The Rapport-Jobava System, with e6: Nc6 — a Small Edge for White

The Rapport-Jobava System is all about getting active play without taking unnecessary risks. By playing 3.Bf4 before developing the king's knight, you put immediate pressure on the d4-d5 centre and keep an eye on Black's queenside. After 4.e3, your pawn chain is solid: d4 and e3 support each other, and your dark-squared bishop is outside the pawn chain, not locked behind it. This is a key difference from the London System — your bishop is already on f4 before Black commits to ...Nf6 or ...Bd6. The engine's best response for Black is 4...Bd6, challenging your bishop immediately. That's a sign you're doing something right: Black feels the need to trade off your active piece. Against 4...Bd6 you can simply continue with 5.Nf3, keeping the position flexible and maintaining your slight edge.

The most principled reply from Black is 4...Bd6, and the engine line runs 4...Bd6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Ne5. Here you immediately centralise the knight on a strong outpost, eyeing g6 and f7. After 6.Ne5, Black often trades bishops on f4, but you recapture with the e3-pawn, opening the e-file and giving you a slight space advantage. In the 56,825 games where Black played 4...Bd6, White still scores 50.7% — even after the exchange of Black's most natural defensive piece, you hold a solid plus. Remember: trading your active bishop for Black's passive one isn't a loss. Your bishop on f4 was doing the work; Black's bishop on d6 often just wants to trade.

The statistics across 217,760 games give you a clear picture of which replies to watch for. The top two moves for Black — 4...Bd6 and 4...Nf6 — are played almost equally often (56,825 and 55,539 games respectively). Against 4...Nf6, White scores 52.6%, your best result among the most popular replies. Black's other options include 4...Bb4 (41,550 games, White scores 51.5%) and 4...a6 (27,767 games, White scores 51.1%). The surprise stat: 4...Bd7 scores only 54.6% for White in 9,532 games — that's your highest winning percentage against any frequently played reply, but the sample is smaller. Whatever Black chooses, you are already slightly better out of the opening.

Because your position is solid and your pieces are well-placed, common errors by Black can be immediately exploited. If Black plays 4...Bd6 and trades bishops, your recapture with e4 gives you a strong centre and the e-file for your rook. If Black plays 4...Nf6 or 4...Bb4, you can continue developing with Nf3, castling kingside, and then thinking about c3 or a later e4 break. The biggest mistake Black can make is to waste a tempo with something like 4...h6 (4,388 games) or 4...a6 — these moves don't address the centre or challenge your bishop. When Black plays passively, you simply develop, gain space, and look for a timely e4 push. In the drill below, the engine will adapt to your choices and show you how to keep that +0.40 edge.