Book recommendations: London, Scandinavian, Baltic, 1...e5 against the English

Would appreciate any recommendations for ...

1) introductory books (principles, plans, and ideas) and
2) reference books (for specific variations)

for the following openings...

As White:
-London System

As Black:
-Scandinavian with 3...Qa5
-Baltic Defense
-1 ...e5 against the English

I don't plan on spending much time with these because I am working on tactics and basic endgames (and to a lesser extent, basic strategic and opening principles), but since I have started to play in tournaments a little more regularly (and I am too unskilled to steer the game away from the opening on move 1), I am trying to stick to a simple repertoire that I can learn from after each game online and OTB.

I have Djuric et al's Chess Opening Essentials vol I-IV to get me started.

Thanks!

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627074459/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen85.pdf

http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Win_with_the_London_System.pdf

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/9035.pdf

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7619.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627100246/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen139.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093403/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/tips.pdf

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7656.pdf

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-perfect-opening-for-the-lazy-student

and there is also the Cyrus Lakdawala book, First Steps: The Colle and London System.

https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-understand-openings

About first 30% of Starting Out: The Scandinavian by Jovanka Houska (2009) https://web.archive.org/web/20140627002658/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen129.pdf

Chapter three of UNDERSTANDING THE SCANDINAVIAN by Sergey Kasparov

http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_the_Scandinavian.pdf

Chapters 5-12 of Grandmaster Repertoire 19 - Beating Minor Openings by Victor Mikhalevski

http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/BeatingMinorOpenings-excerpt.pdf

I'm fond of the Closed Sicilian as White which can also be played reversed by Black as 1...e5 against the English.

The advantage  of the Closed Sicilian is that it  is truly more a matter of learning basic themes than memorizing variations. Plus English players may not be expecting it.

I did like the Nigel Davies video:

https://shop.chessbase.com/en/products/the_closed_sicilian

Thanks for the many recommendations, kindaspongey!

Thanks for the video suggestion, ipcress12.

Unusual Queen's Gambit Declined by Chris Ward covers the Baltic well.

Here's an old thread discussing the opening, from back when I toyed with it for a bit: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/baltic-defense

I think my conclusion was that the Baltic really doesn't work after 1. d4 d5 2. c4, if white knows the critical line. But against opponents who don't play 2. c4 after 1. d4 d5, you can play it to mess with players of Colle and similar systems, while avoiding the critical lines that are bad for black.

Thanks Fromper, I will get the book!

The London System is considered one of the "easier" openings to play as there is not a lot of theory (as, for example, the Ruy Lopez), and the pawn & piece placements, and attacking themes are pretty straight forward... 

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/london-system12

The following book features a good introductory tutorial (pages 70-103) on the London System....

"Tips for Young Players" by Matthew Sadler

https://www.amazon.com/Tips-Young-Players-Matthew-Sadler/dp/1857442318/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482664762&sr=1-1&keywords=tips+for+young+players

If you intend to pursue the London System as a main opening, the following are currently the best books on it (in order)....

1. "Win With The London System" by S.Johnsen & V.Kovacevic

2. "The Agile London System" by Romero & de Prado

3. "Winning With the Modern London System" by Nikola Sedlak

https://www.amazon.com/Win-London-System-Sverre-Johnsen/dp/1904600352/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482665122&sr=1-1&keywords=win+with+the+london+system

https://www.amazon.com/Agile-London-System-Dynamic-Opening/dp/9056916890/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482665162&sr=1-1&keywords=the+agile+london+system

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Modern-London-System-Nikola/dp/8394429092/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482665206&sr=1-1&keywords=winning+with+the+modern+london+system

An instructive book for learning the Scandinavian Defense and one which covers all of its variations is...  

"Understanding the Scandinavian" by Sergey Kasparov...

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Scandinavian-Sergey-Kasparov/dp/1910093653/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482805108&sr=1-1&keywords=understanding+the+scandinavian

I play the 3...Qd6 variation of the Scandinavian, which is now (arguably) considered the main variation by many high level players....a comprehensive treatment of this variation (featuring an early ...c6 by Black - which, by the way, is also Sergey Kasparov's recommendation in this variation) is the subject of....

"The Safest Scandinavian" by Vassilios Kotronias....

https://www.amazon.com/The-House-Staunton-Inc-Scandinavian/dp/6197188066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483935162&sr=8-1&keywords=the+safest+scandinavian

I've never really looked at the London System, but as long as I'm already participating in this thread, I'll ask a question about it.

I know from playing the Colle (both types) that it's supposed to be a system opening to play against "almost" anything, but that "almost" includes a whole of variations. So in order to play the Colle System (Colle-Koltanowski) or Zuke (Colle-Zukertort), you actually have to learn a surprising amount of theory about various sidelines outside of your actual system.

Does the London have the same issue?

I would say that the essential answer to your question is - No.  

In fact, this is one of the things that attracted me to the London System.  I had, like so many others, looked at length into the Colle-Koltanowski-Zukertort systems and came to the same conclusion - lots of theory.  This is not the case with the London.  

This is not to say that there are not various themes to understand (which are dependent on how your opponent responds - for example Grunfeld, King's Indian, Benoni formations etc), but the themes all seem to me to be fairly straight forward, and in any case, there is much less "memorization" than in the various Colle incarnations.  

The bottom line, as far as I am concerned, in terms of learning the London System, is its reliance on understanding themes, as opposed to memorizing variations.  Plus it is more flexible than might appear at first glance - that is, it can be played flexibly against most of Black's responses typically encountered in Queen Pawn games.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627133548/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen36.pdf

The following commentary is an aside, coincidently prompted by @Fromper's earlier comment that he plays the Colle System...

Cyrus Lakdawala (who has previously authored a book on the London System) has recently published the book...

"First Steps" The Colle and London Systems"...

https://www.amazon.com/First-Steps-Colle-London-Systems/dp/1781943672/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483937125&sr=1-1&keywords=first+steps+the+colle+and+london+systems

The book presents an opening repertoire for White featuring these two openings.  

The following is an excerpt taken from the introduction to the book.....

 Also from the introduction....

  

I have only casually skimmed this book.  My first impression was to wonder what the advantage of this approach was...that is, why the necessity for employing two different (albeit somewhat similar) systems?  What is the point of, or advantage in switching to the Colle System for the specific setups suggested by the author?  From a casual glance at the introduction, I don't think he adequately explains the rationale for his proposed approached (i.e., he states what the approach is, but not (at least to my satisfaction) WHY?   Even though the explanation is not made explicit up front, perhaps a careful study of the book (which I have not done) will reveal it.

In any case, I thought the existence of this book might be of interest to those who already play the Colle System, and might be curious about the London System as well...

"I have to mention that 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 or 2.Nf3 with Bf4 are also known as the London System. Personally, I’m not a fan of the London System against 1...Nf6, especially when Black arranges his pieces as he would in the King’s Indian Defence. The position of the bishop on f4 seems adequate to me only when black plays 1...d5, in which case it has a very important role to play, as opposed to when Black has the option of playing ….d6 when the London set-up seems less logical and I don’t believe in it. So I chose to deal with the London System only against 1...d5 in this book!" - NIKOLA SEDLAK (2016)

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7619.pdf

"... In response to variations [of the King's Indian] where Black plays ...e7-e5, to have any chance of advantage White should play c2-c4 and Nc3, instead of c2-c3 and Nbd2, which is the usual set-up in the London ..." - GM Alfonso Romero Holmes and FM Oscar de Prado Rodriguez (2016)

I don't play the Colle (either version) any more. I switched back to 1. e4 nearly a decade ago, and have stuck with it, for now.

My point was that it was supposed to be a "system" opening against "most" black setups, but I only actually played it in maybe 25% of my games, because the exceptions happened more often than the main line. I was wondering if the London had the same problem.

If the London is playable against lines with g6, then the London won't have that problem nearly as badly. That was always the biggest problem with the Colle (either version) - you need other stuff to do against g6 systems. I used to pair it with the Barry Attack, which I think is more to similar the London than the Colle, but I don't really know that much about either.

The two books I cited earlier ("Win With the London System" and "The Agile London System") both feature extensive, comprehensive coverage of the London System vs Black's early ...g6 systems - The King's Indian and The Grunfeld.  And of course Lakdawala's book cited above does as well.

Thanks, RussBell! When you listed those three London books "in order", did you mean in the order that they should be read to best learn the opening or in order of quality, since I know that they probably have different recommendations. I noticed that the S.Johnsen book has a publication date of 2005 while the other 2 books were published in 2016 (I realize it does not matter at my level or lifetime, but I would rather be closer to date as I improve, since so many club players use the London).

Actually by "...in order..." I meant the order in which I would recommend for one who is just starting out learning the London System to purchase the books.  For example if one were to purchase only one book on the London, I would recommend the Johnsen & Kovacevic book.  If one were to then purchase a second book, I would suggest the Romero & de Prado book, etc.  

However, this is a personal preference as both books are essentially equally excellent in the overall quality of the material and presentation.  

In spite of the Johnsen-Kovacevic book being older, I gave it the nod primarily because it is organized more like a reference, making it relatively easy to locate lines, variations, move orders, transpositions and the like.  It is also oganized into two main sections - an Illustrative Games section which is primarily for tutorial purposes, exposing the reader to Black's primary defenses and typical themes and lines of play, and an Analytical section which details the theory and variations covered in the book.  See the "Look Inside" feature on the Amazon.com webpage for the book to get a sense of the book's organization from the table of contents (which is from the Kindle edition).

The Romero & de Prado book is organized in a more traditional manner, by Black's defenses.  The entire presentation, i.e. the analysis, is given in terms of complete games, which is what I consider to be a better way to present the analysis.

I acknowledge that the "order" I recommende is entirely subjective.  Both books, while different in how the material is organized, are as I said, equally good in terms of substance and the quality and comprehensiveness of the information and it's presentation.  

A word about the Nikola Sedlak book.  First, it is a very good book, in terms of the information it presents, with the following caveats.  Firstly the author avoids dealing with The King's Indian Defense altogether, that is, Black's lines which are likely to feature an early ...d6 with a Kingside fianchetto.  This is obviously a personal preference on his part, and compared to the other two recommended books, is unique in this respect (i.e., the other books cover all of Black's typical responses, including the KID).  Sedlak never explains (at least as far as I have been able to determine) the reasoning behind this omission, other that to say that it is simply his preference - (see the earlier post #15 by Kindaspongey, relating to this).

Finally, and this is primarily an annoyance - there is no index of variations in the back of the Sedlak book, nor any index of games and players (which are included in the other books).  Of course this makes it difficult for the reader to quickly identify and find specific variations, or the players and their games.  Nevertheless, the material that is covered is well presented and the analysis is very good.  The games are typically more recent - there is even a game with Magnus Carlsen playing the London as White!  So all-in-all, I consider it to be a worthwhile third-choice book.

"Why is the focus on positions with early d7-d5? ... If [Black] plays 1...Nf6 instead, he keeps the center flexible and is thus better prepared to fight for the dark squares. Of course, even then White can stick to the standard set-up and obtain a good position. Only if Black plays the King's Indian or Queen's Indian Defense, White should not expect any opening advantage." - Marcus Schmuecker

https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7656.pdf