Introduction
What is the London System?
The London System is one of the safest
and most solid methods of handling
the White pieces. Basically, we play a
Slav a move up, erecting a pawn wall
on c3, d4 and e3, and developing a
bishop to f4. We don’t care how Black
sets up. Our structure is preordained
and takes on all comers. Don’t get
fooled by the solidity. This isn’t just an
opening for the chicken-hearted. From
my experience, most Londons begin
slowly and then erupt in a clash down
the road, often ending with a mating
attack for White. The opening may be
used as your main line or as a targeted,
occasional weapon.
Unlike mainstream openings such
as the Sicilian Najdorf and Ruy Lopez,
there is no need to tediously memorize
lines. Memorization really only works
when our opponents cooperate and
play the theoretical recommendations.
Let’s say you get to move 14 and the
opponent plays 14...a6!?. In a panic you
think to yourself: “Um ... my book only
covered 14...Îc8 and 14...Ìfd7. Now
what am I supposed to do?” When I
was younger I often found myself
stranded in such situations. The Lon-
don doesn’t work this way. We rely on
our understanding of the structure.
Whatever the opponent throws at us,
we are ready. The London is for dream-
ers, not mathematicians. You are pretty
much safe from computer-prep from
the opponent. The best way to study
the London is to just play through the
games and reflect on their themes.
After playing the London for awhile,
you grow more experienced than your
opponent in the lines. Let’s say you
previously opened a chess game with 1
d4 and 2 c4. You face an opponent who
replies with Benko Gambit. Black will
probably have more experience in the
5
Play the London System

Benko than you do. But switch to a

London: 1 d4 Ìf6 2 Ìf3 c5 3 c3!. The Game 1
Benko player has not faced this very J.Blackburne-M.Harmonist
often and you are the odds-on favour- Breslau 1889
ite to understand the positions better.
Our goal is not to go for a += with 1 Ìf3 d5 2 d4 Ìf6 3 Íf4
White. Experienced players understand W________W
that chess is essentially a series of bat- [rhb1kgW4]
tles in a greater war. The opening is [0p0W0p0p]
just one battle. We position ourselves
[WDWDWhWD]
to outplay the opponents in the mid-
dlegames and endings arising from the
[DWDpDWDW]
London. We don’t mind an equal posi-
[WDW)WGWD]
tion where we navigate the waters bet- [DWDWDNDW]
ter than our confused opponents due [P)PDP)P)]
to our superior understanding of the [$NDQIBDR]
London/Slav structures. But with that W--------W
said, it’s amazing how often an edge Here we go! One of the first Londons
can be extracted from this opening, as gets a glorious start.
would be expected from a pedigree line 3...e6 4 e3 Íe7 5 Íd3 0-0!?
like a Ruy Lopez. Maybe Black should wait before
I targeted the book for the typical committing his king.
club player rated anywhere between 6 Ìbd2 b6 7 Ìe5 Íb7 8 Ëf3! c5 9 c3
1400 and 2000 but if you happen to be Ìbd7 10 Ëh3!
higher or lower rated than that range, W________W
I’m hoping you will still walk away with [rDW1W4kD]
something valuable from the book. [0bDngp0p]
[W0WDphWD]
Early Champions of the London
The London was first championed by
[DW0pHWDW]
two 19th Century players, Joseph Henry
[WDW)WGWD]
Blackburn from England, and James [DW)B)WDQ]
Mason from Ireland. Blackburn espe- [P)WHW)P)]
cially used the London as an attacking [$WDWIWDR]
weapon. W--------W
Let’s take a look at one of his games Now g4 is in the air.
in which he uses the London System to 10...Îe8
great effect: 10...c4 11 Íc2 b5 12 0-0 Îe8 13

6
 Introduction

Ìdf3 Ìxe5 14 Ìxe5 h6 15 f3 Íf8 16 15...h6 16 Íxh6! gxh6 17 Ëxh6

Îae1 a5 17 g4! g5 18 Íg3 Íg7 19 f4 wins.
Íc8 20 fxg5 hxg5 21 Îxf6! Ëxf6 22 16 Íb5! Ìd7
Ëh7+ Êf8 23 Îf1 1-0 Tu Hoang Thong- If 16...Îf8, 17 Íh6 picks off an ex-
Pham Hoa, Hanoi 2009. How little change.
things change in 120 years! 17 Ìh6+ Êg7
11 Ìdf3 W________W
Threatening Ìxf7 followed by Ìg5+. [rDW1rDWD]
W________W [0bDngpip]
[rDW1rdkD] [W0WDpDpH]
[0bDngp0p] [DB0pDWDW]
[W0WDphWD] [WDW)WGWD]
[DW0pHWDW] [DW)W)PDQ]
[WDW)WGWD] [P)WDWDP)]
[DW)B)NDQ] [$WDWIWDR]
[P)WdW)P)] W--------W
[$WDWIWDR] 18 Ìxf7!
W--------W And Harmonist got fried!
11...Ìe4 18...Íh4+
Black’s position is already critical. 18...Êxf7 19 Ëxh7+ leads to mate in
For example, 11...h6 12 g4! looks scary. five moves.
12 Ìxd7 Ëxd7 13 Ìe5 Ëd8 14 f3 Ìf6 19 Íg3 Êxf7 20 Íxh4 Ëc8 21 Íg3
15 Ìg4 Êg8 22 0-0 a6 23 Íd3
15 g4 g6 16 Íb5 is also very favour- 23 Íxd7! Ëxd7 24 Íe5 doesn’t of-
able for White. fer Black much hope either.
15...g6 23...e5 24 Îae1 Ëc6 25 e4 cxd4 26 exd5
W________W Ëc8 27 cxd4 Íxd5 28 dxe5 Ëc5+ 29
[rDW1rDkD] Íf2 Ëe7 30 f4 Íxa2 31 Íh4 Ëg7 32
[0bDWgpDp] Íc2 Îac8 33 Íb3+ Íxb3 34 Ëxb3+
Êh8 35 Îd1 h6 36 Ëh3 Îc7 37 Îd6
[W0WDphpD]
Êh7 38 Îfd1 Ìf8 39 Íf6 Ëf7 40 Î6d3
[DW0pDWDW] Ëe6 41 g4 b5 42 Ëxh6+! 1-0
[WDW)WGND] Sweet! What an auspicious begin-
[DW)B)PDQ] ning to our system. The London is more
[P)WDWDP)] subtle than first appearances. Try and
[$WDWIWDR] find the spots where Black went wrong.
W--------W

7
Play the London System
Who Plays the London? (The
Parable of Penguin and Gooster)
In the 80’s, my wife, Nancy, and I had a
pair of dogs, Penguin and Gooster, who
couldn’t have been more dissimilar.
Our Black Lab, Penguin, was the model
good dog. She was in harmony with the
universe and her virtues endless; she
was obedient, mild mannered, eager to
please, and on good terms with the
neighbourhood cats. My students and
the mail-carrier always received a
friendly wag of the tail.
Then there was Gooster, part Ger-
man Shepherd, part Coyote. I’m sorry to
have to report that Gooster was a bad
dog. He flunked doggie training school,
and constantly hatched plots to bite my
students and the mail-carrier, and eat
the neighbourhood cats. On a leash,
Gooster reminded onlookers of a 5-year
old on his first carnival bumper car
ride. If I gave him the command to
fetch, then in the style of Ghandian
civil disobedience, Gooster would sit.
Grandmasters Gata Kamsky and Bo-
ris Grachev represent the Penguin
school of the London. Always in har-
mony with the position, they avoid
early clashes and concenrtate on build-
ing on their superior strategic and
technical skills.
Grandmasters Blatny and Miladino-
vic are students of the Gooster school
of the London. Constantly swimming
upstream, they spoil for an early fight
leaving mainstream opening theory in
the dust. Their atonal interpretation of
8
the London jars their opponents.
You will probably fit into one of
these schools of the London.
The Anti-Londites
As a Londoner, you become part of an
oppressed minority in the chess world.
Many past opponents have interpreted
my opening choice of the London as an
affront to chess itself and regard it as a
defacement of the game. You don’t
believe me?
Exhibit A: An International Master
tells me after repeated beatings he suf-
fered from the London: “You are very
much in touch with your feminine side,
aren’t you?” Now I wish I had to quick-
ness of mind to quote some Klingon
proverb back in his face like: “Revenge
is a dish best served cold!” Sadly, my
not-so-brilliant response was “Yes. I
mean no!”
Exhibit B: George, a student and fa-
natical Londoner, whips an unsuspect-
ing opponent with the London, only to
receive this tell: “You are a disgrace to
White!” Like most Londoners of the
Penguin school who hate confronta-
tion, George froze, declining to re-
spond. Maybe he can email the guy
later if something clever and witty
comes to mind!
You see my point? This criticism of
the opening should be sweet music to
our ears. Nobody likes facing our sys-
tem!
Remember: We don’t owe our op-
ponents entertainment.

How the Book is Organized
Play the London System is organized in
games rather than analysis format. It’s
a book you can pick up and begin on
any chapter. It is written to be ab-
sorbed and understood, not memo-
rized. I didn’t necessarily go for big
names in the choice for games, and
instead looked for games with original
ideas. The book was written as if the
reader were a student here at my
house discussing lines of the London.
There will be no Mr. Spock-like lectures.
Also, I hope the reader can forgive my
unabashed bias towards the opening.
You will notice a horribly lopsided win
ratio in White’s favour with only a
smattering of token draws for which
Black must beg!
Good luck playing the London. May
you use it to frustrate future oppo-
nents!
Introduction
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to the following people
for their kind help with this book:
First, IM John Watson for suggest-
ing that I write a book on the London
System in a Chess FM interview we did
last July.
To my editor, GM John Emms, for
leading me out of the wilderness of
tangled lines.
To my friend, Carrie Hein, for her
suggestions with the introduction.
To my wife and son, Nancy and
Timothy, for their editing and techie
work with my hateful and uncoopera-
tive home computer.
Finally, to my Dad for teaching me
how to play chess 41 years ago.
Cyrus Lakdawala,
San Diego,
June 2010