Queen's Pawn Game: London System (3… c5 4. e3)
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3
The Queen's Pawn Game: London System is a chess opening classified as ECO D02, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3. It is a line of the Queen's Pawn Game. 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 2,001 times by this move order. White won 47%, 7% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nc6 (69% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.02 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… e6 5. c3 Qb6 6. Qb3 Be7 7. Nbd2)
- ECO
- D02
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/5n2/2pp4/3P1B2/4PN2/PPP2PPP/RN1QKB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 134 | |
| 1500-1999 | 746 | |
| 2000+ | 1,121 | |
| All | 2,001 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nc6 | 1,378 (69%) | |
| 4… cxd4 | 199 (10%) | |
| 4… Qb6 | 167 (8%) | |
| 4… e6 | 164 (8%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 36 (2%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 26 (1%) | |
| 4… a6 | 13 (1%) | |
| 4… c4 | 12 (1%) |
Master games
2,519 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 23%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2853) – GM So, W. (2760) 1/2-1/2 · Superbet Rapid 2023 · 2023-05-21
- GM Gukesh D (2725) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2022 · 2022-12-06
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2799) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2777) 1-0 · Tata Steel India Blitz · 2024-11-16
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2757) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2759) 1-0 · Esports World Cup A 2026 · 2026-08-12
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2783) – GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2726) 1/2-1/2 · TechM GCL 2024 · 2024-10-04
Search all games of the Queen's Pawn Game: London System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Americanchampion (2834) – GM Fabsid (2793) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Americanchampion (2816) – GM Fabsid (2787) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- FM enclasesUNI (2640) – GM xiaochess (2929) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Pawn Game: London System (2… Nf6 3. Bf4) 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4
Continuations
- Queen's Pawn Game: London System (4… Nc6 5. Nbd2) D02 · 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2
More Queen's Pawn Game lines (all)
- Queen's Pawn Game (1. d4) A40
- Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening A40
- Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense A40
- Queen's Pawn Game (1. d4 d6) A41
- Queen's Pawn Game: Rossolimo Variation A41
- Queen's Pawn Game: Liedmann Gambit A43
- Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation (2. Nc3 d5) A45
- Queen's Pawn Game: Veresov, Richter Attack A45
- Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, Breyer Variation A46
- Queen's Pawn Game: Veresov Attack, Classical Defense A46
- Queen's Pawn Game: Barry Attack (3… d5 4. Bf4) A48
- Queen's Pawn Game: Barry Attack (4. Bf4 Bg7) A48
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.