Killer London System – Part 2 with IM Alex Astaneh Lopez

In the first volume, the goal was to challenge the old-school belief that the London System is a boring opening and instead finding ways of reaching fighting dynamic positions from the get-go, in keeping with the ‘Killer’ GingerGM brand!

This volume is no different. Here are some of the exciting systems recommended in the course:

Accelerated Queen’s Indian: If Black tries to fianchetto quickly, we’ll play in gambit style after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 b6 3.f3 d5 4.e4!? This is an ambitious and fighting pawn sacrifice and will lead to some tactical chaos where Black will have to be very sharp to avoid a fast defeat.

Jumabayev System: Against 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Black sometimes plays the aggressive 2…c5!? This is a good move, but here we’ll come prepared with 3.dxc5! This is a system that has been popularized by Grandmaster Rinat Jumabayev with excellent results, as it turns out it’s very easy for Black to go wrong as they try to recover the sacrificed pawn.

Queen’s Indian: Against the traditional QID setup which goes 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 b6 we’ll recommend an aggressive and high-scoring system with 4.Qf3! The idea is that by targeting Black’s rook on a8, we force a concession with either 4…d5 or 4…Nc6. Later in the game we’ll castle queenside and often launch a fast attack, storming the kingside with our g- and h-pawns!

Grunfeld setup: This is one of Black’s most reliable weapons against the London System, but after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 we’ll strike quickly against Black’s queenside witht he move 5.Nb5!? This early attack of the c7 pawn forces Black to play the awkward 5…Na6 and our plan is to use Black’s misplaced knight against them in the middlegame. This is a more positional approach than what we go for in other chapters, but it’s especially effective against the typically combative and tactical style of Grunfeld aficionados.

King’s Indian setup: This is one system where the London really shines, since the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 allow us to take over the centre immediately with 4.e4! We’ll follow that up with 5.Qd2 and 6.0-0-0 when we’re ready to launch a powerful attack against Black’s kingside using moves like 7.Bh6 and pushing our h-pawn up the board with 9.h4 in the main line. White’s results here over thousands of games have been excellent.

Dutch & Stonewall setups: It turns out that the London System is excellent against Dutch setups, since in this course we’re going for the move 2.Bf4, when our bishop is well-placed to deal with any …e5 pawn push down the line. On top of this, since our bishop in on the kingside, we’re also well positioned to deal with any attacks that Black may try to throw our way. There’s almost two hours of video coverage of this challenging setup, so by the end of it the hope is that any players who have struggled with these aggressive Dutch players (such as the GingerGM himself!) will be well-armed to deal with any offensive. Later on, the goal will be to take advantage of Black’s weakened structure, often simplifying the position and pressing Black on the queenside.

By the end of this course, any students who have previously purchased volume 1 will have a complete lifetime repertoire with 1.d4, based on the latest theory and – in many lines – will come prepared with strong novelties that will catch many opponents off-guard!

The course is not always going to be easy, that’s a trade-off we have to make if we want to fight for an advantage from the get-go. In exchange, we’ll get rich dynamic positions against almost everything Black throws your way. The goal is to aim for positions that give us an edge, that make our opponents uncomfortable, and that are fun to play for the London player who enjoys dynamic fighting play.