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London System · As White · updated October 2026

Play the London System like Nihal Sarin

A repertoire in the London System built from 33 of Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nihal Sarin chose most often. Where Nihal Sarin has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Nihal Sarin or Chess.com.

  • Nihal Sarin was #3 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,325) and scored 53% against opponents averaging 3,138 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 8 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Train lines

Learn a new line move by move. Lines due for review go to your daily review first.

Next: line 1

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#3

Chess.com

Rating

3,325

Games

33

in this opening

Score

53%

in these games

Opponents

3,138

average rating

More about Nihal Sarin

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 8 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 10% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.h3

    Next

  2. Line 2 · 6% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Ne5 Bd7 8.Ne2 e6 9.c3

    New

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    1…c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4

    New

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.f3

    New

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Qb3

    New

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.Nb5 Na6 6.h3 O-O 7.Nf3 c6 8.Nc3

    New

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nc6 9.O-O-O e6 10.g4

    New

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 Bg4 6.Be2 Bxe2 7.Qxe2 a6 8.g4 h6 9.O-O-O

    New

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.c3

    New

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 Bg4 6.Be2 Bxe2 7.Qxe2 Nc6 8.Nb5

    New

  11. Line 11 · 3% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 O-O 6.Bd3

    New

  12. Line 12 · 3% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.Bf4

    New

  13. Line 13 · 3% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Bd6 4.e3

    New

  14. Line 14 · 3% at top level

    1…d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3

    New

  15. Line 15 · 3% at top level

    1…d6 2.Nf3

    New

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Nihal Sarin's main line in the London System, move by move

The most common line at top level: 1…d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.h3.

  1. 1…d5 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 1…d5. At top level, this comes up about 39% of the time.
  2. 2.Nf3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 2.Nf3 in 12 games, scoring 38%.
  3. 2…Nf6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 2…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 23% of the time.
  4. 3.Bf4 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 3.Bf4 in 7 games, scoring 36%.
  5. 3…c5 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 3…c5. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  6. 4.e3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4.e3 in 3 games, scoring 0%.
  7. 4…Nc6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4…Nc6.
  8. 5.h3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5.h3 in 2 games, scoring 0%.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play the London System?
After 1.d4, Nihal Sarin's most common line is 1…d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.h3. At top level it comes up about 10% of the time.
Is this Nihal Sarin's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this London System course based on?
33 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the London System as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,138. Nihal Sarin scored 53% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
15 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
Who is Nihal Sarin?
GM Nihal Sarin was ranked number 3 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,325 when this course was built.

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