Jobava London

I'm considering taking up the Jobava London opening and want to hear from people who currently play it. Do you find that it works as well against 1...d5 as it does against 1...Nf6? Are there any black responses that it doesn't work as well against? Any other thoughts/recommendations as to how to play it would be helpful. Thanks.

It works fine against both, since after 1...Nf6 2.Nc3 black's best move is 2...d5 and vice versa. So regardless of which first move is played it usually transposes into the same position.

Against KID setups from black where he plays ...Nf6,...g6 and not ...d5 a Jobava setup looks kind of awkward. It is better to play a Pirc type position with e4 instead of e3. Like this:

This goes for pretty much any time black doesn't play ...d5. Such as 1...b6, 1...a6, etc. Taking the centre with 2.Nc3 and 3.e4 is going to be better than sticking with a Jobava setup.

Also, against 1...Nc6 you should play 2.Bf4 before Nc3, since the immediate 2.Nc3 allows 2...e5, where white's position is fine, but you won't be able to get a Jobava.

I'm not sure how much you already know, but I'll put some basic themes in the Jobava here, hopefully it will be a help to you or someone else reading the topic.

Nb5 is usually a great move

 

This is an extremely common tactic that is important to remember. It will win you lot's of games.

 

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I will be sure to look at this carefully.

How does playing the 2 Bf4 London against 1...d5 and the Trompowsky against 1...Nf6 compare to just playing the Jobava? The 2 Bf4 London doesn't score well against 1...Nf6. 

After 1...Nf6 it appears 2 Bg5 also scores better than 2 Nc3 does (2 Bg5 even outscores 2 Nf3 even though 2 Nf3 is bound to be the better move). So perhaps the Jobava and Tromp? 

It seems to me the London (either form) should be paired with the Tromp, but then that defeats the purpose of playing the London as a universal opening 

 

I watched the Simon Williams DVD on the London, not the jobava, but against Nf6 it can have some devastating blows as seen above. The regular London, which I play, has more options in my opinion. However after watching this video ( https://youtu.be/bPLrXjQyNFQ ) of Simon Williams and his London system DVD I think I will pick up the Jobava against Nf6. The reason is because black can play d5 and other non commital moves that disuade black from getting a kingside attack on the Pirc or KID. I really like the Jobava London because you have less options to fight or defend against. I would say if your tactics and endgame are weak you will not win as many games as most games go to tactical mates or longer rook endgames.

Thanks for the post and upping my game. Also if… d4 d5 Nc3 e6 or some other move other than Nf6 you can play the Blackmere Diemer gambit with e4 dxe4 f6.

Thanks for your response.

What is the best response if black plays …Bb4 on move 3 or 4 pinning the c3 knight to the king? I don’t see this line covered extensively in most of the videos and articles I’ve read so far?

I would probably play e4 as in the diagram above. White controls the center and trading your kingside bishop early in the game and for an extra tempo is not advantageous to play. This can transpose into an advanced french defense. White can even ignore the bishop pin and play Nf3 developing a piece as well. In contrast to why pinning can be advantageous in example is when white attacks the c6 knight in the Ruy Lopez. Why? It threatens to win a pawn. There are also other reasons a pin is good, but I would say it is playable and nobody is covering it because it is not advantageous compared to other lines.

 

I think the line I am running into is when black has already played d5 so e4 is not as good of an option.  See the below position for example.

 

I can force the exchange with a3 but then need to be careful not to lose the b pawn or leave myself open to a Qa5+.  Or I can ignore and continue to develop with Bd3/Nf3/Ne2 but it feels very cramped and hard to break out after black plays ...Ne4.

re#10

You have  normal  4 Nb5 or 5 Ne2 O-O 6 g4 ....neither is good...if just because black is easy to play.

4 Nb5 Na6 5 e3 Be7 6 Nf3 O-O

You actually can transpose into a pirc defence from the white side if black doesn't commit to d5 preventing your e4 pawn thrust. In my opinion playing against the pic defence is really fun and easy especially using the 360 attack.