Opening Traps/know them from both sides/D00/You play Black

London: the ...h5 Bishop Hunt

An ugly h-pawn move with one idea: wait for the automatic e3, then chase the London bishop until it has no square.

Coachedanswers the move you actually played

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Stockfish+0.36

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Variations1 of 3

The ...h5 bishop huntFoundationThe trap every London player should know from Black's chair, because it is set against the move they play without thinking. After 2...h5, the automatic 3.e3 shuts the bishop's road home, and ...e5, ...f6, ...h4 and ...g5 take every other square from it.6 moves Sidestepping it: 3.c4as WhiteFoundation8 moves Deep dive: collecting the bishopStructure11 moves

1.2.3.4.5.6.

StartBefore the first move

The starting position. White moves first, and that single tempo is the whole reason opening theory exists.

The moves in the text are buttons. Press one and the board beside it shows the position.

The idea in one paragraph

After , the move looks like a beginner's mistake, and the engine agrees it gives up most of a pawn. Its point is the London reflex : once the e-pawn stands on e3, the bishop has lost its way home through e3, d2 and c1, and takes every other square from it. Answer with or , keep the e-pawn at home for a few moves, and the hunt has nothing to chase.

The pawn structure

There is no pawn structure to study, only a bishop's exits. The f4-bishop normally has three roads: back along c1–h6 to e3, d2 and c1; along the b8–h2 diagonal to g3 and h2; and forward to e5, g5 and beyond. closes the first road with White's own pawn, and the black pawns close the others one by one: ...f6 covers e5 and g5, ...h4 takes g3, ...g5 attacks the bishop on f4.

The plans

♔ White’s plans

Answer with or . The knight on f3 covers e5, g5 and h4 (three of the squares the hunt needs), and with the e-pawn still on e2 the bishop can always go home.
Play e3 later, once Black's e-pawn can no longer reach e5. In the second chapter it comes after cxd5 exd5, when Black has no e-pawn left to push.
If you have already played and comes, gives the bishop for three pawns instead of losing it for nothing.

♚ Black’s plans

Play only as a question: the trap exists only if White answers with an automatic .
After , strike at once with : every pawn move that follows attacks the bishop or takes a square from it.
Against or the h-pawn is a lost tempo. Develop normally and accept that White keeps a small edge.

Traps and things that lose games

Trap 1

The ...h5 bishop hunt: and the bishop is lost. The cure: or .

Trap 2

The damage control once is on the board: , three pawns for the bishop.

The London's other trap, set by the London player

the poisoned b2-pawn, (see its own course).

Every London player, because it is set against the move they make without thinking. And Black players who want one surprise against the London, knowing that against a player who sees it coming 2...h5 is simply a worse position.

Your learning path: London: the ...h5 Bishop Hunt

Beginner → Intermediate

One trap from both chairs: hunt the London bishop as Black, and keep it safe as White with one move-order rule.

FoundationOne sitting
Goal. Spring the hunt as Black, and never lose the bishop as White.
- The hunt's four pawn moves (...e5, ...f6, ...h4, ...g5) and the squares each one takes.
- Why 3.e3 is the mistake: it is White's own pawn that blocks the road home.
- From White's chair: 3.c4 or 3.Nf3, and e3 only once ...e5 is no longer possible.
DrillDrill the hunt as Black, then the sidestep as White. Then set up the position after 2...h5 and name the bishop's escape squares before you move.
Common mistakePlaying 3...e5 against 3.c4 or 3.Nf3. With the e-pawn still on e2 there is no trap: White simply takes the pawn, and the engine gives White more than a pawn.
Move on whenYou can list, without a board, which square each of Black's four pawn moves takes from the bishop.
StructureAfter the London chapter
Goal. Convert the extra piece as Black, and limit the damage as White.
- The deep dive: 7.Ne2, and how Black comes out a knight for two pawns ahead.
- White's damage control after 3.e3 e5: 4.Bxe5 f6 5.Be2!, three pawns for the bishop.
DrillPlay the deep-dive position against an engine from Black's side, and the position after 5.Be2 from White's.
Common mistakeGrabbing more pawns as Black before the king is safe. Every black kingside pawn has moved, and White's pieces will come for the e-file.
Move on whenYou win the extra piece as Black, and as White you reach the 3.c4 position without thinking about it.

Whose games to study

The London chapter on this site covers 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 in full. Every evaluation here comes from Stockfish at depth twenty.

What to learn after this

The London System course, and the London player's own trap: the poisoned b2-pawn.