Play the London System

257 Pages·2010·30.47 MB·English

by  Cyrus Lakdawala

Cyrus Lakdawala
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10

Bihfiography
Introduction

1..d5 with an early..26
1.d5 without an early .e6
Landon versus Queen's Indian
Landon versus Griinfeld

Landon versus Reversed Réti
Landen versus King’s Indian
London versus Dutch
London versus Benoni
Other Lines

An Inconvenient Move Order

Index of Variations
Index of Games

107
132
153
178
198
213
230

246
252
Bibliography

Books
‘eating the An-king'+ indians, le Catagher[iatstord 1996)

Dealing with 44 Deviations, lon Cox Everyman Chess 2605)

fighting the Artntng’s indians, Yelena Dembs (Everyman Chess 2008}
“Marting Out: @:pown Attacks, Richard Paliser (Everyman Chess 2008)
‘Understanding the King’ indian, Mikal Gotubex(Cambit 2008)

Win withthe London System, Sverre Johnsen and Via Kovacevic Cami 2005)

Databases: Websites
‘Mega Database 2040 (Chesstace)
‘vont eespublishing com (annotations tromn Sri Pré and Aaron Stanmerscale)
What is the London System?
‘The Landan Systern fs one of Lhe safest
and most solid methods of handling
‘the White picces, Basialy, we play a
Slay a ove up, erecting a pant wall
bn c4, Ue and e3, and developing a
bishop to f4. le dan care how Black
sets up, Our structure ts preordained
and Lakes om all womens. Oon't get
fooled by the silty. This wnt yust an
opening for the chicken-hearted, From
my experience, most Londons beg'n
slowly ard then erust in awit down
the road, often ending with a rating
tae for White, The opening may be
sed as your main Tine or asa targeted,
occastonal weapon.

Lie mahstresm openings such
as the Selian Najdorf and Puy Loper,
There is no need to tedbously memorize
Tunes memorization really anly works
when our opponents cooperate and
lay the theoretical recommendations

Let's say you ect to move 14 and the
‘apponent plays 14.a6!. Ina pani you
‘think ta yourself: “Um my book only
covered 14.8 and 14..2f7. Now
‘hal aur | supposed to doe" When |
veas younger | often found myself
stranded in suuh situations. The ton-
don doesnt work this way. We rely en
fur ndetstanding of the seruuture
Whatever the oaponent throws at us,
we are ready. The London i for dream
ers, rut malhematkcans.You ae piety
nach safe from computer prep fiom
‘the opponent. The hest way ta study
‘the Losdan is te just pay through the
games and reece an their themes.
After playing the Londan for awhile,
you grew more experienced than your
opponent im the lines. ets say you
previously epened a chess game with +
(aand 2 ra You face an opponent who
replies with Benko Gambit. Black wil
Trohsbly have mare experience in the
Play the Londan System

fiemko than you do, fut eviteh to a

london: 3 a4 846 2 85 653 ca. The Game
semho player has nat faced this very J.Blaékhurne-M.Harmonist
often and you are the odas-on favour Breslau 1889»

ite to understand the pasitions betcr.

‘our goal is not to go for a += with 10a ds eda Stes ite

‘hte Experienced players understand

‘hat chest is asseniallyascres of Eat

fies im a greater wat. The opening és

just ane tattle. We postion ourselves

to outplay the apponents :n the mid:

Alegarnes and endings arising fom the

london. We den't inind an equa’ posi

tion where we navigate the waters Det

ter than our eared eppoments Ae

to our superior understanding of the

Aondun/slay struttures. But wth hat

said 115 amazing how often an edge —_Herewe galOne ofthe first dons

can be extracted ftom Js omeuing, ¢ getsa gloria cat.

Would beeapetiedtiom apedigreeline 3.6403 Ae? 5843 0-08

Tikes Ruy topes maybe Black shad wat: before
| targeted the ook for the typical committing his king,

lub phyer tated anywhere bemieen 6 tibda b6 7 O45 Lb 8 WHA! 65 9.63

aooand 2000 but yeu happen tobe Cbd? 20 Bhat

Iigher or lower rated than Prat range,

Em harng yon wil si wa away wth

something valuable ftom the Fook

Early Champions of the Landan
The tordan wae Frit championed by
‘we asth Cantury payers Joseoh Henry
Blackburn fram England and femes
‘Mazon from Ireland, Blackburn expe-
ially used the London as an attacking
weapon.

Let's take aleck at onc ofhisgames _ Nowgaisin their
inwhich he uses the London System to 20.88
great effect: w0ca 11 ep bs 12 0-0 Bet a3
fata Baas 14 Hines W615 2 APB 16
Bae1 a§ 17 gal a5 28 £92 Ag7 29 fa
ica 20 fags gs 24 Bets! Wats 22
‘Wn7+ dete 23 2121-0 Tu Hoang Thong-
Pham Hoa, Hanoi 2009. How title
‘things change in 120 years!
sabes

Trreatening xf? followed by 29st

ane
lacks position is already crea
For caample, 11,642 94 ooks sary
a2 Ona Wad? 23 Ges Has 4 216
15054
25 9495 26 RDS fs also wery favour.
able for White.

Introduction

AGN 26 Lan gprs 17 Whar
a6 ost fa7

YF 26.248, 27 Juh6 picks ff an ex
change.
ATG 97

8x01

And Harmunist got fred
sth

{1 Yat7 19 Won7e Trad to matein
Five moves,
39 9g5 ‘enh? 20 aahg Wor 21 9
“ogh 220-026 23.243

23 aya7l Wa? 24 Res eoesnt of:
‘er Black much hope eter.
24.05 26 Mat Web 25 e4 oxds 76 ends
Wee 27 cols Sucds 28 dies Wess 29
2ifa Wer 30 fa Sean 31 ha Wy? 32
‘er Zach 33 kbar sbvis 34 Stas
sina a5 Rat hs a6 Wha Her 37 246
skhy 30 fan te 39 206 Wer a0 Beds
Wes 41 gabs 42 Wines! 1-0

‘Sweet, What an auspicious begin
ning wou system. The London is more
subele than firs appearances, Try and
tind the spots where Back went wrong
Play the London System

Who Plays the Landon? (The
Parable of Penguin and Gooster}
Inthe do, my wite, Nancy, ana! had a
‘air of dage, Panguin and Gonster, wha
rouldnt have been more dissitar
(ur Black La, Ponguin, was the model
‘good deg, She was inharmeny with the
‘uriverse and her virtues endless; she
was abediert, mild mannered, eager ta
please. andi on good ler wilh the
neighbourhood cats, My students ard
the mail-carier always raccived a
frlendty wg ofthe tall

‘Then there 96 Gooster, par: Ger
aman Shepherd, part Coyote, a sony to
nave ta feport that Gooster was a bad
dog. He flunked dogg training schoo,
and constantly hatched plats tobite my
‘students anal the mall.coriey, and eat
‘the neighbourhoad cats. Om 9 leash,
Goster semmnded onlookersof 3 Syear
ld. on bis fre: camrival bumper car
Fide. 1 gave him the command to
fetch, then tn the style af Chand'an
Cs dsobedlence, Gooster would st

‘Gramdmagters Gata Kama and Wa
vis Grachew represent the Penguin
school of the Landon. Always in har
many with the pasition, they avoid
arly clashes and concanrtate on huild-
ing om their superior strategic and
technical sil

Grandmaster Blatny and Miladina-
vie are students af the Gooster school
of the Lardon, Constantly evimming
upstream, they spoil for an early ight
leaving mainstream cpening theory in
the dust. Ther atonal interpretation of

‘fe London jars ther opponents
Yeu will probably Ft into one of
these schools 2 the Landon.

The Anti-Londites
‘is 4 onéener. you betar-e part of an
‘oppressed minority inthe chess wold
any past oppovents Fave interproted
‘my opening croie of she London as an
affrul ta chess ise and regard i as
defacernent of the game. You deniL
believe me?

EXhIbHE A, An trternationa! Master
tells me ater repeated beatings he su
feted fram the tonéon- "rou ate very
much in touch with your feminine site,
aren't you” Now lish | had to quick
ness of end to quote seme Klingon
provera hack in it face Hee: "Revenge
is 0 dish best served cold™ Sadly, my
rt-so-britlant response vhas "¥eS. 1

Exhibit B: George a student and fa
nti Londoner, whips an ureusect
ing opponent wrth t2¢ Landon, only to
recrive thi teh "ro ate a disgrace to
White!” ike most Londoners of the
Penguin school who hate confronta
tien, George fraze, decining to re
spand, Maybe he can ernail te guy
later if something clever and witty
comes ta minal

You see my point? This criticism of
‘he opening should be sweet music ta
cur ears, Nebady kas facing our sye-
tem!

Remember: Wa dent owe our op
ponsncs entertainment,
How the Book is Organized
Play the london System ie nganived in
games rather than analysis fo-mat. fs
1 ook you can pick up and begin on
any chapter. Its written ta be ab
sorbed and undarstocd, net memo-
ized. | did't necessary go for bg
rmames in fre che for games, ard
‘instead lacked for games with original
jase, The book was written as ifthe
reader were a student here at my
house discussing Tres of the Lendan,
‘There willbe ne Mt. Spocktike lectures
Also. I hope the reader can forgive my
‘unabashed bias towards the opening,
“You will ole a horribly lopsided win
facia in Whites favour with oly a
srnattering of token draws far which
lack mustbeg!

Goad Tuck playiny the London, May
you use ft to fnlstrate future opoe
sent!

Introduction

Acknowledgements
fam indeed ta the flawing people
{or their kind help with this book:

Firs, 1M. John Watson for suagest-
ing that 1 rite 2 book on the London
System im a Chess FM interview we did
tasty,

Ta my ator, OM ofa Erg, far
leading me out of the wilierness of
tangled fines

To my friend, Care Hein, for her
suggestions with the troduction.

Te ry wile and son, Nancy and
Tinwihy, for their edting and rechie
‘work with my hateful and uncoopera
Live harne cemmpulter.

Finally, to my Dad for teaching "me
Thaw to play chest 41 years ag.

Cyrus Laka
sam biege,
june 2010
Chapter One

1...d5 with an Early ...e6

Chapter One deals with Black's most
carmmon stance, which Is 5 with
6. Payers wh prefer this setup a
Black are usualy at home in Queen's
it Declined postions. The divide
Ingtine is arr
1 When they daveton the bishop to
<d6 as in PriéFlear (Game 4}, Black in-
‘tends the simple frecing break 05
You can actually allow this and hope to
coutplay your opponent in av equa but
uriquely London/Slay passion, su: the
only attempt at a theoretical advan.
tage lies in preventing 95. White dis
rupts Ba: plan by planting a knight
‘ones. f Black exchanges the knight, we
reply des ari ul lice the eS pawn ds 2
Taunching pad for our atack. if Black
‘ignores the knight, we employ the plan
of 3 followed by wlth a ice ver
sion of a Reversed Stonewall Dutch,
>, Here is the good news: If Black
Aevelops his bishop to e7 then We fol

10

low the exact plan as when he plays
a

Gamez
Cakdawala.lifehd
Koltanowski Memorial,

| desperately needed to win this
game to get my Fist IM norm. Atter
studying my appanent’s games, | al:
‘aed "te was very camfortable in wild
tactical situations but tess happy in
more controlled, strategic games. The
perfect opening thoice: The London.
2s ds 2406 3 £14 Eds

This fa ne-nonsense approach by
lack, who immediately challenges
White's ferbishop. Some of the ideas
Deb hae wre

a. The abilty to capture a white
‘night ifitlands ones,