The Neo-London-System - The sharper alternative to the popular London System
The Neo-London System offers many new, creative possibilities to present your opponents with serious problems in the early stages of the game.
With such a wealth of material, it's not easy to find the perfect approach. After all, it's not about memorising the countless variations, it's about integrating them into your own repertoire and understanding their strategies and tactical possibilities. The introduction and the well-structured table of contents are certainly a good place to start.
The list of ChessBase products on the topic of the London System is long: Simon Williams, Nigel Davies, Henrik Danielsen and Yannick Pelletier published analyses from different angles. Of course, there are also corresponding Powerbooks and Powerbases.
Attacking with the Jobava London System
The Jobava London System is a minor form of the London System. White tries to play Lf4 quickly followed by Nc3.
Pressing straight away - The London System 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4
Henrik Danielsen used this system to win the Icelandic blitz championship in 2011. Some strong GMs and IMs didn't realise the danger before it was too late. Even after Black’s best defence, White will be able to fight for an advantage. After watching 60 minutes you have a total opening plan against 1...d5.
As mentioned, all the authors took different perspectives, but what all the educational videos had in common was that they countered the still existing prejudice that the London system is a boring opening. The authors' analyses have certainly contributed to the London system's now widespread popularity.
The heart of the "neo-London": 3.c3!
You can't help but be curious when you first read in the title that it's about "neo-London" and an "ultra-creative" approach, only to then see that the core move is 3.c3! Pähtz challenges you to "discover the neo-London system – the creative and improved version of the classic London "ystem!" The move 3.c3 and the delay of Bf4 offer two decisive advantages, according to her: The first is the weakening of Black's effective defence with...c5 and...Qb6. The second is White's active attacking play when Black seeks immediate counterplay with...Bf5. Because of the immediate Qb3 that follows, gaps often appear in Black's defence.
What is interesting here, however, is not only the new approaches that this course shows, but also the transitions to variants of predecessor courses. By playing a different sequence of moves, you suddenly end up back in a position you already know after eight moves – but you have eliminated unpleasant replies by Black. A good example of this is this free video – but of course the author also provides new aspects that have emerged in the meantime.
The new course of Germany's top women's player contains countless innovations and often surprising ideas. If you want to surprise your opponent, these sharp, often forced variations are a good choice. Should Black also lull him- or herself into a false sense of security after the harmless-looking first moves, there may quickly be a rude awakening.
"Neo-London" is characterised above all by its surprise effects. This active system is more unpredictable than its predecessors. Whether creative or "ultra-creative" – it doesn't matter, because the many new options, which have been checked with modern engines, will quickly give many an opponent food for thought. Another plus point for practical use are the many suggestions for very early moves that have not yet or only very rarely been used in practice.
The ten detailed sections, divided into sub-chapters, are supplemented by extensive training material and interactive exercises in ChessBase Books format. Playing critical positions and solving tasks helps to test and consolidate your knowledge with the opening trainer. The online database also shows that the neo-London variations are popular with the world's top players.
Ten hours of video run time are proof of an impressively extensive and meticulous analysis. Elisabeth Pähtz provides players of all levels with a detailed repertoire that will pose major problems for many players who play with the black pieces.
Here's an example from Grandmaster practice:
The author: Elisabeth Pähtz
Elisabeth Pähtz (born 1985) has been the best German female chess player for many years. She has been a national player since 1998 and became a WGM in 2001, an IM in 2004 and a GM in 2022. In 2002, she became world champion in the U18 category for the first time, and three years later she also won the top category, the U20. In 2017, she won bronze at the World Rapid Championship and in 2018 she became European Rapid Champion and European Vice-Champion in Blitz.