The New London System?
The London is one of the most solid and sound openings after 1. d4 d5. It also isn't very aggressive. But it doesn't have to be that way. Meet the Jobava London.
In this article, we will look at an opening that carried me from 1300 all the way to 1600 in less than 2 months!
Why should you play this opening?
- Sound but Aggressive
- Lots of traps
- Doesn't have to theoretical
Let's begin looking at the lines. First, we will look at the most difficult line, 2...c5.
This is a very tricky line, recommended by GothamChess himself. However, with proper play, you should have a slight advantage. Taking back would be a mistake. We could play e3, or we could play 3. e4! This is an Albin Countergambit, but we are a tempo ahead. The best move here is dxe4, and we will play d5, in Albin-style. From here, we plan to play Ne2 and Nf4, to support the d5 pawn.
A common idea in the Jobava London is to use the bishop and the knight to team up on the somewhat weak c7 square. There are two main ways of defending this threat. If the knight is not already on b5, then a6 is a move, while if the knight is on b5, then Na6 is the move. The a6 square isn't too good for the knight, and it is quite difficult to improve the piece. However, there is a way you can utilize this to win a pawn if you opponent isn't careful and plays Nc6 too early.
However, the don't have to play Nc6. Instead, they can develop, Their bishop to f5, or play e6. After e6 and Bf5, our plan is really the same. Develop the knight to f3, bishop to d3, castle on either side, and launch an attack.
A Pillsbury Knight is named after famous American chess legend, Harry Pillsbury. A Pillsbury knight would look be placed on e5, with pawns on f4 and d4 supporting it. This knight is extremely powerful, and can be used to place a lot of pressure on blacks position.
To end the article, we will look at one of my games, and then a game from Baadur Jobava, the namesake of the opening, who often employs the Jobava London in his games.
Now, we will look at a game of Jobava's.
Main Ideas:
- Play like a regular London, but the knight is on c3.
- Study the 2...c5 lines
- Target the c7 square.
- Attack!
This is the basics of the Jobava London. For a more in-depth look, I recommend looking at this Daniel Naroditsky video.
