Playing like the World Champion

Nigel Davies: The Accelerated London System with 2.Bf4: A Review

By Robert Klenk

For a long time opening a game with 1.d4 followed by 2.Bf4 has not been considered an inspired choice. White's play had the reputation of being dull, boring and drawish, and the only top player who tried this system regularly was Gata Kamsky. However, in the last years 2.Bf4 has become increasingly popular and is seen in the games of some of the world's best players. Club players also employ it more and more often. Reason enough for English Grandmaster Nigel Davies to take a closer look.

The LiveDatabase reveals that a lot of prominent
players have challenged their opponents with 2.Bf4!

Content

Two dozen clips and a number of tactical training exercises form the basis of this opening course. The main target group of the DVD are club players but stronger players who are searching for a surprise weapon are a line for rapid and blitz games might also find a lot of useful tipps on the DVD.

Davies recommends  2.Bf4 after 1. ..d5 and after 1. ...Nf6, but also deals with 1. ...f5. He usually focuses on a number of key strategic elements which he uses as guideline in most clips. As Davies addresses average players he also deals in detail with weaker replies by Black and how to play against them.

His presentation is smooth, confident and clear, but not too fast and easy to follow.

Assessment

Davies convincingly show that the Accelerated London System is sometimes much more dynamic than the older set-up with 2.Nf3/3.Bf4. The fact that White did not yet develop his knight to f3 allows him more flexibility. One striking example is the line 1.d4 d5, 2.Bf4 c5, 3.e4!? – a kind of Albin's Countergambit with colors reversed - a dangerous line as your reviewer had to find out when being confronted with it in a rapid game in which he went down without much of a fight.

White to move: How would you continue White's kingside attack?

Which leads us to the assessments of the recommended lines. If you dig a bit deeper, either in theoretical works which treat the system from a black perspective or with the help of modern engines you usually find an antidote that leads at least to equality. In the example mentioned above (1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e4!?, clip 8) one line is 3. ...Nc6 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3 Qf5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nb5 Bd7 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Nf6 10.Nf3 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qd5 12.Qxd5 Nd5 13.Ne5 with a slightly better position for White. But stronger is 9...e5! which should equlize immediately, e.g. 10.Qd5 Bc6 11.Bb5 Ne7 etc.

Well, as much as you might like this line - it can work no magic. But even if your opponent is so well-prepared that he knows the best lines against 2.Bf4 the worst you can get is a balanced position out of the opening. To conclude, one idea which Davies also mentions: the theory of the line is still in its infancy and if you invest some work you have good chances to discover uncharted theoretical territory. Let's use this chance!

Sample Video:

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Nigel Davies The Accelerated London with 2.Bf4 • Video running time: 4 hours 21 min (English) • With interactive training including video feedback • Extra: Additional database with more than 100 games • Including CB 12 Reader €29.90 €25.13 without VAT (for Customers outside the EU) $27.14 (without VAT) This DVD can be purchased as a hard copy or it can be downloaded directly from the Internet, that way sparing you the few days needed for it to arrive by post. Order this Fritztrainer in the ChessBase Shop