Is the London System bad? What my week 27 (1090 → 1018) says
Week 27 (July 8–12, 2024) gave back almost everything I'd gained. I played 27 rapid games, won 8, lost 17 and drew 2, and fell from 1090 to 1018, minus 72. It started with five straight losses on Monday and ended with four more. Since most of my White games start with an early bishop to f4, London System style, I had to ask myself the question people type into search bars: is the London System bad? The numbers this week looked bad. The engine says something else.
The week in numbers
| Games | 27, all 10-minute rapid |
| Wins / losses / draws | 8 / 17 / 2 |
| Rating | 1090 → 1018 (−72) |
| Average accuracy | 72.8 % |
| Blunders (Stockfish) | 62 (opponents: 53) |
| Most played openings | Zukertort Chigorin (5), Horwitz Defense (4), Giuoco Piano (3), Three Knights (3) |
With White I played Bf4 within my first four moves in 14 games and scored 4 wins, 9 losses and a draw. The Zukertort Chigorin, a London-type setup with Nf3 against ...Nc6, went 0–4–1, and the Horwitz lines (1.d4 e6) went 1–3. With Black I wasn't better: 4–8–1. Only Tuesday ended with more wins than losses, and July 8 was five games, five losses.
The numbers I find more telling: in ten games I had at least an 80 % chance of winning and didn't win, and 14 of my 17 losses are logged as abandoned games. Two of those "not won" games hurt more than the rest. In #683 against Jtelkin Stockfish saw a forced mate for me after Black's 35th move; I missed it with 17 seconds left and then lost on time. In #685 against Force1886, with a queen and a knight against a bare king, I had mate in one (63.Qc7#) and played 63.Ke6 instead. Black's king had no legal move and wasn't in check: stalemate, a draw. It's the second time in five weeks I've stalemated someone while having mate.
Three key positions
Move 3, and the bishop on f4 was already loose
Game #664, White against ahmdrizz03 (1067). The opening went 1.d4 e6 2.Bf4 Qf6, and Black's queen was looking straight down the f-file at my bishop.
3.Nf3 is the kind of move I play automatically in the London. Here it simply drops the bishop: 3...Qxf4, and the evaluation goes from +1.15 to −7.13. Nothing defended f4. Stockfish's top three moves, 3.Bxc7, 3.e3 and 3.Qd2, all keep White better, and they have one thing in common: they deal with the attack on the bishop. The London isn't a bad opening here. Playing it on autopilot is (game on Chess.com).
The same knight mistake as three weeks ago
Game #665, Black against Deffou (1089), in a Giuoco Piano. Equal, +0.10, on move 5.
If this position looks familiar, it's because I played the same move, 5...Nge7, in game #523 in week 23, and Stockfish punished it the same way. White's best answer is 6.Ng5, attacking the f7 pawn next to my king, and the evaluation goes from +0.10 to +2.66. The engine's 5...Na5 attacks the bishop on c4 that supports the whole idea. Four weeks apart, a nearly identical position, the same mistake. That's what a repeated mistake looks like in the data (game on Chess.com).
Keeping a pin instead of taking a pawn
Game #663, Black against mohitbeniwal155 (1089), in a Ponziani. I was slightly better, −1.12, with my bishop on b4 pinning White's bishop on d2 to the king.
The a3 pawn attacked my bishop, and I retreated it to a5, where it still pins the bishop on d2 to the king. Stockfish preferred to ignore the threat and play 7...dxe4, which attacks the knight on f3. In its line 8.Bxb4 exf3 9.Qxf3 Nxd4, I win back the piece with interest. After my retreat, Stockfish's reply for White is 8.exd5, and the position turns slightly in White's favour, −1.12 to +0.70. Not a disaster by itself, but it was the first of five straight losses (game on Chess.com).
The lesson of the week
So, is the London System bad? Not on this evidence. My worst London game was lost on move 3 to a queen attack I didn't look at, and my worst Black game repeated a mistake I'd already been shown four weeks earlier. The lesson is about how I play familiar positions: the more automatic a move feels, the more I need to check what my opponent's last move attacks. A system opening means I can play the first moves fast. It doesn't mean the opponent has to cooperate. And when I see the same mistake twice in my reviews, like 5...Nge7, I want to write the correct move down and play it the next time.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 663 | Jul 8 | Black | mohitbeniwal155 (1089) | Loss | Ponziani Opening | 78.6 | game |
| 664 | Jul 8 | White | ahmdrizz03 (1067) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 41.5 | game |
| 665 | Jul 8 | Black | Deffou (1089) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game | 53.2 | game |
| 666 | Jul 8 | White | TheOnlyJose2 (1082) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 56.2 | game |
| 667 | Jul 8 | White | D15isKING (1084) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 79.6 | game |
| 668 | Jul 9 | Black | ABDULHAMEES (1057) | Win | Kings Pawn Opening Leonardis Variation | 90.0 | game |
| 669 | Jul 9 | White | Threelilfonzies (1029) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 94.5 | game |
| 670 | Jul 9 | Black | Threelilfonzies (1022) | Win | Van t Kruijs Opening | 81.1 | game |
| 671 | Jul 9 | White | Prinqo (1092) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 72.2 | game |
| 672 | Jul 9 | Black | Sharonbens (1061) | Loss | Three Knights Opening | 74.2 | game |
| 673 | Jul 10 | White | VolodymyrF92 (1069) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 60.6 | game |
| 674 | Jul 10 | White | i_am_AfricanKing (1052) | Win | Indian Game | 78.1 | game |
| 675 | Jul 10 | Black | Ovpen (1086) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game Giuoco Pianissimo Variation | 87.6 | game |
| 676 | Jul 10 | Black | Gopichand10 (1081) | Draw | Three Knights Opening | 75.2 | game |
| 677 | Jul 10 | Black | lechugafresca24 (1081) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game | 60.5 | game |
| 678 | Jul 10 | White | skip-sa (1097) | Loss | London System | 69.9 | game |
| 679 | Jul 10 | White | tomemac2003 (1067) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 71.7 | game |
| 680 | Jul 11 | Black | CASA_007 (1046) | Loss | Three Knights Opening | 63.6 | game |
| 681 | Jul 11 | White | robln7 (1019) | Win | London System | 83.1 | game |
| 682 | Jul 11 | Black | jay226924 (1048) | Loss | Bishops Opening Boi Variation | 72.1 | game |
| 683 | Jul 11 | White | Jtelkin (1080) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 90.4 | game |
| 684 | Jul 11 | Black | Reyzzzzzzz17 (994) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game | 62.6 | game |
| 685 | Jul 11 | White | Force1886 (1038) | Draw | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 84.2 | game |
| 686 | Jul 11 | Black | Kkurth1973 (1065) | Loss | Nimzowitsch Larsen Attack Classical Variation | 75.2 | game |
| 687 | Jul 12 | White | jsudirbkk (1049) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 78.9 | game |
| 688 | Jul 12 | Black | Simon1215 (1072) | Loss | Reti Opening Nimzowitsch Larsen Attack | 68.2 | game |
| 689 | Jul 12 | White | Hello545676 (1036) | Loss | Englund Gambit | 62.1 | game |
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Frequently asked questions
Is the London System bad?
My week 27 doesn't show that. With early Bf4 setups I went 4–9–1, but the worst loss came from 3.Nf3, which left the f4 bishop to be taken by Black's queen, not from the system itself.
How should White react to an early ...Qf6 against the London bishop?
By dealing with the attack on f4. In game #664 Stockfish's top choices were 3.Bxc7, 3.e3 and 3.Qd2, all keeping White better; my 3.Nf3 lost the bishop to 3...Qxf4.
Can you stalemate with a queen and a knight?
Yes, and I did. In game #685 Stockfish had mate in one with 63.Qc7#; I played 63.Ke6 and Black's king had no legal move, so the game was a draw.