Week 74: London System vs King's Indian Defense, from both sides of the board
Week 74 had the shape of a rollercoaster. From June 23 to 29, 2025, I played 28 rapid games, finished 13 wins, 13 losses and 2 draws, and went 1270 → 1280 (+10). In between I climbed to 1304 on Wednesday, fell to 1248 by Friday, and won four in a row to recover. The opening thread of the week was London System vs King's Indian Defense, the London against a ...g6, ...Bg7, ...d6 setup, which Chess.com calls the East Indian London. I played it three times, once as White and twice as Black, and lost all three.
The week in numbers
| Games | 28 (14 White, 14 Black) |
| W / L / D | 13 / 13 / 2 |
| Rating | 1270 → 1280 (+10); peak 1304, low 1248 |
| Average accuracy | 82.0% |
| Blunders | 43 (my opponents: 38) |
| Most played openings | Nimzowitsch Williams (5), Zukertort Chigorin (3), East Indian London (3), Zukertort Variation (3), English Defense (2) |
The best news was hidden in the White column: my three Zukertort Variation games, all London setups, were three wins. The worst news was the slide in the middle of the week, 8 losses, 1 draw and 1 win in ten games, from 1304 down to 1248.
London System vs King's Indian Defense: the three games
As White, game 1571 against Trinitrotolene (1312) went 1.d4 g6 2.Bf4 Bg7 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 O-O 5.Nbd2 d6 6.c3 c5: my standard London against Black's King's Indian pieces. As Black, I tried the same King's Indian setup against the London twice, against FloFloFloChess (1300) and CamronchessI (1301). The two Black games were lost in 49 half-moves each, one by checkmate and one abandoned. So in this matchup I was 0 for 3 from both sides of the board, which at least proves the problem wasn't one particular colour.
The White game is the instructive one.
Moment 1: the bishop that walked into a fork
Game 1571 against Trinitrotolene (1312), White (game). I was already worse, −2.41, and Black's last move, 16...a6, attacked my bishop on b5.
Bc4 looks active because it pins the f7 pawn to Black's king. But it put my bishop next to my queen on a4, and 17...b5 attacked both of them with one pawn, a pawn fork. After 18.Qb3 bxc4 I was a piece down and the evaluation was around −7. Bd3 wasn't a good position either, but it kept the bishop out of the pawn's reach.
Moment 2: winning, then a rook move I didn't check
Game 1572 against Hekal14 (1284), White, a London setup (game). Here I was winning, +4.84, and I attacked Black's queen with my rook.
The rook on a3 sat on the same diagonal as Black's bishop on f8, with nothing in between. Bxa3 would have won a full rook, and the engine went from +4.84 to −0.20. Hekal14 played 22...Qd6 instead (+6.86), I stayed winning, and the game ended in my favour when he abandoned it. f3 was the calm move. This is what "both sides blunder" looks like at 1280: one unchecked move each, and the one who got lucky wins.
Moment 3: the wrong piece takes back
Game 1569 against madearif (1253), Black (game). White had opened with an early queen trip, 1.e4 d6 2.Qh5 g6 3.Qe2, and by move 10 I was winning, −4.45.
Both captures win back the piece. The difference is what happens next. With Bxd4, my bishop joins my knight on g4 in attacking f2, next to White's king. With Qxd4, my queen stands where a pawn can kick it with c3, and White gains time. The evaluation went from −4.45 to −0.76. I won anyway, on time.
The lesson of the week
When you have a choice of captures or squares, ask what the opponent's pawns can do next. In game 1571 a pawn forked my bishop and queen. In game 1569 a pawn would have chased my queen. Pawns are the cheapest pieces, so any time one of them can attack something valuable, it wins time or material.
On the London vs King's Indian question: the setup wasn't what lost those three games. In each case one tactical moment did. The best thing I can take from 0 out of 3 is to look at those moments, not to switch openings.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1569 | Jun 23 | Black | madearif (1253) | Win | Pirc Defense | 59.9% | game |
| 1570 | Jun 23 | White | ABDALLAHHegage (1267) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 98.5% | game |
| 1571 | Jun 24 | White | Trinitrotolene (1312) | Loss | Indian Game East Indian London System | 82.4% | game |
| 1572 | Jun 24 | White | Hekal14 (1284) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 88.3% | game |
| 1573 | Jun 24 | Black | Anandee08 (1274) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening | 71.1% | game |
| 1574 | Jun 24 | White | JUANFALA (1332) | Loss | English Defense | 77.4% | game |
| 1575 | Jun 24 | Black | FloFloFloChess (1300) | Loss | Indian Game East Indian London System | 85.0% | game |
| 1576 | Jun 25 | Black | Isajanyan012 (1264) | Win | Pirc Defense Main Line Byrne Variation | 91.7% | game |
| 1577 | Jun 25 | Black | broeschi (1309) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 97.5% | game |
| 1578 | Jun 25 | White | shaileshkathole (1307) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 79.6% | game |
| 1579 | Jun 25 | White | lolly9319980 (1296) | Draw | Englund Gambit | 82.2% | game |
| 1580 | Jun 25 | White | Mummot123 (1316) | Loss | London System | 83.0% | game |
| 1581 | Jun 25 | Black | Menso0 (1308) | Loss | Nimzowitsch Defense Declined Williams Variation | 81.4% | game |
| 1582 | Jun 26 | Black | Edwardgrd (1301) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 66.5% | game |
| 1583 | Jun 26 | White | Hishammm82 (1262) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 84.2% | game |
| 1584 | Jun 26 | Black | CamronchessI (1301) | Loss | Indian Game East Indian London System | 73.7% | game |
| 1585 | Jun 26 | White | mobam (1279) | Loss | English Defense | 72.9% | game |
| 1586 | Jun 27 | White | OlhaEsseNick (1263) | Loss | Indian Game | 67.7% | game |
| 1587 | Jun 27 | Black | Nathan_Ayotte (1270) | Loss | Nimzowitsch Defense Declined Williams Variation | 61.4% | game |
| 1588 | Jun 27 | White | Vicorban (1227) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 87.5% | game |
| 1589 | Jun 28 | Black | Alhabr (1233) | Win | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 92.1% | game |
| 1590 | Jun 28 | White | iconic_hexaa (1230) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 90.5% | game |
| 1591 | Jun 28 | Black | vvras (1244) | Win | Nimzowitsch Defense Declined Williams Variation | 90.0% | game |
| 1592 | Jun 28 | Black | zehrmant (1270) | Draw | Nimzowitsch Defense Declined Williams Variation | 87.2% | game |
| 1593 | Jun 29 | Black | StarAnd2828 (1301) | Loss | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 74.4% | game |
| 1594 | Jun 29 | White | ger258069 (1265) | Win | Dutch Defense | 86.1% | game |
| 1595 | Jun 29 | Black | Nemith123 (1220) | Win | Nimzowitsch Defense Declined Williams Variation | 94.3% | game |
| 1596 | Jun 29 | White | Andrew3812 (1371) | Loss | London System | 89.2% | game |
← Week 73 · Week 75 → · All weeks of the journey · Check your own pawn forks and recaptures with Chess Coach's AI chess analysis.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play the London System against a King's Indian setup?
In my game 1571 I played the usual London moves (d4, Bf4, Nf3, e3, Nbd2, c3) and Black struck back with ...c5 and ...e5. The loss came on move 17 from a bishop move into a pawn fork, not from the setup itself.
Is a King's Indian setup good against the London as Black?
It didn't work for me in week 74: 0 wins in 2 games with ...g6, ...Bg7 and ...d6 against the London, both against opponents rated around 1300.
How often do you win on time at 1280 in 10-minute games?
In week 74, three of my 13 wins came when my opponent's clock ran out: games 1569, 1573 and 1595.