Rapport-Jobava System 3. Bf4 e6
Also known as Jobava London
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Statistics from Lichess
2,800,529 games: White 49.5% / Draw 4.7% / Black 45.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,272,4331.3M | ||
| 692,522693K | ||
| 359,285359K | ||
| 168,857169K | ||
| 115,763116K | ||
| 94,53995K | ||
| 39,66840K | ||
| 19,47819K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. Nb5 Na6 5. e3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Be2 c6 8. Nc3 c5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 221K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,336 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Xiong, J.
- Jobava, B. – Caruana, F.
- Nakamura, H. – Abdusattorov, N.
- Rapport, R. – Giri, A.
- Van Foreest, J. – Giri, A.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Rapport-Jobava System (ECO D01, Closed & Semi-Closed Games) is a variation of the Rapport-Jobava System, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 (3 moves).
In 2,800,529 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 45.8% and 4.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. e3, in 45% of those games.
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How to answer 3…e6
4. Nb5 scores best for White: 53.4%, with White winning 50.9% and Black 44.0% of 693K games. The most played, 4. e3, scores 52.0% in 1.3M games, and 4. Nf3 scores lowest: 50.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. Nb5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line is played more than three times as often as in 2016: 0.15% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.046%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.046% | 16,290 |
| 2017 | 0.046% | 25,301 |
| 2018 | 0.045% | 35,174 |
| 2019 | 0.068% | 85,425 |
| 2020 | 0.083% | 241,882 |
| 2021 | 0.088% | 345,404 |
| 2022 | 0.099% | 372,286 |
| 2023 | 0.12% | 435,695 |
| 2024 | 0.13% | 478,655 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 531,337 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.16% | 179,286 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Rapport-Jobava System (D01)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/rapport-jobava-system-2