Play ...c5 and ...Qb6 attacking pawn b2.
how to force complications agianst the london system?
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tygxc wrote:
Play ...c5 and ...Qb6 attacking pawn b2.
yeah but you gotta play Nc6 before Qb6 because after Qb6 Qb3 c4 Qc2 Bf5 cannot be played because the queenside knight is not developed and there is no rook controling c8
and since you gotta play Nc6 before Qb6 white has enough time to make Qb6 less threatening
Hello. I am a London player as white. Hope I can help you. So, I will tell you some of the weaknesses in White's setup in London. In my view, the most important drawback of the London setup is the bishop on f4 which usually develops very early in the game, mostly on 2nd or 3rd move. The bishop on f4 is controlling the important b8-h2 diagonal, but is somewhat exposed.
So, it is a good idea for white players to play h3 after bishop f4 so that the bishop can escape to h2. But sometimes low-rated white players like me forget that. As black, When you see that your opponent hasn't played h3, you can attack their bishop in two ways: 1. play h6 then g5 to kick the bishop; 2. use your knight on f6 to go to h5 and trap the bishop; note that after Nh5, the bishop cannot go to g3 either, and if bishop go to e5, you simply play f6 and the bishop must be captured.
Since London is a closed game, you don't need to worry much about the king safety. It is okay to advance your kingside pawns a bit even if you castle kingside. Also, since white plays Bd3, you play Bf5 and Bg6, but don't take on d3. If white takes your bishop on g6, he cannot castle kingside because of the semi-open h-file with the black rook on h8. One of the main goals for white players is to plant a knight on e5. Maybe you can take this into account when deciding moves.
If you want to discourage your opponent from playing the London system, you can play 1. …e5 after 1.d4, entering the Englund gambit. This prevents 2. Bf4, and can lead to open and tactical games which London players are generally bad at.
I lose a lot against Englund gambit as white.
Emily wrote:
I see that you are a 1...Nf6 player, there's a line which I found before to do quite well against London players
The whole idea is your dark squared bishop will be totally uncontested down the vulnerable dark squares now, and white can be slaughtered on the a1-h8 diagonal if they try to keep playing the London. It's not a one-trick opening variation, so you will have to do some learning using the engine.
How about we play a game now with me playing white?
Emily wrote:
I see that you are a 1...Nf6 player, there's a line which I found before to do quite well against London players
The whole idea is your dark squared bishop will be totally uncontested down the vulnerable dark squares now, and white can be slaughtered on the a1-h8 diagonal if they try to keep playing the London. It's not a one-trick opening variation, so you will have to do some learning using the engine.
Since our ratings are so close
Emily wrote:
I see that you are a 1...Nf6 player, there's a line which I found before to do quite well against London players
The whole idea is your dark squared bishop will be totally uncontested down the vulnerable dark squares now, and white can be slaughtered on the a1-h8 diagonal if they try to keep playing the London. It's not a one-trick opening variation, so you will have to do some learning using the engine.
after 3.Bc1 blacks knight is misplaced and will need to go back to f6 or get into trouble with complications having to do with 4.e4
Emily wrote:
a3353446 wrote:
How about we play a game now with me playing white?
Sorry, not playing now
Oh, but I still followed you though
If you really want to stop the London play 1 e5. Otherwise lines with 2 c5 and 3 Qb6 are the most aggressive attempts to change the "auto-pilot"
1.d4,c5 stops the London because of the threat of c5xd4. But you have to commit to a Benoni type game or 1.d4,c5 2.e4,... and it will most likely transpose into an open Sicilian.
The lines where black plays ...c5 and ...Qb6 are a lame way to play against the London. I don't know why so many people love them.
These are my two favourite Anti-London plans:
If you are a 1...Nf6 player you can try a pawn storm like this.
If you are a 1...d5 player you can try to force through ...e5:
I think that's good advice for playing against 1.d4 system openings in general. London, Stonewall, Colle, Jobava etc. Those types of players immediately start salivating when they see pawns on d5 and e6 for black (especially with a bishop behind the chain) since it's so easy to start an attack. Playing ...d6 makes it so much harder for them.
As a London player myself, the England gambit is a bit difficult to play against. At a low level, it puts most players in an unfamiliar position and you can study lines where your opponent plays principled developing moves and play against the weaknesses of those moves.
haklı
Ironically, @GYG and @llama_l, I play the 5. c3 Qb6 London as Black for the same reason a lot of people play the London as White: if you don’t know correct counterplay, you just lose. Qb3 loses to c4, Qc2 loses to Bf5, b3 loses positionally, Qc1 is INCREDIBLY passive, and since they’ve already committed to c3, the b2 pawn can never be poisoned. 90% of the time, I end up approximately +3 because of 6. Qb3 c4! 7. Qxb6?? after which I just dominate the queenside, especially the b-file, and the b1-h7 diagonal, while locking down or trading off the kingside.
i feel like i encounter so many london players whos goal is to just auto pilot the opening, then slowly trade down into an endgame. i dont enjoy this type of play as black and i want some ideas on how to make play dynamic agianst the london system