Modern Chess: The Classical London System for White Review

"The Classical London System for White - Part 1" is a 4h 52m Modern Chess video course by GMs Alexey Dreev and Pier Luigi Basso, priced at 99.00 EUR as of 8 November 2026, and it is only half of the repertoire. The lines where Black attacks b2 with ...Qb6, which the seller itself calls Black's "most principled try", are in Part 2, so plan on buying both (198.00 EUR and about 9h 13m, calculated from listed figures) or neither, and note that Modern Chess's terms make all sales final.

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Test depth: Public information only. Nobody at ChessCourseFinder has taken this course. This page is based on published documentation, pricing and reports, read on 8 November 2026. How we review explains the limits.

This review has no star score. Fit, price and limits are set out instead, and how reviews are made is public.

What the seller lists

Modern Chess's Part 1 page and Part 2 page list the same structure for each course:

Both pages also list a condensed "To-Go" version of every chapter for pre-game review, a "Memory Booster", PGN files in English, German, French and Spanish, and "Full download access". The page labels both "Premium" and states no rating level. Neither page shows an update date.

The authors' framing is that the London is more unpleasant to face than its reputation suggests. Dreev recommends 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 rather than the natural 5.c3, and in the main position after 8.Bd3 the recommended 9.e4 aims for active play.

Coverage check across both parts

Taken together the two parts cover the 1...d5 set-ups thoroughly, and what they split between them is the problem. The table comes from the chapter titles and "Map of variations" on each page. We have not checked the lines themselves.

Three things follow from this.

Part 1 alone leaves a hole in its own main line. Part 1 recommends 5.Nbd2 to sidestep the ...Qb6 pressure on b2 that follows 5.c3, but the positions where Black plays ...Qb6 anyway are in Part 2 (chapters 1 to 8). The Part 2 page calls 5...Qb6 "Black's most principled try", and Wikipedia describes ...c5 and ...Qb6 as Black's most common response to the system. Part 1's sales text says it is a complete answer to "every classical defense", which only holds because the pages class ...Qb6 among the "modern" tries in Part 2.

Both parts assume 1...d5. Part 1's variation map opens 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4, Part 2's continues from 3.Bf4, and Part 2's claim to cover "the full spectrum of Black's replies to 3.Bf4" is about that move order. No title or variation map names a King's Indian set-up (...Nf6, ...g6, ...Bg7, ...d6), a Dutch with ...f5, or a Queen's Indian with ...b6 and no ...d5. Wikipedia lists the King's Indian-type set-up as one of the standard replies. Those may be handled in passing, but we would assume not. If your opponents often play ...g6 against the London, this is not a complete repertoire for you.

It is a 2.Nf3 London. Wikipedia describes 2.Bf4 as a more flexible approach for White, and notes that delaying Nf3 avoids the line 5.c3 Qb6. If you play 2.Bf4, check the free sample chapter before assuming the move orders will fit.

"Classical" is the seller's word for the set-ups in Part 1, which it contrasts with the "modern, concrete tries" in Part 2. A Jobava-style London with Nc3 is a different choice by White and is not named on either page; see Jobava London courses.

Theory load

This is not a low-theory London, despite the opening's reputation. The series has 30 chapters and 60 test positions across about 9 hours of video, and the Part 2 page describes "fifteen chapters of dense, forcing theory" built around Black's "sharpest, most computer-tested tries". It also says that the critical 5...Qb6 line is "theoretically drawn with perfect defense", and that Dreev offers a practical route instead of a refutation, which is an honest thing for a seller to say.

If you chose the London so that you could play the same moves every game, this is a different proposition. Conventional coaching advice is that players under about 1600 gain more from understanding the plans than from concrete lines like these; that is received wisdom, not a measured result, and the seller does not state a level.

Price and cost per hour

Part 1 is 99.00 EUR for 4h 52m, or about 20 EUR per listed video hour, calculated from listed figures. Both parts are 198.00 EUR for 9h 13m, or about 21.50 EUR per hour.

The pages offer "Extra 5% off on 2 or more courses from this series in one order, on top of the quantity discount". Calculated, 5% off 198.00 EUR is 188.10 EUR, or about 20.40 EUR per hour, but the size of the quantity discount is not stated and you should confirm the total at checkout. Whether VAT is included in the EUR price was not stated. A countdown timer also appears at the top of the page; the text we read does not say what it counts down to.

For comparison, Chessable's Liem London System lists 208 variations and 13h 55m of video at $49.99 base and $179.98 with video (USD, as of 8 November 2026). Calculated, $179.98 over 13.92 hours is about $12.93 per listed video hour, and the base price excludes most of the video. The products are built differently and priced in different currencies, so cost per hour is only a rough guide.

Refunds: assume there are none

Modern Chess's Terms and Conditions, last updated 29 December 2025, state that "all sales are final and non-refundable once access to digital content has been provided", and list "change of mind, perceived difficulty level, or dissatisfaction after access" among the reasons a refund will not be granted. That is a real difference from sellers that offer a money-back window, and it makes the free preview the only test you get.

Both course pages show an "Introduction and Free Preview", an introduction by Dreev, a sample chapter and a sample video. Before paying, we would:

1. Play through the sample chapter and check that the level of detail suits you.
2. Check whether your own move order reaches the positions in the variation map.
3. Look through your last 20 London games and count what Black played. If ...c5 and ...Qb6 are common, you need Part 2. If ...g6 is common, you need something else as well.
4. Decide whether you are buying one part or two before you check out, because you cannot return Part 1 if it turns out you needed the other half.

Who it suits and who should skip it

It suits a London player who already meets prepared opponents, wants a grandmaster's concrete move-order choices against 1...d5, can use English-language video, and is willing to buy both parts without a refund option. Skip it if:

• You want a single complete repertoire for one price. Part 1 alone is not one.
• You chose the London to avoid theory.
• You often face ...g6 or ...f5 set-ups. These are not named in either part.
• You want a trainable line database. The pages describe test positions, a "Memory Booster" and five computer-practice positions, but do not give a line count or describe how the Memory Booster works.
• You want a Jobava-focused course.

The better-documented alternatives

For the comparison across London courses, use best London System courses. Single-course pages exist for Aman Hambleton's Chessable course, TheChessWorld's London System: Raise Your Elo Rating and ChessBase's Mastering the London System. For the seller, see our Modern Chess review and ChessMood vs Modern Chess.

The free resource that covers similar ground

The London is a setup-based opening, so much of it can be learned from free games and studies. Lichess is free, and its studies and practice include user-made opening studies of varying quality. If you just want the plans, that may be enough, and it is what we would try first if you are below the level where these concrete lines start to matter. You give up a named grandmaster's move-order choices, which is the main thing this course is selling.

What the seller's pages do not tell you

• That Part 1 does not cover ...Qb6. You have to compare the two chapter lists to see it.
• That the repertoire is built on 1...d5. No chapter names a King's Indian, Dutch or Queen's Indian set-up.
• The rating level is not stated on either page.
• Whether the lines are updated after publication is not stated. The series is new, dated June and July 2026, so this matters less for now.
• How the Memory Booster works, and how many lines it contains.
• No independent opinion of this course turned up in our research.