London System (2… g6 3. Bf4)
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4
The London System is a chess opening classified as ECO A48, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4. 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 7,359 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3… Bg7 (84% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 51; best line 3… Bg7 4. e3 d6 5. h3 c5 6. Be2)
- ECO
- A48
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppp1p/5np1/8/3P1B2/5N2/PPP1PPPP/RN1QKB1R b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,347 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,590 | |
| 2000+ | 2,422 | |
| All | 7,359 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Bg7 | 6,216 (84%) | |
| 3… d6 | 635 (9%) | |
| 3… d5 | 271 (4%) | |
| 3… c5 | 158 (2%) | |
| 3… Nh5 | 22 (0%) | |
| 3… c6 | 16 (0%) | |
| 3… b6 | 12 (0%) | |
| 3… e6 | 10 (0%) |
Master games
2,337 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 20%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) 1-0 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-28
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) 1-0 · Magnus-Alireza 27th Feb · 2021-02-27
- GM Levon Aronian (2802) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2804) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2017 · 2017-09-21
- GM Levon Aronian (2802) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2804) 1-0 · FIDE World Cup 2017 · 2017-09-21
- GM Quang Liem Le (2739) – GM Garry Kasparov (2812) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2017 · 2017-08-18
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
- classic_chess3456 (2628) – ice2breaker (2748) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
East Indian Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6
Continuations
- London System (3… Bg7 4. e3) A48 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3
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.