Indian Defense: London System with Be7 — How White Should Play

Your last move, 4.c4, turns the London System into a Queen's Gambit-style structure. You're fighting for a space advantage in the centre, and Black's next move will decide what kind of game you get. The engine's top suggestion is 4…d5, which transposes toward the Queen's Gambit Declined with a London twist. If Black plays that, the recommended continuation is d5 Nc3 c5 dxc5 — you'll capture on c5 and keep a passed pawn. But in practice, Black's most popular move by far is castling: 4…O-O appears in over 10,600 games. White scores 51.7% there, so you can be confident facing it.

If Black plays 4…d5, Stockfish rates the position +0.37, a small plus for you. The ideal follow-up is 5.Nc3, developing the knight and attacking d5. Black usually replies 5…c5, challenging your centre immediately, and you take with 6.dxc5. At that point you have a solid central pawn majority and the bishop on f4 is already well-placed. This line is less common at the board (2,123 games) but it's the principled, theoretically sound test. Don't fear it — your score is 48.9%, which is basically even in practice, and the engine trusts your position.

The big four Black replies are O-O (10,646 games), d6 (2,187 games), d5 (2,123 games), and b6 (1,327 games). Castling is by far the most common, and your plan is straightforward: continue developing with e3 and Nc3, aiming for a standard Queen's Gambit setup. Against 4…d6, Black keeps the centre flexible — you can push e4 next or simply build with Nc3 and e3. White scores a solid 50.5% there. Against 4…b6, Black is going for a Queen's Indian-style setup with a fianchetto. White scores 48.5% — slightly lower, but still respectable. The two replies where White does best are 4…c6 (54.8%) and 4…h6 (54.0%), though they are less commonly played.

Whichever move Black chooses, your pieces have natural homes. The bishop on f4 is already active, eyeing the c7 and d6 squares. Your knights belong on f3 and c3, your king castles short, and your central pawns on d4 and c4 can either advance (e4 push) or capture if Black challenges. If Black plays …d5, the game takes on a Queen's Gambit character with tension on the c- and d-files. If Black plays …d6, you can consider e4 to gain more space. In the most common line (O-O), the middlegame is healthy and flexible — you're never overextended, and the engine trusts your position. The numbers back it up: across all 18,836 games, White wins 51.2%, draws only 3.8%, and Black wins 45.1%.