The Complete Repertoire against the London System — GM Mitrabha Guha
For 150 years the London System has survived on a single promise: White never has to think. The moves arrive regardless of what Black does — d4, Bf4, e3, c3, Nbd2, Nf3, Bd3 — and only then, with the structure safely assembled, does White look toward the kingside.
GM Mitrabha Guha's new course refuses that arrangement from the very first moves. Instead of building a mirror setup and waiting to see what White intends, Black strikes at d4 immediately with ...c5, brings the knight to c6, and pins the defender with ...Bg4. The system's comfort depends on White completing it undisturbed; Guha simply doesn't allow it.
A direct approach to the centre
The starting position of the repertoire arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5, and the recommendation is deliberately one-directional: 3.e3 c5, targeting White's centre before the Bd3/Nbd2 machinery is in place. Every subsequent branch follows the same logic — pressure on d4, exchange of the f3-knight, and a healthy, playable structure.
Guha's reasoning is practical rather than theoretical. His aim, as he puts it in the introduction, is to give a scheme you can repeat game after game and feel comfortable neutralizing the London. That matters, because the London is an opening you will face repeatedly at every level, from club events to elite tournaments, and a repertoire that has to be reconstructed from scratch each time costs you time and energy before the game even begins.
The critical moment comes after 7.Qb3 Qc8, a quiet answer to White's most testing queen sortie, and again after 9.Be2, where Black chooses between the space-gaining clamp 9...c4 and the calm developing move 9...Be7. Two independent continuations, each explained on its own terms, so you can settle on the one that suits your style.
Map of variations
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 — the starting position of the repertoire
- 3.Nc3 (Jobava London) and other third moves → Chapter 1
3.e3 c5 — the direct hit at the centre
- 4.dxc5 and other rare fourth moves → Chapter 2
4.Nd2 Nc6
- 5.c3, postponing the development of the g1-knight → Chapter 3
5.Ngf3 Bg4
- 6.h3 and other sixth moves → Chapter 4
6.c3 e6
- 7.Qa4 and other queen moves → Chapter 5
7.Qb3 Qc8
- 8.Ne5 and other aggressive tries → Chapter 6
8.h3 Bh5
- 9.Nh4, preparing to grab the bishop pair → Chapter 7
- 9.dxc5, opening the centre for tactical ideas → Chapter 8
9.Be2 c4 — the more ambitious alternative → Chapter 9
- 9...Be7 — the main direction, completing development → Chapter 10
What is included
- 10 chapters
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
A growing set of answers after 1.d4
Guha has already provided Black with solutions against White's most principled tries: The Complete Nimzo-Indian Repertoire for Black answers 3.Nc3, while Queen's Indian Defense for Black covers 3.Nf3. Both assume an opponent willing to play c4 and enter the debate.
Many opponents are not. They avoid the theoretical mainstream entirely and reach for the London instead — and it is precisely that gap the author now addresses. All of these courses are built on the same conviction: Black should be the one asking questions.
Get the course
If the London has been an opening you tolerate rather than one you look forward to, this repertoire is designed to change that. Take the direct road, learn the ideas behind ...c5 and ...Bg4, and turn one of the most common openings you face into familiar territory.