London System: Jobava London Main
The Nb5! trick:hitting c6 and c7 with tempo.
Few openings have shaped modern chess as much as London System: Jobava London Main. It has decided world championships, club trophies and late-night blitz games alike.
After 5.Nb5 the position resolves into a tense centre: the central pawns still face each other, and the timing and manner of the coming exchange shapes the whole middlegame.
This is a branch of the London System. If you are new to the system, start with the parent guide and return here when you want to go one move deeper.
The moves
After 5. Nb5 — London System: Jobava London Main main line
Position breakdown
A factual read of the position after the main line — the files, the centre, the pawn structure and king safety that decide how the middlegame is played. These are computed from the actual board, not generic advice.
Files
Centre control
Tense centre
The d4/d5/e4/e5 squares — who occupies the centre decides how open the game becomes.
Pawn skeleton
Pawns only — the structure that explains every open file and majority at a glance.
Material level
Queenside pawns 3–3
Kingside pawns 3–3
Development
Knight & dark-squared bishop active
2 knights active
King safety
White king e1
Uncastled — take care
Black king e8
Uncastled — take care
Computed from the final position of the main line above — 9 plies, black to move.
Strategic ideas
Ideas for White
Build the perfect pyramid — Bf4, e3, c3, Nbd2, Bd3,the Ne5 outpost and Qf3/h4-h5 storms at the right moment.
Ideas for Black
Hit the centre with ...c5, trade the Bf4 with ...with ...Nh5 tricks, and counterattack on the queenside with ...Qb6 pressure.
Plans & pawn structures
- 1The central tension is the key decision: releasing it too early hands the opponent a free tempo and a target, so keep it until a capture wins a file, a diagonal or a clear structural edge.
- 2Watch the pawn breaks — both yours and your opponent's. In these structures the player who times the central break better usually wins the game.
Typical middlegame structures
The main line leads to a tense centre: the central pawns still face each other, and the timing and manner of the coming exchange shapes the whole middlegame. No files have opened yet, so this is a manoeuvring struggle: improve your pieces and prepare the pawn break that will open the position on your terms.
Traps & tactical motifs
The ...Qb6/...Nh5 tricareless early moves lose the bishop pair.
How to Play Against the Jobava London Main
- As Black, resolve the central tension on your terms: force the exchange that gives you the better structure rather than letting the opponent choose the moment.
Reaches the same position as
These openings arrive at the very same board position by a different move order — a transposition. Knowing them lets you steer between systems and recognise when your opponent has walked into familiar territory.
Study plan & who it's for
Expect to invest a weekend or two into the main lines. In return you get a fighting system that scales all the way to master level for White players.
Play through the main line above until the piece setup feels natural.
Learn the two or three critical pawn breaks for both sides.
Drill one variation at a time — always connecting moves to plans.