Here's a great tool for learning openings: chessbook.com/hanging-pawns Chessbook allows you to import and practice your repertoire. It focuses on moves people actually play as well as your mistakes. Connect it to your lichess or chess com accounts to correct the biggest gaps in your repertoire! If you still feel like learning the London, here:D ua-cam.com/video/S_OYdWbJMKM/v-deo.html
I've never been able to get the London to work. I only ever play against engines and even on the lowest settings possible, stockfish beats me if I try the London. My dark square bishop is neutralised in pretty short order (any attempt to save it resulting in the kings side being decimated) and the queen's side of the board gets absolutely dominated by black.
6:00 Hi Stjepan, I know Bxd6 isn't very common but I just want to point out that technically Bxd6 isnt a loss of tempo because the black queen also moved to c7 so the position is the same. Thanks for the video and I wish you a happy Christmas.
Bg3 is an inferior move in that position. Better is Nbd2. You can allow Bxf4 exf4 and although you technically have an isolated d-pawn and double f-pawns you have an e5 outpost for the knight and a semi-open e-file which more than make up for it.
great video! Please turn this into a series! "2 Setups that made me Quit the Jobava london" "3 Setups that made me Quit the Hyper Accelerated Dragon" "1 Setup that made me Quit the Caro Kann"
I've faced the "boring battery" unfortunately. Your name for it is perfect, it told me what you were talking about before you showed it. Happy Christmas!
The third line is actually the greatest in my opinion. It's actually even easier to play 5. 0-0 and then c5. I'm not a huge fan of 5. c5 due to 6. Bb5+. And the middlegame plan from the video isn't the best. After 13. Nf3, it's better to go 13. Qh5, then Bg4, Ne4 and move the rook from a1 to h6. I hated the London System so much but when I stumbled across this antidote things went easy. Now I have 74% wins against London (2250-2350 in 10+0 lichess)
Pretty cool! I like this format more than the data dumps in the opening videos. It makes more sense to remember a handful of lines vs dozens of lines in a 30+ minute video. I don't play neither the London as white nor 1...d5 as black and I enjoyed this video.
This is a very well-explained video, very useful, I love how your explanations line up with the best lines according to the fish, and how you explain the choice of close alternatives according to desired objective (e.g drawing). It baffles me how you ain't got twice as many subscribers as Mr. Rozman. Your other opening videos are excellent as well, and you are always super accurate in separating personal opinions from engine opinions, e.g the Euwe variation of the French Advance. One question remains - what do you play as white now? :D Big thumbs up, and Merry Christmas.
@@alexanderkononov1862 different people enjoy playing chess different ways though, i played e4 openings for ages but when i switched to d4 it just made a lot more sense to me and i have a lot more fun with it
He gives too many variations that are plus 2 or minus 2 and says disregard the engine without further explanation. Higher rated players usually give more explanation. I think this hurts his viewership.
8:10 in the 4th line black actually have an option to play for a win here. It’s cxd4 gambiting an entire rook. This definitely isn’t for tournament play but if you do it online people rarely knows that they’ll never be able to take the rook in any line. The draw option is still available as well but played a bit differently.
Thank you, Mr. Tomic, that was good and important. Better than Gotham's f6, you keep the kingside in one piece, rather than let it be wrecked. (I played his idea and it Worked, my opponent took the bait, but yours looks cleaner).
What's your rating? I play London and have generally had very good success against the KID. As soon as I see the fianchetto I prepare for Queenside castling, trade the bishop, and then launch the king side pawns, and the king gets hunted in short order.
@akkadian1995 I'm 1600, and feel the KID is very difficult to play because most at my level and below at least, people don't know where/when to make the pawn breaks. Above 2000 its probably a different story.
According to aggregated online engine results the best move for White after 4...Qb6 is 5.c4 with some crazy extra sharp line for both sides. Here is the line : 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 Qb6 5. c4 Qxb2 6. Nbd2 e6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Rb1 Qxa2 9. dxc5 Be7 10. Ra1 Qb2 11. Be5 Qb4 12. Bd4 Bd7 * White can now chose between Bd3 Be2 and Ne5. Granted this doesn't look like a London anymore. But since you are required to play a few only move as black it's better to know it exists.
Hi, for the 3rd line, after black castle, white has some great alternatives that is played at high level, white dxc5, black has to take back with Queen, then white pushes e4 (or a bit trickier move is Qe2 followed by e4) - this prevents black from pushing e5, and forces the black to take Bxg3 before white is castled! Nihal Sarin plays this line often, and of course at high depth it's equal position but I think very nice to play with white Also, I think a much more dynamic option for 4. Qb6 for white is to simply dxc5
I completely agree. There is a wild line I prepped there where after Bxg3 (in the Qe2 and e4 line) white can sacrifice the bishop on h7 then recapture on g3 with check. You get a very fun position as long as black doesn't see the tricky way to force white to repeat.
Hello Stjepan, I'm surprised you didn't give Bf5 setups. There are lines with quick c4, however if black knows how to counter it correctly with Bxb1-Bb4+ then white has nothing. This line was topical at some point in high level. Also this battery draw can be avoided with a setup involving Nf3-Nbd2-e3 without c3, so white can play dxc5 followed by c4 break, engine shows a little but solid edge for white there. Personally I'm a big fan of Gawain's recommendation of playing kid setup with b6 Bb7-Nbd7 and playing for e5 or Ne4. White has literally nothing in these positions apart from trading pieces and hoping to achieve draw. Also results in the database speak for themself, high winrate for black there. Good decision to stop playing the London, it's not a opening for improving players at your level. Cheers
Few points: 1) The transposition to the exchange variation of Caro-Kann and Qb6 draws work only against the London with 2.Bf4, not against 2.Nf3 and later Bf4. After 2...c5, White also has the possibility to go d5, which is the line Carlsen plays always. 2) In the line "Fighting 2.Nf3 with Qb6", White is not forced to play Rb1, since there is the possibility to play 6.e4!? with some complications. White should not get any advantage though after 6...Nxe4! (6...e6 is also good but can be a mess, after 6...dxe4 7.Ne5! is strong and after 6...Qxb2, Bd2! is strong) 7.Nxd5 (7.Nxe4 is possible but a complete mess) Qa5 8.Nc3 Nxc3 9.Qd2 and 10.Qxc3 is equal. 3) In the "Boring Battery" line, White is not forced play Bg3, since he/she can keep the dark-squared bishop on f4. Instead 6.Nf3 has scored well for White. So I would recommend to play London with 2.Nf3, keep the bishop on f4 in ...e6 lines and hope your opponent doesn't know the Qb6 line well. Edit: One line added to 1) and 2).
At 4:16, for all the reasons you cite (pushing c5-c4 and playing against the kings bishop) when facing the "knight c3 or knight d2 move order", I would observe therefore that knight-c3 is arguably not in fact the best move for white, but rather c4 is. This then prevents black's .. c4, the pawn on b2 is actually then the so-called poisoned pawn. E.g. if black is not very careful then they can easily get their queen trapped capturing it. (Or at least, that's the usual commentary/advice.) E.g. after 4. e3 Qb6 then 5. c4 and if black Qxb2 then 6.Nd2 (forced otherwise losing the rook). But now there are not very many good moves for black. Particularly the queen has /no/ immediately good moves; with lots of ways for things to go off the rails really quickly. Even somewhat competent (?) play, trying to retreat via say .. 6. .. Qb6 results in an immediate response by white 7. Rb1, which should be followed by Qd8 since Qa5 is followed by 8. Rb5 upon which the queen must in any case flee to d8 anyway with temp lost etc. At the point where the queen starts fleeing (e.g. 6 .. Qb6, the best move actually is the innocuous and easily missed e6 (supporting the pawn on d5), without which white will recapture and gain advantage. All in all after all this, if black plays perfectly then you end up more or less equal with white not being worse for it development wise, and if black does *not* play perfectly then white can gain some advantages over black.
4th line white is actually slightly better after Rb1 Qxa2 Ra1 Qb2 Nf3! And black is under pressure. There's also just 3.d5 or 4.Na3 moves which white should be slightly more comfortable. 3rd line using the Nf3 move order before c3 there's dxc5 or Bb5+ after Bd6 still a tiny bit of edge. 2nd line Nc3 is decent but there's also c4. Not much remedy for the first line, even e6 instead of f6 is more stable equality. Thus classical London move order might be more accurate.
I have a very interesting alternative to the move a3 in the 4th line. It's definitely a very sharp line, but actually white often gets a solid advantage with it. If you're interested I would be happy to share some ideas!
I tried the Bd6 idea and my opponent kept his bishop on f4. I captured it a few moves later and got a TERRIBLE position. I'm not sure just what I did wrong.
You can also go crazy, d4 d5 Bf4 Bf5 e3 e6 then g4?! If they go Be4 f3, Bg6 h4, h6 and you’ve got a huge pawn storm and they’ve just moved their bishop around a bunch. If they play h5 instead, g5 locking it up. It’s not fool proof, and you’ve gotta be careful since your knight can’t go to f3 anymore, but you can definitely throw people off with the aggression. You can play either Bd3 trading the bishops finally and activating your queen if they capture, if they don’t then you can exchange bishops doubling their pawns. You can also just play Nc3 and then you’re in the Jobava pawn storm.
The London is best suited for playing against the KID, i.e., Nf6, g6, d6 set ups. The problem is White has to commit to the London set up with before Black commits to the KID set up.
playing d6 in that Qb6 draw line leads to some of my favorite positions with black against the london. I never go for the draw i always play d6 because london players don’t know how to play the positions usually unless they’re lucky enough to play benoni structures with black.
I don't get the Qb6 line. It only works if white didn't learn early deviation and stick to the London. Otherwise he plays 3.d5 and you are now playing a Benoni... So if you like the Benoni that's awesome. You just found a nice transposition. Do you hate the Benoni as White ?
Then you dont know to play London system,i won many games in League with this opening,Stjepan is to much rely on what engine says,its hard to play as black against the London if white is well prepared..
I also got some variations from the modern opening that are not well known but effective against the London system. But I made extensive research to fight this bloody opening. It made me give up the Nimzo because of the move orders. If more people find antidotes against it, I’ll be relieved 😊 happy Christmas to everyone (or whatever you celebrate in your religion)
@@CatSurfer but many people are stubborn and would continue in a Jobava London or main London fashion. In this case, the stronger you are, the less you are speaking for the crowd. (And modern is ok to fight against many set ups, you just need to know your stuff)
I'm confused. Which is OK. Except, I am double confused: 1) Is there a opening for white which *guarantees** the long term advantage? 2) Has anyone ever thought that London is among them? - I always thought that the obvious answers are: 1) No. The most that white can do is to create problems for blacks and ask questions. A dwindling advantage eventually leading to equality is the outcome for every correctly played chess games. 2) A resounding no. London has always been about getting a playable position. No more and no less. - *FWIV Hikaru puts London in the dead middle of _Legit Openings_ tier. Above tiers called Garbage, Tricks Only and Really Bro. But bellow Unbreakable and Legendary. They say: it does get played a ton and there is no clear-cut antidote. I mean you can get an equal position and then just play it
b3 is never a good move because you've developed your dark squares bishop to f4 and then immediately weaken all of your dark squares on the queenside with b3. It's not losing, but it's positionally suspect.
There's no direct win for black after b3, but it just weakens the dark squares and the qs. Black can develop with either g6 or d6 and is better whatever white does from there.
At 1200 level b3 will work 90 percent of the time. I lost many times to London players back in the days. Later on I discovered black can develop with g6 & Bg7 and exploit the weakened diagonal. After that, it is more difficult to play with white. It is quite likely that white will miss a tactic and lose a pawn or the exchange.
Queen side concession, c3 becomes more difficult to sutain the center, you create holes tha can be explore by black. Basically you givea a permanent plan/ target for black, which completely defeats the purpose of the london harmonic setup with no weaknesses
Thanks so much for the replies!! I’m still learning and I like this defence against the London. What is it’s official name so I can learn a bit more about it?
I mean, aren't you suppose to face more opponents that will equalize at higher elo ? You can't expect to be better almost all games in the opening (i mean you aim to be better but can't expect it as the level is high at your elo). You can either : - chose sub optimal lines in the London your opponent won't know ; - change your opening (but i am afraid the same problem exists, opponents will know theory) ; - work on plans for the middle game (very strong player just win from drawn position, you said you did it, just do it to better players aha).
Hello sir , I am following u you from a quite a long time from your opening video(e4 and d4 playlist)that have been uploaded 5 year ago too the middle game and endgame playlist. But now a days a u have been just uploading only the training game, I have no issues with ur training game , but sir can i will love to see you back in opening theory video like Vienna Game opening. Can you plz upload a 2-3 video a week on common mistake in caro kann ,orr something that help a 1200-1500 elo players to improve bcz as a 1200 i am only able to understand a few moves from ur training video a but no disrespect sir u explain great but still if you can manage to make a playlist on improving at chess(a detail video of 45-60 min about a fix varation in caro kann like exchange a detailed explanation of lines and sifelines ) 2 or 3 video a week may be on Saturday and Sunday. That will be a great help for me and many players and just a request if you think starting the playlist play start with caro kann details analysis... A lots lots of love ❤❤❤ from india🇮🇳.... And Merry Christmas sir 🎄🎁
Nbd2, Nc3, or c4 are all good moves with the white retaining a slight advantage. Nothing is refuted here. We are all have relatively up to date Stockfish, except possibly Stjepan whose engine is spitting some weird zeros when they're not, and saying "the best move is..." or "the only move is" when it's not.
Just digging into the London. As a Tarrasch Defense player, I've intuitively felt it was sus. Knowing that deeply it is, I'll continue to collect wins online with either side till I find Black players that are this deep.
it's not sus, it just doesn't give white an advantage. It gives a draw with perfect play. Most importantly, it gives you a game and chance to outplay your opponent. It's just not particularly venomous.
Dear sir,What would you recommend to play as opening to a 8 year old girl. AND WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST DEFENCE THEY CAN LEARN AT THAT AGE( HAVING A RATINNG OF 1300 @ LEECHES
The best thing is to study the London System and all the possible black defensive setup you can encounter then improvise...memorizing is not then answer...
Stjepan is to much rely on engine,if you are human you will strugle with London as black believe me,you will get many problems even vs player who is lowest in rating of you...
I play the LS with white, and i find all of these defences very ok to face. I will admit though, that I dont have an alternative, as I dont know anything else other then the LS, so i guess from the point of view of players who have other weapons in their reportoire with white, that some of these may seem a little bit dry and untesting.
Maybe you don't need to change. You can find new ideas in the middle game for those position in the London. As i see it, you have "mastered" the opening and if you change it you will be starting over.
Here's a great tool for learning openings: chessbook.com/hanging-pawns
Chessbook allows you to import and practice your repertoire. It focuses on moves people actually play as well as your mistakes. Connect it to your lichess or chess com accounts to correct the biggest gaps in your repertoire!
If you still feel like learning the London, here:D ua-cam.com/video/S_OYdWbJMKM/v-deo.html
I've never been able to get the London to work. I only ever play against engines and even on the lowest settings possible, stockfish beats me if I try the London. My dark square bishop is neutralised in pretty short order (any attempt to save it resulting in the kings side being decimated) and the queen's side of the board gets absolutely dominated by black.
Admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Stay strong brother.
6:00 Hi Stjepan, I know Bxd6 isn't very common but I just want to point out that technically Bxd6 isnt a loss of tempo because the black queen also moved to c7 so the position is the same.
Thanks for the video and I wish you a happy Christmas.
Black is winning regardless of that little detail anyway
Bg3 is an inferior move in that position. Better is Nbd2. You can allow Bxf4 exf4 and although you technically have an isolated d-pawn and double f-pawns you have an e5 outpost for the knight and a semi-open e-file which more than make up for it.
I was thinking the same about the tempos.
great video! Please turn this into a series! "2 Setups that made me Quit the Jobava london" "3 Setups that made me Quit the Hyper Accelerated Dragon" "1 Setup that made me Quit the Caro Kann"
Then there are the infinite number of setups that made me quit chess...
Discovering the Caro Kann will make you quit the Hyper Accelerated.
@@LutherBarnum opposite for me, hyperaccelerated dragon made me quit the Caro-Kann, I can't stand the classical Caro
@@LutherBarnum💪🙂
Excellent idea!
5 years later; 10 setups that made me quit the Caro-Kann
One Setup, advance!
@@danerman73 3.c5 only way to deal with it
Never gonna happen!
Thank you so much for your informational content. Looking forward to another year of learning from you!
I've faced the "boring battery" unfortunately. Your name for it is perfect, it told me what you were talking about before you showed it.
Happy Christmas!
i mean, the battery is just logical.
for d4 d5 players there aren't a great many alternatives to get a good position against the London.
Dude if you are a London player, you are known as a boring player. boohoo.
What a wonderful resolution! Welcome back to the good side :)
Wonderful info. Thanks for preparing and sharing this content. That last line is especially remarkable.
thanks a lot i was tired of finding a nice move against that Qb3
The third line is actually the greatest in my opinion. It's actually even easier to play 5. 0-0 and then c5. I'm not a huge fan of 5. c5 due to 6. Bb5+. And the middlegame plan from the video isn't the best. After 13. Nf3, it's better to go 13. Qh5, then Bg4, Ne4 and move the rook from a1 to h6. I hated the London System so much but when I stumbled across this antidote things went easy. Now I have 74% wins against London (2250-2350 in 10+0 lichess)
The third line is stockfish 16 best, I believe
how can you move the black rook from a1 to h6? Do you mean rook lift ra8 to rh6?
@@DavidUebergang yes, I meant that
Pretty cool! I like this format more than the data dumps in the opening videos. It makes more sense to remember a handful of lines vs dozens of lines in a 30+ minute video. I don't play neither the London as white nor 1...d5 as black and I enjoyed this video.
This is a very well-explained video, very useful, I love how your explanations line up with the best lines according to the fish, and how you explain the choice of close alternatives according to desired objective (e.g drawing). It baffles me how you ain't got twice as many subscribers as Mr. Rozman. Your other opening videos are excellent as well, and you are always super accurate in separating personal opinions from engine opinions, e.g the Euwe variation of the French Advance. One question remains - what do you play as white now? :D Big thumbs up, and Merry Christmas.
He plays d4 c4 but what you should play is 1.e4! Best by test
@@alexanderkononov1862 different people enjoy playing chess different ways though, i played e4 openings for ages but when i switched to d4 it just made a lot more sense to me and i have a lot more fun with it
@@alexanderkononov1862 e4 is too easy to draw against in my opinion (2300 elo) and the openings are well studied and forcing. I'd much rather play d4
@@Ramin2340 2300 online or otb, because if online i have the same rating and strongly disagree
He gives too many variations that are plus 2 or minus 2 and says disregard the engine without further explanation. Higher rated players usually give more explanation. I think this hurts his viewership.
This is exactly the video I've been needing. Thank you.
Best Christmas gift I could have asked for
Merry Christmas hanging pawns 🎅❄
8:10 in the 4th line black actually have an option to play for a win here. It’s cxd4 gambiting an entire rook. This definitely isn’t for tournament play but if you do it online people rarely knows that they’ll never be able to take the rook in any line. The draw option is still available as well but played a bit differently.
Thank you, Mr. Tomic, that was good and important.
Better than Gotham's f6, you keep the kingside in one piece, rather than let it be wrecked. (I played his idea and it Worked, my opponent took the bait, but yours looks cleaner).
Thanks for shedding light on these interesting lines.
In that fourth approach, black can play 5… cxd4 to enter into a very sharp gambit line. William Graif named it the London Crusher 9000.
Good video. I love using a caro setup since it's my primary response to e4. I have been using a fairly combative KID setup against the London.
What's your rating? I play London and have generally had very good success against the KID. As soon as I see the fianchetto I prepare for Queenside castling, trade the bishop, and then launch the king side pawns, and the king gets hunted in short order.
@@chad1755 I hover around 2250, it's typically not that easy on either side.
@akkadian1995 I'm 1600, and feel the KID is very difficult to play because most at my level and below at least, people don't know where/when to make the pawn breaks. Above 2000 its probably a different story.
Great video very useful tips
Hi! I like your playing style a lot, maybe you could try Catalan, if you like this opening, thanks for your lectures there, they are amazing!
www.youtube.com/@HangingPawns/search?query=catalan
The Catalan seems like it would be right up Stjepan's alley
Very concise! I think I will try some of these! Merry Christmas!
great content! this is so usefull to me!
I start my london with c3 saragossa. Avoiding common replies by black and had success with it..
According to aggregated online engine results the best move for White after 4...Qb6 is 5.c4 with some crazy extra sharp line for both sides.
Here is the line :
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 Qb6 5. c4 Qxb2 6. Nbd2 e6 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
Rb1 Qxa2 9. dxc5 Be7 10. Ra1 Qb2 11. Be5 Qb4 12. Bd4 Bd7 *
White can now chose between Bd3 Be2 and Ne5.
Granted this doesn't look like a London anymore. But since you are required to play a few only move as black it's better to know it exists.
Hi, for the 3rd line, after black castle, white has some great alternatives that is played at high level, white dxc5, black has to take back with Queen, then white pushes e4 (or a bit trickier move is Qe2 followed by e4) - this prevents black from pushing e5, and forces the black to take Bxg3 before white is castled! Nihal Sarin plays this line often, and of course at high depth it's equal position but I think very nice to play with white
Also, I think a much more dynamic option for 4. Qb6 for white is to simply dxc5
I completely agree. There is a wild line I prepped there where after Bxg3 (in the Qe2 and e4 line) white can sacrifice the bishop on h7 then recapture on g3 with check. You get a very fun position as long as black doesn't see the tricky way to force white to repeat.
Fair play ..you know your stuff..GM Jumabiyev plays the the dxc5 in the 4th one with fantastic results
This is soo helpful. Amazing as always!
Great stuff! Merry Christmas! Hope u meet all your chess horses in 2024! 🙏
Hello Stjepan,
I'm surprised you didn't give Bf5 setups. There are lines with quick c4, however if black knows how to counter it correctly with Bxb1-Bb4+ then white has nothing. This line was topical at some point in high level.
Also this battery draw can be avoided with a setup involving Nf3-Nbd2-e3 without c3, so white can play dxc5 followed by c4 break, engine shows a little but solid edge for white there.
Personally I'm a big fan of Gawain's recommendation of playing kid setup with b6 Bb7-Nbd7 and playing for e5 or Ne4. White has literally nothing in these positions apart from trading pieces and hoping to achieve draw. Also results in the database speak for themself, high winrate for black there.
Good decision to stop playing the London, it's not a opening for improving players at your level.
Cheers
Few points:
1) The transposition to the exchange variation of Caro-Kann and Qb6 draws work only against the London with 2.Bf4, not against 2.Nf3 and later Bf4. After 2...c5, White also has the possibility to go d5, which is the line Carlsen plays always.
2) In the line "Fighting 2.Nf3 with Qb6", White is not forced to play Rb1, since there is the possibility to play 6.e4!? with some complications. White should not get any advantage though after 6...Nxe4! (6...e6 is also good but can be a mess, after 6...dxe4 7.Ne5! is strong and after 6...Qxb2, Bd2! is strong) 7.Nxd5 (7.Nxe4 is possible but a complete mess) Qa5 8.Nc3 Nxc3 9.Qd2 and 10.Qxc3 is equal.
3) In the "Boring Battery" line, White is not forced play Bg3, since he/she can keep the dark-squared bishop on f4. Instead 6.Nf3 has scored well for White.
So I would recommend to play London with 2.Nf3, keep the bishop on f4 in ...e6 lines and hope your opponent doesn't know the Qb6 line well.
Edit: One line added to 1) and 2).
Merry Christmas
At 4:16, for all the reasons you cite (pushing c5-c4 and playing against the kings bishop) when facing the "knight c3 or knight d2 move order", I would observe therefore that knight-c3 is arguably not in fact the best move for white, but rather c4 is. This then prevents black's .. c4, the pawn on b2 is actually then the so-called poisoned pawn. E.g. if black is not very careful then they can easily get their queen trapped capturing it. (Or at least, that's the usual commentary/advice.) E.g. after 4. e3 Qb6 then 5. c4 and if black Qxb2 then 6.Nd2 (forced otherwise losing the rook). But now there are not very many good moves for black. Particularly the queen has /no/ immediately good moves; with lots of ways for things to go off the rails really quickly. Even somewhat competent (?) play, trying to retreat via say .. 6. .. Qb6 results in an immediate response by white 7. Rb1, which should be followed by Qd8 since Qa5 is followed by 8. Rb5 upon which the queen must in any case flee to d8 anyway with temp lost etc. At the point where the queen starts fleeing (e.g. 6 .. Qb6, the best move actually is the innocuous and easily missed e6 (supporting the pawn on d5), without which white will recapture and gain advantage. All in all after all this, if black plays perfectly then you end up more or less equal with white not being worse for it development wise, and if black does *not* play perfectly then white can gain some advantages over black.
4th line white is actually slightly better after Rb1 Qxa2 Ra1 Qb2 Nf3! And black is under pressure. There's also just 3.d5 or 4.Na3 moves which white should be slightly more comfortable.
3rd line using the Nf3 move order before c3 there's dxc5 or Bb5+ after Bd6 still a tiny bit of edge.
2nd line Nc3 is decent but there's also c4.
Not much remedy for the first line, even e6 instead of f6 is more stable equality. Thus classical London move order might be more accurate.
I've always gone into some version of the Indian to annoy London players, but transposing into an exchange caro sounds diabolical
I have a very interesting alternative to the move a3 in the 4th line. It's definitely a very sharp line, but actually white often gets a solid advantage with it. If you're interested I would be happy to share some ideas!
This is a line I like, go ahead plz!
Nice movie nice weapon for black recomendations to fight London ! I also play some of it myself ;)
Yes, this is very helpful, thanks!
I tried the Bd6 idea and my opponent kept his bishop on f4. I captured it a few moves later and got a TERRIBLE position. I'm not sure just what I did wrong.
Thanks for the amazing content❤❤
Merry Christmas Stjepan!
If you play the third one with Bd6 first and then 0-0 and finally c5, it's even easier to play for black.
Thank you very much for this, very important.
What to play with white against 2. Bishop f5 by black against the London. D4 D5, Bf4, Bf5 ?
I think usually you pay c4 when they play out the bishop that early, You have to play a different structure. But not 100% sure.
You can also go crazy, d4 d5 Bf4 Bf5 e3 e6 then g4?! If they go Be4 f3, Bg6 h4, h6 and you’ve got a huge pawn storm and they’ve just moved their bishop around a bunch. If they play h5 instead, g5 locking it up.
It’s not fool proof, and you’ve gotta be careful since your knight can’t go to f3 anymore, but you can definitely throw people off with the aggression. You can play either Bd3 trading the bishops finally and activating your queen if they capture, if they don’t then you can exchange bishops doubling their pawns. You can also just play Nc3 and then you’re in the Jobava pawn storm.
The London is best suited for playing against the KID, i.e., Nf6, g6, d6 set ups. The problem is White has to commit to the London set up with before Black commits to the KID set up.
playing d6 in that Qb6 draw line leads to some of my favorite positions with black against the london. I never go for the draw i always play d6 because london players don’t know how to play the positions usually unless they’re lucky enough to play benoni structures with black.
I like the first line since I enjoy playing the Caro-Kann Defense. But I think I also like to try to play e5 against the London System.
I don't get the Qb6 line.
It only works if white didn't learn early deviation and stick to the London.
Otherwise he plays 3.d5 and you are now playing a Benoni...
So if you like the Benoni that's awesome. You just found a nice transposition.
Do you hate the Benoni as White ?
Best channel ❤❤
FINALLY! A Christmas present for us black players who hate the London. Thank you!
Thanks for this. I also stopped playing the London System in tournaments and am looking for setups against it.
I’ve really liked the bd6-qc7 lines. Opponents at my level often just let e5 happen and it’s an easily equalized game.
Dr mohamed nofel 's
channel made a great free course for London but it's in Arabic you can see with translation
The few times that I have attempted the London opening setup I have run into a terrific counter attacks.
Then you dont know to play London system,i won many games in League with this opening,Stjepan is to much rely on what engine says,its hard to play as black against the London if white is well prepared..
I have been using the Jobova and scoring wins with it.
I also got some variations from the modern opening that are not well known but effective against the London system. But I made extensive research to fight this bloody opening. It made me give up the Nimzo because of the move orders. If more people find antidotes against it, I’ll be relieved 😊 happy Christmas to everyone (or whatever you celebrate in your religion)
You cant play the London system against Modern so i dont know what you're referring to
@@CatSurfer White can’t play a London set up against the modern? You lost me here… Please explain
@@PatrickRecordon d4, g6. If you're playing against someone who knows what they're doing they will never play Bf4 or anything resembling the london
@@CatSurfer but many people are stubborn and would continue in a Jobava London or main London fashion. In this case, the stronger you are, the less you are speaking for the crowd. (And modern is ok to fight against many set ups, you just need to know your stuff)
I'm confused. Which is OK. Except, I am double confused:
1) Is there a opening for white which *guarantees** the long term advantage?
2) Has anyone ever thought that London is among them?
- I always thought that the obvious answers are:
1) No. The most that white can do is to create problems for blacks and ask questions. A dwindling advantage eventually leading to equality is the outcome for every correctly played chess games.
2) A resounding no. London has always been about getting a playable position. No more and no less.
- *FWIV Hikaru puts London in the dead middle of _Legit Openings_ tier. Above tiers called Garbage, Tricks Only and Really Bro. But bellow Unbreakable and Legendary.
They say: it does get played a ton and there is no clear-cut antidote. I mean you can get an equal position and then just play it
In the qb6 draw, why does pawn to b3 not work? I’m only 1200 elo and I just don’t see it lol
b3 is never a good move because you've developed your dark squares bishop to f4 and then immediately weaken all of your dark squares on the queenside with b3. It's not losing, but it's positionally suspect.
There's no direct win for black after b3, but it just weakens the dark squares and the qs. Black can develop with either g6 or d6 and is better whatever white does from there.
At 1200 level b3 will work 90 percent of the time. I lost many times to London players back in the days. Later on I discovered black can develop with g6 & Bg7 and exploit the weakened diagonal. After that, it is more difficult to play with white. It is quite likely that white will miss a tactic and lose a pawn or the exchange.
Queen side concession, c3 becomes more difficult to sutain the center, you create holes tha can be explore by black. Basically you givea a permanent plan/ target for black, which completely defeats the purpose of the london harmonic setup with no weaknesses
Thanks so much for the replies!! I’m still learning and I like this defence against the London. What is it’s official name so I can learn a bit more about it?
What are you playing now?
good one
The second line is rare? I thought it was THE in-vogue anti-London.
First game I played after watching this, I got to try the Qb6 line and managed to win. Woohoo!
When you speak about the London, you can add "Boring" to every lines.
i play the boring battery with black is really easy to play
Imagine you got rid of the Caro-Kann as well! Maybe a goal for 2025!
How about Jabova London?
2. C5 always when I see this goddamn Bishop coming out on the 2nd move. I have a 65% winrate with it
I mean, aren't you suppose to face more opponents that will equalize at higher elo ? You can't expect to be better almost all games in the opening (i mean you aim to be better but can't expect it as the level is high at your elo).
You can either :
- chose sub optimal lines in the London your opponent won't know ;
- change your opening (but i am afraid the same problem exists, opponents will know theory) ;
- work on plans for the middle game (very strong player just win from drawn position, you said you did it, just do it to better players aha).
Hello sir , I am following u you from a quite a long time from your opening video(e4 and d4 playlist)that have been uploaded 5 year ago too the middle game and endgame playlist. But now a days a u have been just uploading only the training game, I have no issues with ur training game , but sir can i will love to see you back in opening theory video like Vienna Game opening. Can you plz upload a 2-3 video a week on common mistake in caro kann ,orr something that help a 1200-1500 elo players to improve bcz as a 1200 i am only able to understand a few moves from ur training video a but no disrespect sir u explain great but still if you can manage to make a playlist on improving at chess(a detail video of 45-60 min about a fix varation in caro kann like exchange a detailed explanation of lines and sifelines ) 2 or 3 video a week may be on Saturday and Sunday. That will be a great help for me and many players and just a request if you think starting the playlist play start with caro kann details analysis...
A lots lots of love ❤❤❤ from india🇮🇳....
And Merry Christmas sir 🎄🎁
Thank you for this nice video…
4:17 why not Nbd2?
Nbd2, Nc3, or c4 are all good moves with the white retaining a slight advantage.
Nothing is refuted here.
We are all have relatively up to date Stockfish, except possibly Stjepan whose engine is spitting some weird zeros when they're not, and saying "the best move is..." or "the only move is" when it's not.
The thumbnail lol London will fall
As a London player, I think this video is really mean.
Just digging into the London. As a Tarrasch Defense player, I've intuitively felt it was sus. Knowing that deeply it is, I'll continue to collect wins online with either side till I find Black players that are this deep.
it's not sus, it just doesn't give white an advantage. It gives a draw with perfect play. Most importantly, it gives you a game and chance to outplay your opponent. It's just not particularly venomous.
these set ups does not convince me to give up the London. There are better variations for white not mentioned.
1. d4 (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3) 1... d5 (1... Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 Qb6 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Nb5 Nd5 6. Rb1 (6. a3 a6 7. Rb1 Qa2 8. Qc1 axb5 9. Ra1 Qxa1 10. Qxa1 e5 11. dxe5 (11. Bxe5 c4 12. Ne2 Nc6 13. g4 Rxa3) 11... Nxf4 12. exf4 c4) 6... Qxa2 7. Ra1 Qb2 8. Rb1) 2. Bf4 (2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Qb6 5. b3 (5. Qc1 Nc6 6. c3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nh5) (5. Nc3 c4 6. Rb1 e6) 5... Nc6 6. dxc5 Qxc5) 2... c5 (2... Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nd2 c5 5. c3 Bd6 6. Bg3 Qc7 7. Ngf3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Bxd6 (9. O-O Bxg3 10. hxg3 e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Nf3 Qe7) 9... Qxd6 10. O-O e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Nf3 Qe7) 3. e4 (3. e3 cxd4 4. exd4 Nc6 5. c3 Bf5 6. Nf3 (6. Qb3 Qd7 7. Nf3 f6) 6... f6 7. Qb3 Qd7) 3... dxe4 4. d5 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
No te entendí ni m@dr3s.
No obstante, en lo personal me gusta el SISTEMA LONDRES.
At 9:44 according to the engine Bxe5 is +2.3
Dear sir,What would you recommend to play as opening to a 8 year old girl.
AND WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST DEFENCE THEY CAN LEARN AT THAT AGE( HAVING A RATINNG OF 1300 @ LEECHES
What ? You quit the London ? 😂
I quit a chess opening every week if that's any consolation. There is no perfect chess opening. 😅
go e4
The best thing is to study the London System and all the possible black defensive setup you can encounter then improvise...memorizing is not then answer...
Stjepan is to much rely on engine,if you are human you will strugle with London as black believe me,you will get many problems even vs player who is lowest in rating of you...
Just play a kings indian
First
Lol. These are not good moves against the London.
I play the LS with white, and i find all of these defences very ok to face. I will admit though, that I dont have an alternative, as I dont know anything else other then the LS, so i guess from the point of view of players who have other weapons in their reportoire with white, that some of these may seem a little bit dry and untesting.
Maybe you don't need to change. You can find new ideas in the middle game for those position in the London. As i see it, you have "mastered" the opening and if you change it you will be starting over.