London System (3… Bg7 4. e3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3
The London System is a chess opening classified as ECO A48, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4,035 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4… O-O (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.02 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… O-O 5. Be2 c5 6. c3 d6 7. dxc5)
- ECO
- A48
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppppppbp/5np1/8/3P1B2/4PN2/PPP2PPP/RN1QKB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 773 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,898 | |
| 2000+ | 1,364 | |
| All | 4,035 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… O-O | 2,179 (54%) | |
| 4… d6 London System (4. e3 d6) | 1,385 (34%) | |
| 4… d5 | 210 (5%) | |
| 4… c5 | 102 (3%) | |
| 4… Nh5 | 36 (1%) | |
| 4… b6 | 30 (1%) | |
| 4… c6 | 23 (1%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 19 (0%) |
Master games
3,839 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 21%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Liren Ding (2791) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Tour Final 2020 · 2020-08-09
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) 1-0 · Legends of Chess Final · 2020-08-04
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Levon Aronian (2773) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Final 2020 · 2020-09-26
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) 0-1 · Magnus-Alireza Bullet · 2021-02-22
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2804) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2789) 0-1 · GCT Rapid Paris 2016 · 2016-06-10
Search all games of the London System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Jakebr8 (2850) – IM Romsta (2657) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SavitarTheGodOfSpeed (2783) – sunchess137 (2681) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- BufannaBufffana (2681) – IM MassterofMayhem (2652) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
London System (2… g6 3. Bf4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4
Continuations
- London System (4. e3 d6) A48 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d6
More London System lines (all)
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.