece\u005CnBut as white you need to be a little prepared for black\u0026#x27\u003Bs counterplay with f7\u002Df5 [%csl Ge2][%cal Gg1e2,Gg1h3,Rf7f5,Rf5e4] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game11\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays Benoni\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/CFuOmCns\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022A45\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Indian Defense\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:11:20\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays Benoni\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/CFuOmCns\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BA45\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BIndian Defense\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:11:20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ I think the Benoni systems by black are the most challenging for white by far. If you are playing black and your opponent plays the London, I highly recommend you play the Benoni against it. You can see I went into more detail for black in chapter 12, \u0026quot\u003BAnti\u002DLondon\u0026quot\u003B } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 { Nf6 + c5 \u003D Benoni\u005CnOkay here you have two main options as white: e3/c3 (you are ready to accept a draw) or d5 (you play for a win).\u005CnWe want to play for a win as white, so let\u0026#x27\u003Bs play d5 } 3. d5 { The idea is that we want to play into the Benoni Pawn Structures\u005CnHere black has two moves. Qb6 is more critical, but I cover d6 too } 3... Qb6 { Here we don\u0026#x27\u003Bt want to play moves like Bc1, so the only other option is Nc3. [%cal Bb1c3,Rf4c1] } 4. Nc3 { Here as white we must be willing to sacrifice the pawn and play aggressively. } 4... Qxb2 { Here black got 1 pawn, but he\u0026#x27\u003Bs going to have to waste 3\u002D4 tempi in exchange for it. As white here, that\u0026#x27\u003Bs usually a decent deal. [%cal Bb2b6] } 5. Bd2 { Here black has to play Qb6\u002D if he doesn\u0026#x27\u003Bt he will lose material (Qb4 and a6 still do work but they are inferior) } 5... Qb6 6. e4 d6 7. f4 { As white we must play aggressively and actively, so we need to attack in the center [%cal Ge4e5,Gf2f4] } 7... g6 { I will show you how one line can go } 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Nfd7 10. Nf3 Bg7 11. Rb1 Qd8 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ng5 Nf6 14. Bb5+ Kf8 15. dxe6 Kg8 16. O\u002DO { White has an edge here. All the pieces are out in the open and active [%csl Gb1,Gd2,Gd1,Gc3,Gb5,Gg5,Gf1,Rb8,Rc8,Ra8,Rd8,Rg7,Rh8] } *\u0022}, \u0022Game12\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays Old Benoni\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/uj0rOcrV\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022A43\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Benoni Defense: Benoni\u002DIndian Defense\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:11:31\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays Old Benoni\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/uj0rOcrV\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BA43\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BBenoni Defense: Benoni\u002DIndian Defense\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:11:31\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn1. d4 c5 { Old Benoni Defense. Here as white you need to make some changes in our system. } 2. d5 { The Old Benoni is a completely different opening and has a completely different structure you need to learn. } 2... Nf6 3. Nc3 { Very important move. Do not play c4, but play Nc3 instead. This has an advantage over typical Queen\u0026#x27\u003Bs Gambit Benoni positions, because the c pawn is left flexible. It can move to c3 blunting the a1\u002Dh8 diagonal, and also the c4 square is left free for a white piece. } 3... d6 4. e4 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Be2 O\u002DO 7. O\u002DO Na6 8. Bf4 Nc7 9. a4 b6 10. h3 Bb7 11. Bc4 a6 12. Qd3 Qd7 13. Rfe1 Rad8 14. Rad1 Qc8 15. Qe3 Rfe8 16. Bh6 e6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. dxe6 Nxe6 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Nd4 21. Nxd4 Nxd5 22. Qg5 Ne7 23. Ne2 Ng8 24. Nc3 Nf6 25. Rd3 b5 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rf3 Re6 28. Nxb5 Qb7 29. c4 Rde8 30. Rfe3 Nxe4 31. Qd5 Qe7 32. f3 Ng5 33. Rxe6 Nxe6 34. Nxd6 Rd8 35. Qe5+ Qf6 36. f4 h5 37. Re3 h4 38. b3 Ra8 39. f5 Qxe5 40. Rxe5 Kf6 41. Rd5 gxf5 42. Nxf5 Rb8 43. Nxh4 Rxb3 44. Rf5+ Kg7 45. Rf3 Rb1+ 46. Kh2 Rc1 47. Nf5+ Kg6 48. Nd6 f6 49. Rg3+ Kh5 50. Rg8 Rc2 51. Nf5 Nd4 52. Ne3 Re2 53. Nd5 Kh6 54. Nxf6 Nf3+ 55. Kg3 Ne1 56. Ng4+ Kh7 57. Re8 { [%csl Gf6][%cal Ge2e8,Gg4f6] } 57... Rxg2+ 58. Kf4 Nd3+ 59. Ke4 Ne1 60. Kd5 { Black Resigns (Hansen, Curt \u002D Rechlis, Gad, 1\u002D0, Jerusalem, 1986) } *\u0022}, \u0022Game13\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: \u002DBlack plays Dutch\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/980bkTsp\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022A83\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Dutch Defense: Staunton Gambit\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:11:39\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: \u002DBlack plays Dutch\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/980bkTsp\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BA83\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BDutch Defense: Staunton Gambit\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:11:39\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn1. d4 f5 { Okay so when black plays the Dutch Defense, he is hoping you will play something normal like c4, Nf3, or even Bf4. In these cases he gets a normal position and he will use his preparation.\u005CnWe want to force black to play differently. So in this case I am recommending the Staunton Gambit } 2. e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 { 5 moves for black:\u005Cnd5 is the most obvious move, but it is a blunder move\u005Cne6 will give white a good game\u005CnNc6, g6 and c6 are the main moves } 4... Nc6 { From here, you are going to have to do your own research on the Staunton Gambit. } *\u0022}, \u0022Game14\u0022: {\u0022Event\u0022: \u0022London Opening: Anti\u002DLondon for Black\u0022, \u0022Site\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/10g9yUlE\u0022, \u0022Date\u0022: \u0022????.??.??\u0022, \u0022Round\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022White\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Black\u0022: \u0022?\u0022, \u0022Result\u0022: \u0022*\u0022, \u0022Variant\u0022: \u0022Standard\u0022, \u0022ECO\u0022: \u0022A45\u0022, \u0022Opening\u0022: \u0022Indian Defense\u0022, \u0022Annotator\u0022: \u0022https://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0022, \u0022UTCDate\u0022: \u00222024.05.20\u0022, \u0022UTCTime\u0022: \u002215:11:53\u0022, \u0022moves\u0022: \u0022[Event \u0026quot\u003BLondon Opening: Anti\u002DLondon for Black\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Site \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/study/pLBSiPGF/10g9yUlE\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Date \u0026quot\u003B????.??.??\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Round \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[White \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Black \u0026quot\u003B?\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Result \u0026quot\u003B*\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Variant \u0026quot\u003BStandard\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[ECO \u0026quot\u003BA45\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Opening \u0026quot\u003BIndian Defense\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[Annotator \u0026quot\u003Bhttps://lichess.org/@/Sbernsto\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCDate \u0026quot\u003B2024.05.20\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn[UTCTime \u0026quot\u003B15:11:53\u0026quot\u003B]\u005Cn\u005Cn{ If you are playing black and you face the London System, I recommend you play the method I showcase in this chapter.\u005Cn\u005CnI must admit...I\u0026#x27\u003Bve had quite a hard time against this method by black... .__. } 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 { London Opening } 2... c5 { Bam. We strike in the center immediately at white\u0026#x27\u003Bs presently loose d4 pawn. And we want to swing our queen to b6, punishing white for playing Bf4 early.\u005CnYou have to play c5 on either move one or move 2. If you wait till the 3rd move it allows white to organize himself. Right now, either e3 or c3 lead to undesired positions for white. White also has the move d4\u002Dd5 which is very interesting. [%csl Gc3,Ge3,Gd5][%cal Gd4d5,Rc5d4,Bd8b6,Yb6b2,Ge2e3,Gc2c3] } 3. d5 { Here you have two ideas: Play the aggressive Qb6 or try to play for e5. Both ways are better for black [%csl Bd6,Be5,Rb6][%cal Bd7d6,Be7e5,Rd8b6] } 3... d6 4. Nc3 e5 { [%csl Gg5][%cal Gd5e6,Gf4g5,Gf4d2] } 5. Bd2 Bf5 6. f3 { White\u0026#x27\u003Bs intention is to play e4, so we should stop them [%cal Re2e4] } 6... e4 { d4 players are having a hard time here [%csl Be4][%cal Be5e4] } *\u0022}}