Lazy to learn lots of theory to try out a new opening?
Don't worry,as you are the absolutely right person to read my blog!
Who wants to read and learn and remember all those boring lines? Would I? Nah. Would you either? Never.
So,This one blog is enough to cover everything you need to know about the infamous 'London System'.
There is a wealth of info on the London System on chess.com, And I'll give the link to them at the end of the blog.
I veiwed all of them and made my own blog, combining all the things I learnt. I do the hard work, You Readers Enjoy!
Introduction
The London System is a Widely Popular white side opening which Happens after the following sequence of moves:
From here,I divide this blog into 4 parts :
Basics
In this section I will teach you the basic principles of the London System. First, How do we get to the opening? The opening is a setup which can be played with black playing many variations. Let's face it, The London's Unavoidable.
So, First we make a Pyramid.Well, what do I mean by that? I mean this:
But, as you see, our bishop on c1 gets trapped under the pyramid. So,we bring it to Bf4 and then make the pyramid.
Now that's better. Then, we have to bring the remaining pieces out. (Let's Just assume Black wastes his time.)
Also, Depending on the position, you could attack h4,Ne5, etc.
This is all about the basic setup of the London System. Now let's use the setup against our opponent.
So,It works quite good. Sometimes , the pyramid is so safe that there will be no need to castle. So, Just for reference, I'll give you a few master games you can study if you want to: Click Here!
Main Lines
1. Nimzo Indian (2. ... e6 )
Here, you can follow the normal london system setup. Only when black plays an early c5, You will have to play with e3 or c3.
2. Kings Indian Defence (2 ... g6 )
As usual, But beware of black being able to attack on the queen side if you castle there.
3. ( 3. ... c5 )
Here, play Nd2 first, and then play c3, because if you play c3 first, then :
But, Nf3 is also Ok, so, its your choice what to play. Let's assume we choose Nf3, and our opponent plays Nf6. Now, Is Exactly NOT the time to play c3. Now, why is this a bad move? Again:
So, we play Nbd2, then Qb6 is not much of a worry.
The Greek Gift Sacrifice
This section is just about a deadly trap every London player needs to know:
Common Defences from black:
1. (2. ... g6) Beating Your Aggressive KID Opponent:
Here, you could play the normal setup and stuff, but it will be a lot less effective as the bishop will not be able to aim at h7 and stuff.
So, It's time to turn to the Ginger GM! According to him, After your King's Indian Opponent (let's just call him/her K.I.O for fun) So, when K.I.O fianchettoes, we can play e4, grabbing some nice central space.
The best move for K.I.O is playing d5, stopping e4.
So,d5 , then we push harry the h-pawn forward to h4. The idea is, after castling, we could launch an attack on the king side and even gives our bishop a bit of wriggle room in case of moves like Nh5.
And if black castles, you can even push harry and sacrifice him, or get in some more pieces and attack.
And Nbd7 is a Blunder from black. Because we can go Nb5 and target c7.
And there's no way black can stop it.
So,what if c5? c5 a normal move, attacking the center, never take the pawn as it will create a lot of weaknesses as we have less control of the center.
But here, you can play Nb5 . Then black will have to play Na6 protecting c7. But, look at the position. Your pieces are so much better placed black's minor pieces.
Hence, you have a great advantage.If you get this position, a4 is a nice option. making a knight outpost. And the poor knight on a6 is literally paralised-it cannot move,The rook on a8 also cannot move, because of Nxa7.
And Black castles and if you don't want to sacrifice harry, Be2 is the move for you!
As you see, this move prepares h5 with no need of sacrifice. Maybe, even g4 is also possible. And The Ginger GM had this position as white and his opponent played h5, stopping threats, so, then the Ginger GM played :
He plays Nf3, developing his last piece. Then:
And White can play h5 and from here white is winning.
Just remember the placement of pieces in the game above which will help you make your own attacks and you'll be awfully strong!
2. Wondering what to play against ... d6?
A player who brings his knight out and ... d6? Don't worry, We've got it covered.
If your opponents play a lot of ... d6, this must be a familiar position to you. Not exactly, but almost. So, the strategy is castle queen side.Hold the center, Attack the king side. Quite simple ! You can learn in depth by using one of the links I'll give at the end of my blog.
3. Crashing your opponent's early c5
Is it this what you're asking for?
Here, GM Simon Williams recommends e5, Which kind of reminds me of The French Defence: Advance Variation. Other moves lead to a lot of complications.
So,here there are a lot of moves black can play. Vladmir's choice was playing b5.
But we have a strong move to eradicate pests who are Vladmir's copycats.
That is a4.
Why is this a good move? Because it forces the b-pawn to make a decision to either take or move forward.
If the pawn moves forward, Remember this:Whenever a pawn moves forward, It creates a weakness. Remember that.
And here, White can use the c4 square for his knight. And vladmir usually plays Bb7 here. Now, you see, our pawn is attacked, their pawn is attacked, But, e4 is a really good move here. Then:
So,we save our precious central pawn and also gain space on the queen side. Then we can play c4, securing those pawns, and black's at a disadvantage. Then in general, we look to play e4, looking if we can take with our a4 pawn,grabbing an advantage. And we can play f3 first to support e4.
And going back to this position,
We have to gambit a pawn. If you're not built for this, trust me, you can win with this gambit, it's not bad. Okay,if you really, don't want to gambit you can play Bc1, losing a tempo. If black plays e6, play e4. And if knight takes central pawn,
And your pieces are developed. If Black doesn't hit d5 with his queen, we're gonna castle and bring Nc3. Now, The gambit accepted line: Black takes the poisoned pawn,We retreat to Bd2,
And we're gonna gain a lot of tempo by attacking black's queen, And Baffle black by taking over the center by e4. Black's best move is Qb6, or it will get into serious trouble, Now, e4 and you have the advantage.
And then there's this position:
Here, develop your knight to c3 , then you want to play e4, hog the center,You want to stop black from playing b5,
Be aware of Bh6 and checkmate threats. You have nice control of squares, if a6, play a4 to prevent b5 .And Queen side castling isn't that good because black can attack us there. quite easily with a pawn storm. So develop, king side castle, Attack, win.
Okay, now some useful resources for you, Dear readers!
London System For The Busy Chess Player -GM Simon Williams
Tips And Tricks Of The London System -GM Aman Hambleton
Practise The London System -Chess.com Team
And, you may need the next video here to play it to your opponent when he loses. 
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Thank you!
