{"id":3029,"date":"2023-09-13T12:14:07","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T12:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=3029"},"modified":"2023-10-19T13:39:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T13:39:20","slug":"the-london-system-in-12-practical-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/the-london-system-in-12-practical-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The London System in 12 Practical Lessons<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Review of The London System in 12 Practical Lessons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[The London System] is not a frequent guest in games at the highest level…yet anyone not aspiring to world championship level may rest assured that 3.Bf4 [after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6] is a perfectly useful move.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 <\/em>GM Paul van der Sterren in his book FCO: Fundamental Chess Openings<\/em>, 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Times have changed since van der Sterren wrote the above quote. In the past, the London System<\/a> used to be considered a safe but somewhat dull opening, with GM Gata Kamsky being the most regular and strongest exponent of the opening. Nowadays, it is a frequent guest at the top levels of chess, with Magnus Carlsen being amongst its supporters. The other thing that has changed recently is the adoption of the move order 1.d4 and 2.Bf4 rather than 1.d4, 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4. As van der Sterren also noted, the opening is also very popular at the amateur level, as it is an example of an easy-to-learn systems opening.<\/p>\n\n\n

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View Book<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The author of the book, The London System in 12 Practical Lessons<\/a>, FM Oscar de Prado, was a co-author of a previous book on the London System, The Agile London System<\/em>, 2016, and there are frequent references to the previous book in the current book. He describes the relationship between the two books as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this book we are going to look at the London System from a more practical viewpoint, focusing on the needs of amateur players, in contrast to my previous book The Agile London System<\/a><\/em>, which was a much more theoretical work and tried to cover all possible options. To be clear, the present book is neither a theoretical manual on the London System nor simply an update to the previous book, although the latest novelties and the currently critical lines are analysed. This is essentially a new book, focusing on the specific themes that arise in this opening and with an explanation of the most important plans and ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim is to help the amateur player to understand the London System and play it correctly and easily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, the author recommends the move order 1.d4<\/strong> and 2.Bf4<\/strong>. His reasons for this are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the precise order that we recommend, developing the bishop to f4 instead of playing 2.Nf3. Bringing the bishop out first has several advantages, mainly in connection with Black’s ideas of playing …c7-c5 and …Qb6. In many variations that Black can choose it makes no difference, but in the lines where Black mounts quick pressure against b2 with the moves …c7-c5, \u2026Nc6, \u2026Qb6 it’s preferable to postpone Nf3 in favor of developing the queenside.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, the recommended move orders in the 1.d4 d5 main lines with and without an early \u2026Qb6 are as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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