Queen's Pawn Game: London System (D02)

This page covers 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 and the London-style setups that grow from it: the bishop on f4, pawns on e3 and c3, the knights on f3 and d2. White aims for a solid position and a slow kingside attack, Black usually answers with ...c5, ...Nc6 and ...Bg4 or ...Bf5. Because the structure is calm, the mistakes are mostly knights and bishops that move without checking what they leave behind.

The most frequent white mistake comes from the 3.c4 version. After 2...Bf5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 a6, White chases the bishop with 6.Nh4??, but the knight on h4 is on the queen's diagonal: with the e7 pawn gone, 6...Qxh4 takes it.

The bishop on f4 has its own problems. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Nf3 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Nh5 White retreats with 7.Bg5 and after 7...Be7 continues with 8.Bd3?. But the bishop on g5 is attacked twice and defended once: after 8...Bxg5 9.Nxg5 Qxg5 Black has won a piece. In the London, the moment Black plays ...Nh5 White should decide at once what happens to the f4 bishop.

The old trick of moving a pinned knight is the third theme. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 c5 3.e3 d5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Bg4, White tries 6.Ne5?, hoping that 6...Bxd1 runs into a mating attack. Here there is no such attack, and 6...Bxd1 simply wins the queen. The trick only works when the bishop on g4 is really overloaded and the king on e8 really exposed.

These are the positions behind the puzzles below. They are short and concrete, which makes them good training for players of the London and of any 1.d4 setup with Nf3.