The Jobava London System for the Attacking Player
Chess has been a passion since childhood. I never took up chess seriously although I was pretty passionate about the game throughout my life (I had a peak elo rating of 2078 ).
After college, I had to take a break from tournament chess, because of work but I used to follow top Super Grandmaster tournaments games, especially if Vishy Anand was playing.
I started playing chess online during the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown primarily to get rid of boredom. I was tired of book reading, Netflix and, social media and badly needed intellectual stimulation. Chess, my first love, was the perfect solution.
Why I chose Jobava London?
I was a 1.e4 player all my life and enjoyed the open position and aggressive attacking chess. But the biggest challenge for me was to catch up with the latest theory. I didn't want to study the latest development in Najdorf or in Berlin and also had other work-related responsibilities.
So, I decided to look for a system that is flexible, aggressive, sharp, has chances for a Kingside attack, fewer forcing lines and most importantly, I don’t have to study much theory. But it was hard to find such a system.
One day I stumbled upon a chess video on a brand new opening by one of my favourite YouTubers, Grandmaster Simon Williams. He called it Jobova London System. He was promoting his DVD course at the opening and had made two promotional free videos on YouTube to promote his new DVD course on this opening.
Jobava London system is an aggressive queen pawn opening popularised by GM Baadur Jobava With it, the Georgian grandmaster has defeated some of the world's top players in the last decade. It is employed occasionally by top Grandmasters like the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Hans Niemann and many others. GM Simon Williams and GM Hans Niemann have published chess courses on this opening.
Simon explained all the subtleties of the opening with the middle game concepts made me glued to this opening from then onwards. Yay! I found the solution to my problem, The Jobava London System!!
The usual London system is very popular among club players and middle-level players. Even world champion Magnus Carlsen and top grandmasters like Levon Aronian, and Fabiano Caruana have used it occasionally at the highest level. Although the pure London System is a good opening, black can equalise easily if he/she knows what they are doing. Also, the middle-game positions are a bit dry for an attacking player like me.
However, just a small move order change in the opening like developing the queen’s knight on the second move (1.d4 2, Nc3) instead of the king’s knight (1.d4 2.Nf3), you get an aggressive version of the London System. White often castle queenside and launch a pawn storm against the black king! just like you do in Sicilian!
So while retaining the good virtues of the London opening, we neutralize the bad parts of it. And the result just blows your mind away! This a solid yet aggressive new opening for an aggressive player who’s lazy to study tons of theory! ( As GM Simon Williams puts it, Lazy is GOOD!)
And the most inspiring part is that even world champion Magnus Carlsen and top grandmasters like Levon Aronian, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport and Fabiano Caruana have used it occasionally at the highest level and scored important wins.
If you are still not convinced to play this opening? I will tell you 10 reasons that will make you just jump on the Jobava London bandwagon right now!
1. Flexible setup
It is difficult to deviate from the popular setups in the mainstream openings like the Sicilian, French, Caro-Kann or Kings Indian or Nimzo. It is hard for you to create a whole new position, even if your opponent might not be accurate in their opening preparation. The Jobava London System is flexible and you can play the system as long as you stay true to the basic ideas of the opening.
2. Don't have to study much theory
If you are not a professional chess player, having a life outside chess, you don’t have to spend hours memorizing opening lines and studying theory. You can start playing the Jobava London system almost instantly! You only have to understand the basic ideas of the opening, understand the usual squares for your pieces and look at 6 or 7 common responses by black and you are ready to go.
3. Avoid the Anti-London setups & preparation
Since the London System is an old and popular opening, the chances are your opponent must have studied it in detail. On the other hand, the Jobava system is a relatively new opening and you can surprise your well-prepared opponent who might have spent the entire night preparing mainlines against you. Sometimes even strong players can fall for the common traps in the Jobava system.
4. Tactical and razor-sharp unlike other Queen pawn openings
The biggest problem for London players is difficulty in launching a kingside attack when your opponent castles short. Many of those who go for the 1.d4 and 2.Bf4 formation feels that while it is super solid and does not give attacking chances to Black, it also does not give that much to White either.
But with the Jobava London, kingside attacks happen automatically. This slightly modified London system (2.Nc3 instead of 2.Nf3 or 2.Bf4) surprisingly gives rise to tactically complexities where every move is dangerous for both sides. But unlike in the sharp Sicilians or Kings Indian, the lines in Jobava are not studied extensively by your opponent, hence they will miss some tactical ideas as the positions may not be familiar to them.
5. Even Magnus Carlsen has played it!
Many top Grandmasters like the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Hans Niemann and many others have employed it to score important victories. GM Simon Williams and GM Hans Niemann have published chess courses on this opening.
Many top Grandmasters like the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Hans Niemann and many others have employed it to score important victories. GM Simon Williams and GM Hans Niemann have published chess courses on this opening.
6. You can be creative
The Berlin, Petroff or QGD often get into well-studied positions that often end in a draw. This opening will get your creative juices flowing. This double-edged nature of this opening will make chess more fun and challenging.
7. Great for those who like Queenside casting and pawn storming the enemy King
One of the important strategies by White behind this opening is Whites King castling on the queen's side and early pawn stormes on the enemy king which is super fun to play. And many cases, you can do this right out of the opening and if your opponent misplays it, he often ends up getting checkmated. If he manages to wither the storm, he will end up in a cramped position and you get a favourable endgame.
8. A system against all blacks setups
Okay, why doi love this opening? The main reason is that it has not got that much theory so, it does not require that much preparation either. This one opening can handle almost all of Black’s major and strongest defences like the King’s Indian Defense, Modern, Benko, Grünfeld, Nimzo, Benoni and the Budapest Gambit. We play always 1.d4 2.Nc3 and 3.Bf4. whatever set-up Black goes for.
9. Drag Black players out of their comfort zone
Regardless of whichever defence Black goes for, White can oftentimes create dynamic positions If your opponent is a stronger player than you, this opening will level the playing field for you as both of you are in new territory.
10. Aggressive London System
If you are not a grandmaster or a professional player but only a club-level player, this opening is perfect for you. Give this opening a try and I am sure you will love it. At club level or let's say up to 2300 elo level, your opponents probably don’t know much theory of Jobava and can miss tactical ideas.
