A 000 game to share

Playing against the London system can be tricky. In this game, with an attacking minded opponent it went very well.
en.lichess.org/WVSgX5yJ/black#0

Why did you decide against Rac8 instead you played Rfc8. Seems more natural to place the a rook there. Seems like an instructive moment for me :)

@noob
Good question, but what's your f rook going to accomplish then?

"openings should be judged on the prospects they offer to ambitious young Rooks" - PURDY.

@chesstosterone

f rook naturally goes to e file or stays on the f file. Sometimes in rare cases it goes to the d file and the a rook covers the c b and a pawn push files. Most of the time in queen pawn openings the c file is the first to open up and unless you have plans for a minority attack it makes more sense to place the a rook there. Since there was no minority attack and you are not playing the white side of the Carlsbad structure its just natural to use the a rook on the c file.

I'm not convinced you have any idea what you're talking about. A minority attack is completely irrelevant, first of all. A minority attack is simply a type of queenside expansion which involves a "minority" of pawns. Black is playing on the queenside exclusively here, which is more than reason enough to bring the f rook over.

Also, unless white plays c4 it doesn't make much sense to occupy the d file. As well, even if he takes on c5, playing e5 is difficult as you need to find a way to control the damn square first.

How is a minority attack irrelevant? It was a possible idea for black after the c file was clarified. But it was off the table when black decided to have a pawn on c4 (with the Na5 Bb5 plan.) Arguably the best plan in the position but nonetheless a minority attack creating a backwards pawn for white and discarding blacks
"weaknesses" the b and a pawns. Also the e pawn push was on the cards for black and it was played. It just seems it would save a tempo or 2. The rook if placed on e file does not have to do things right away it can make an influence later and still partake in the game. But with Rfc8 you are shutting out the a rook for now from coming over. Rac8 just seems more flexible to the position.

@noob2chess #2
With white having firm e5 control I didn't think e6e5 would be possible soon. At some point I wanted to take on d4 to have the semi open c file, and then push for b5-b4 and b4xc3, which resembles a minority attack like in the QGD opening.

In that case the semi open c file puts some more pressure on c3.

Rfc8 has another little advantage : black can play Bd7-e8 after white plays Nf3-e5.

In itself this plan is a bit tricky because cxd4 gives white the semi open e file, which means :
* more e5 control
* rook lifts like Rf1-e1-e3-g3 or to h3.
* the f2-f4-f5 gains some strength due to the possible pressure on e6

This (semi open e file for white) plays very easily for white.

If black can manage to survive a white attack vs. the kingside, then black has usually fairly good winning chances on the queenside.

Ra8-c8 would probably have been fine as well.

There should be rules on sharing 000 games. Good example. A game that is not only 15-18 moves long.

Rairden, I would add also that game shouldn't be against someone who is 400 rating points lower

@achja makes good sense. I like the Be8 idea preserving the two bishops. I did not think of that when considering the rook move. Thanks.

On Bd3 I would have been tempted as black since normally black never gets the opportunity to put the squeeze on white with c4 push. And got my queen out the way to play b5 and maybe just maybe b4 at the right time. But your plan was much more concrete and decisive to the result. Plus you are 2600 elo higher rated so you probably know what you are talking about :D