Overview

The London System is being played by an ever increasing number of players, and its easy to see why. Against virtually every Black defence after 1.d4 it offers White an easy-to-learn and reliable set of lines. In the process, White has interesting choices between strategic or more aggressive approaches, while avoiding loads of opening theory. Ideal for players who dont have much time to study. Creative elite players such as Alexander Grischuk, Baadur Jobava, Richard Rapport and even World Champion Magnus Carlsen have the London in their repertoire. Following the enormous success of The Agile London System, the book he co-authored in 2016, Oscar de Prado revisits his favourite opening. The general focus is less on theory and has a more practical approach although he does present recently played games and some important theoretical updates. De Prado avoids long and complicated variations and concentrates on explaining straightforward plans, clear-cut strategies and standard manoeuvres. If you follow De Prados lessons you are unlikely to face surprises or to emerge from the opening in a worse position, and you will learn to make the right middlegame choices. Studying this book is the most efficient way to acquaint yourself with a flexible chess opening that is easy to learn and hard to counter.

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9789056919658

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Reviews

It follows on from the same author's 'The Agile London System' which focused on the theory of the opening. We have chapters on London System move-orders (dealing with the friends who might try and avoid it!), the attack on the b2-pawn, the early exchange of the f4-bishop (dealing with the resulting pawn structures after the exchange of the dark-squared bishop on f4 or g3), quick h4 ideas and typical London System queen maneuvers. I always like the books organized along thematic lines and I think that this book will prove invaluable to the hordes of London system addicts out there, grouping together techniques in the opening, middlegame and endgame in a pleasantly readable manner.--Matthew Sadler The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement Rather than just sprucing up a few lines, this latest work ultimately aims to liven up the readers mind! So, apart from giving the low-down on a selection of opening plans, he also investigates typical middlegame and even endgame scenarios. In the present work, each of the lessons deals with a specific strategic concept, but he still finds time to highlight new trends and ideas. In many areas of life, if you know what you are aiming for it's easier to get there. So the first lesson of General ideas and move orders is a good warm-up, before he moves on to presenting a series of diverse thoughts. These included various attacking ideas, good knight vs bad bishop and he even explains how to face up to the early exchange of the f4-bishop. There is a desire on the author's part to put more emphasis on strategy and planning than in the first volume and has even devoted one of the lessons to typical endgames.--Glenn Flear, Grandmaster New In Chess Yearbook The content of this book is divided into twelve lessons that can be easily incorporated into any study plan, making it ideal for the club player with an improving plan in progress. In this effort, Prado goes beyond opening moves to explain three key aspects to master any opening named thematic tactics, typical plans and the strategic concepts. Important Prado discusses new ideas and developments in the London System in lesson eleven, which is a tie saver to the non-professional chess player.--Miguel Ararat Florida Chess Quarterly The idea is not to aim for master level, endless computer analysis of the opening but patiently explain the ideas and use games that complement the strategy. If you are still wondering about the opening then basically the set-up according to the author is 1 d4, Bf4, Ng4 e3, c3 and h3, which can be played against almost any response. It has been adopted by elite players such as Carlsen as he is happy to outplay his opponents from an equal middlegame but there are plenty of tricks and traps. De Prado has more credibility than most when it comes to this opening as he also wrote the book The Agile London System. The book is excellent in detailing how to play the opening, the middlegame ideas and what to do against the obvious Black defenses.--Gary Lane, International Master ECF Newsletter You don't learn an opening by memorizing moves, but by understanding typical positions. Understanding the most important ideas and concepts within the pawn structure will help a player to know how to deploy his pieces. That many club players adopt the London system is because at the start White almost always plays the same moves, so it is ideal for those who don't have much time to study theory. White has some interesting choices between strategic play or more aggressiveness. The London's reputation of boring solidity is unjustified. Otherwise highly creative players like Grischuk, Jobava and Rapport wouldn't have it in their repertoire.--Herman Grooten, International Master Schaaksite

"It follows on from the same author's 'The Agile London System' which focused on the theory of the opening. We have chapters on London System move-orders (dealing with the friends who might try and avoid it!), the attack on the b2-pawn, the early exchange of the f4-bishop (dealing with the resulting pawn structures after the exchange of the dark-squared bishop on f4 or g3), quick h4 ideas and typical London System queen maneuvers. I always like the books organized along thematic lines and I think that this book will prove invaluable to the hordes of London system addicts out there, grouping together techniques in the opening, middlegame and endgame in a pleasantly readable manner.--Matthew Sadler ""The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement"" Rather than just sprucing up a few lines, this latest work ultimately aims to liven up the readers mind! So, apart from giving the low-down on a selection of opening plans, he also investigates typical middlegame and even endgame scenarios. In the present work, each of the lessons deals with a specific strategic concept, but he still finds time to highlight new trends and ideas. In many areas of life, if you know what you are aiming for it's easier to get there. So the first lesson of General ideas and move orders is a good warm-up, before he moves on to presenting a series of diverse thoughts. These included various attacking ideas, good knight vs bad bishop and he even explains how to face up to the early exchange of the f4-bishop. There is a desire on the author's part to put more emphasis on strategy and planning than in the first volume and has even devoted one of the lessons to typical endgames.--Glenn Flear, Grandmaster ""New In Chess Yearbook"" The content of this book is divided into twelve lessons that can be easily incorporated into any study plan, making it ideal for the club player with an improving plan in progress. In this effort, Prado goes beyond opening moves to explain three key aspects to master any opening named thematic tactics, typical plans and the strategic concepts. Important Prado discusses new ideas and developments in the London System in lesson eleven, which is a tie saver to the non-professional chess player.--Miguel Ararat ""Florida Chess Quarterly"" The idea is not to aim for master level, endless computer analysis of the opening but patiently explain the ideas and use games that complement the strategy. If you are still wondering about the opening then basically the set-up according to the author is 1 d4, Bf4, Ng4 e3, c3 and h3, which can be played against almost any response. It has been adopted by elite players such as Carlsen as he is happy to outplay his opponents from an equal middlegame but there are plenty of tricks and traps. De Prado has more credibility than most when it comes to this opening as he also wrote the book The Agile London System. The book is excellent in detailing how to play the opening, the middlegame ideas and what to do against the obvious Black defenses.--Gary Lane, International Master ""ECF Newsletter"" You don't learn an opening by memorizing moves, but by understanding typical positions. Understanding the most important ideas and concepts within the pawn structure will help a player to know how to deploy his pieces. That many club players adopt the London system is because at the start White almost always plays the same moves, so it is ideal for those who don't have much time to study theory. White has some interesting choices between strategic play or more aggressiveness. The London's reputation of boring solidity is unjustified. Otherwise highly creative players like Grischuk, Jobava and Rapport wouldn't have it in their repertoire.--Herman Grooten, International Master ""Schaaksite"""

Author Information

Oscar de Prado Rodriguez (1973) is a FIDE Master from Spain. He has successfully been playing the London System for many years. In 2016 he published, together with co-author Alfonso Romero, the acclaimed The Agile London System.

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