New ideas in the London: attacking with 3.c3!

by Stefan Liebig
11/12/2024 – "My new baby," is how Elisabeth Pähtz describes the recently published Fritz Trainer “The ultra-creative neo-London system". In ten (!) hours of video, the German grandmaster explains everything you need to know to use this variation successfully.
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.

Introduction

The London Compendium

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.

The London System Powerbook 2023 is based on more than 366 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.

London System Powerbase 2023 is a database and contains in all 8570 games from Mega 2023 and the Correspondence Database 2022, of which 241 are annotated.

The Jobava London System is a minor form of the London System. White tries to play Lf4 quickly followed by Nc3.

"Simple yet aggressive!" Enjoy this new exciting DVD by Simon Williams. Let the famouns Grandmaster from England show you how to gain a very exciting yet well founded opening game with 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!

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.

Conclusion

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.

Topics: Elisabeth Paehtz, The London System
Stefan Liebig, born in 1974, is a journalist and co-owner of a marketing agency. He now lives in Barterode near Göttingen. At the age of five, strange pieces on his neighbour’s shelf aroused his curiosity. Since then, the game of chess has cast a spell over him. Flying high in the NRW youth league with his home club SV Bad Laasphe and several appearances in the second division team of Tempo Göttingen were highlights for the former youth South Westphalia champion.