Courses (9)

There is no shortage of repertoires against the London System. What there has never been is seven of them, side by side, produced independently by strong players who did not know what the others were writing.
That is what the Modern Chess Autumn Challenge produces, and this database is the result of its first stage. Each of the seven participants was handed the same two problems — a repertoire for Black against the Classical London (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4) and against the Jobava London (1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4) — and each solved them their own way.
Fourteen recommendations. No two alike.

Few sidelines have reshaped everyday 1.d4 play over the past decade like the Jobava London — 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 followed by 3.Bf4. Baadur Jobava did more than anyone to bring it into serious practice, which makes him an unusually credible guide to taking it apart. Here he does exactly that, showing Black how to defuse a system he understands from the inside.
That gesture sets the tone for the whole course. King's Indian Defense: A Complete Repertoire – Part 6 is the volume where GM Andrea Stella and GM Baadur Jobava turn to everything White plays instead of a real King's Indian — the sidelines designed to sidestep the fight rather than enter it.

The London System survives on a simple promise — White never has to think, assembling the same setup no matter what Black does. GM Mitrabha Guha's repertoire refuses that arrangement from the start: after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 c5, Black strikes at d4 immediately, brings the knight to c6, and pins the defender with ...Bg4, denying White the undisturbed development the system depends on. Built on one repeatable scheme you can play game after game, it turns the London from an opening you tolerate into familiar territory where Black is the one asking the questions.

For most of its history, the London System was the opening you reached for when you wanted a quiet life. Baadur Jobava changed the question. By slipping the knight to c3 before the bishop appears — 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 — he kept everything that made the London easy to learn and added what the classical version never had: a direct route to creating attacking chances. The early Nc3 unlocks the thematic Nb5 jump against the weak c7-square and clears the way for the Qd2–Bh6 plan against the fianchetto. That is the idea running through this repertoire from start to finish — the London, rebuilt as an attacking system.

For decades, the great unsolved question of 1. For decades, the great unsolved question of 1.d4 d5 has been everything that isn't 2.c4. Dreev and Basso solve it through a unified Black system built on principle rather than memorization, anchored by a revolutionary new idea against the London. The third volume completing the authors' QGD series — and the final piece of a comprehensive repertoire against every first move White can choose.

When Baadur Jobava introduced 3.Bf4 followed by Nb5, he didn't just create an opening system—he planted a flag in uncharted territory. Now, as opponents scramble to neutralize this aggressive setup with recommendations like 3...a6 4.e3 b5 and 4...h6!?, the Georgian grandmaster returns with a direct challenge: Jobava Against the World. This 2025 Edition of Part 2 isn't merely an update—it's a statement that the Jobava London remains one step ahead of contemporary theory, backed by fresh ideas, real tournament victories, and the inspired success story of FM Francesco Bettalli's climb to the IM title.

When GM Baadur Jobava first introduced 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 in 2013, he compared the opening to "a lady I had fallen in love with." For years, he guarded his secrets jealously, watching others publish courses that relied on engine evaluations rather than capturing the opening's true spirit. In 2024, he finally shared his complete vision with Modern Chess. Now, just one year later, the Jobava London returns—not as a static system, but as a living, breathing organism that continues to evolve with modern chess.

Modern Chess proudly launches its 10 Years Anniversary with a completely new and interactive project — the Autumn Challenge 2025.
Seven top grandmasters joined forces to prepare a special course, offering seven complete repertoires for Black against two of the most popular openings in modern chess: the London System and the Jobava London.

In this course, IM Kushager Krishnater delivers a practical and combative repertoire for Black against three of White’s most popular and theoretically resilient systems: the Catalan, the London System, and the Jobava London. True to his trademark style, Krishnater prioritizes fresh, offbeat directions that take the opponent out of their comfort zone—without compromising on objective soundness.