# Week 94: a London System Qb6 lesson, then 11 wins in a row

> Week 94: 1229 to 1288 in 29 rapid games (17-10-2). Three losses, then an 11-game winning streak, and the London System Qb6 move I missed: a3.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w46/
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Week 94 (November 10 to 16, 2025) started with three losses and then turned into the longest winning streak of my whole journey: **11 wins in a row**. Over 29 rapid games I went 17 wins, 10 losses and 2 draws, from **1229 to 1288**. Just before the streak, though, I lost a game in the London System Qb6 line in a way I want to remember: Black's queen wandered to b4, a single pawn move against it would have left me completely winning, and I traded bishops instead.

## The week in numbers

| What | This week |
|---|---|
| Rated rapid games | 29 |
| Score (W–L–D) | 17–10–2 |
| Rating change | +59 (1229 to 1288) |
| Average accuracy (Stockfish) | 79.5% |
| My blunders | 58 |
| Openings I played most | Modern Defense with 1 e4 (6), Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation (4), Modern Defense with 1 d4 (3) |

The first three games (1809 to 1811) were all losses and took me from 1229 to 1207. Then came games 1812 to 1822, eleven wins over two days, and my rating climbed to 1297. After the streak the week went back to normal: a draw, then wins and losses mixed, with a high of 1305 and a finish at 1288.

## The London System Qb6 game I should have won

> **Move 8 against dariele1: Black's queen was on b4, deep in my half**
> Position (FEN): `rn2k1nr/pp3ppp/2pbp3/3p1b2/1q1P1B2/1P2PN2/P1PN1PPP/R1Q1KB1R w KQkq - 4 8`
> Played: Bxd6 — Bishop takes the bishop on d6, attacking the queen; Black can take back
> Better: a3 — Pawn from a2 to a3, attacking the queen on b4

Against [dariele1 (1217)](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145384871302) the game went 1.d4 c6 2.Bf4 d5 3.Nf3 Bf5 4.e3 Qb6. From b6 the queen looks down the b-file at my pawn on b2. I answered with 5.b3, and Black's queen kept going: 6...Qb4. My 7.Qc1 was a mistake, but then Black blundered with 7...Bd6, and Stockfish rated the position +7.97, completely winning for me.

The engine's move is 8.a3, a pawn attacking the queen on b4. In its line the queen goes to c3, my bishop takes on d6, and White stays completely winning. I played 8.Bxd6 instead. It also attacked the queen, but it was a trade: Black simply took back, 8...Qxd6, and the evaluation dropped to +0.23. Two moves that both attack the queen: one sends it looking for a square, the other offers a trade that Black was happy to accept. Six moves later I was checkmated.

The lesson for the London System Qb6 lines, at least from my game: when Black's queen goes far forward to b4, look at the pawn moves that attack it before the piece moves. A pawn attack costs nothing.

## Eleven wins in a row

The streak ran from game 1812 to game 1822, on November 11 and 12. Six of the games were with White, all with my d4 and Bf4 setup, and five with Black: two King's Indian setups, two Modern Defense games and one Pirc. Five ended in checkmate, three by resignation and three when my opponent abandoned the game.

It wasn't flawless. Stockfish counted 15 blunders in those eleven wins, five of them in game 1821 alone, where my accuracy was 61.7%. My best games of the streak reached 93.3% (games 1812 and 1822) and 93.2% (game 1817). What changed during those two days, as far as the data shows, is that my opponents' mistakes came before mine more often. I'd love to claim it was a new skill. The numbers don't let me.

## Two losses that frame the streak

> **Move 25 against Ashee1970: my knight on c3 stood between the two queens**
> Position (FEN): `r2r2k1/1Nq2p1p/p3p1p1/1p6/1P2B3/P1n4P/2Q2PP1/R5K1 b - - 0 25`
> Played: Nxe4 — Knight takes the bishop on e4; this opens the c-file between the queens
> Better: Qe5 — Queen from c7 to e5, attacking the bishop on e4

The first game of the week, against [Ashee1970 (1237)](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145359649508), had the biggest single swing of the week. I was completely winning (-6.14; minus means Black, me, was better). My knight on c3 was standing on the c-file between my queen on c7 and White's queen on c2. When I took the bishop with 25...Nxe4, the file opened, and it was White's move: 26.Qxc7 took my queen. The evaluation went to +6.94. Stockfish's 25...Qe5 attacks the same bishop without moving the knight that shields my queen.

> **Move 11 against lightswitch021: rerouting my knight from f6**
> Position (FEN): `r2q1rk1/ppp1ppbp/2np1np1/5b2/3P4/PP2PNPP/1BPN1PB1/R2Q1RK1 b - - 0 11`
> Played: Nd7 — Knight from f6 to d7
> Better: Re8 — Rook from f8 to e8

The second, against [lightswitch021 (1296)](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145374940320), is quieter. In a Modern Defense against 1.d4, I moved my knight from f6 to d7 (from +0.72 to +4.50). Stockfish's answer for White is 12.e4, a pawn attacking my bishop on f5, and in its line White's d-pawn later reaches d5 and attacks my bishop and my knight on c6 at once. The engine's 11...Re8 just improves the rook. In the game White played 12.c4, I answered with a blunder of my own, 12...e5, and lost.

## The lesson of the week

Look at pawn moves first when an enemy piece is far forward. 8.a3 against the queen on b4 was the winning move of the week, and 12.e4 against my bishop on f5 was the engine's refutation the next day. Pawns are the cheapest attackers on the board: when a pawn attacks a queen or a bishop, the piece has to move, and nothing is given back. Before I make a piece move that attacks something, I now ask whether a pawn can do the same job.

## All games this week

| # | Date | Colour | Opponent | Result | Opening | Accuracy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1809 | 2025-11-10 | Black | Ashee1970 (1237) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 54.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145359649508) |
| 1810 | 2025-11-11 | Black | lightswitch021 (1296) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 75.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145374940320) |
| 1811 | 2025-11-11 | White | dariele1 (1217) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 62.1% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145384871302) |
| 1812 | 2025-11-11 | White | lakhersuresh (1184) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 93.3% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145389900874) |
| 1813 | 2025-11-11 | Black | Shah1365 (1189) | Win | King's Indian Defense Zinnowitz Variation | 88.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145398169142) |
| 1814 | 2025-11-11 | White | netoopier (1233) | Win | London System | 80.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145398273942) |
| 1815 | 2025-11-11 | Black | paulovictorBRAZIL (1232) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 89.3% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145398950014) |
| 1816 | 2025-11-11 | White | huiiijh (1257) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 70.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145401196476) |
| 1817 | 2025-11-11 | White | Boiboi685 (1232) | Win | Indian Game East Indian London System | 93.2% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145401483374) |
| 1818 | 2025-11-12 | Black | Juka69420 (1241) | Win | King's Indian Defense Samisch Yates Defense | 75.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145430351402) |
| 1819 | 2025-11-12 | Black | Clapaciuci (1263) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 74.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145431406568) |
| 1820 | 2025-11-12 | Black | MicroFox (1261) | Win | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 92.1% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145432267284) |
| 1821 | 2025-11-12 | White | jostik23 (1252) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 61.7% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145433690150) |
| 1822 | 2025-11-12 | White | Youssefbulgaria (1263) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 93.3% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145439239430) |
| 1823 | 2025-11-12 | White | maxlachap3713 (1310) | Draw | Indian Game East Indian London System | 77.3% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145439387442) |
| 1824 | 2025-11-13 | Black | Jeff3530 (1320) | Loss | Nimzowitsch Defense Declined Williams Variation | 73.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145458062050) |
| 1825 | 2025-11-13 | Black | shunya45 (1286) | Loss | Pirc Defense Modern Defense Geller System | 78.0% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145459389376) |
| 1826 | 2025-11-13 | Black | McKenzie0388 (1294) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 75.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145462169148) |
| 1827 | 2025-11-13 | White | Kapulicasuke1 (1274) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Mikenas Defense | 85.6% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145470399944) |
| 1828 | 2025-11-13 | Black | Ajalroh (1307) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 76.0% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145471044622) |
| 1829 | 2025-11-13 | White | Artyy012 (1311) | Loss | Indian Game | 85.0% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145478460156) |
| 1830 | 2025-11-13 | Black | IlyasHingendono (1325) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 65.3% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145480464176) |
| 1831 | 2025-11-14 | Black | Mukhriddin_1008 (1275) | Draw | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 93.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145496623896) |
| 1832 | 2025-11-14 | White | Spagooders (1299) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 88.1% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145509949344) |
| 1833 | 2025-11-14 | White | omarkohl25 (1256) | Win | Englund Gambit | 62.4% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145519956908) |
| 1834 | 2025-11-15 | White | oirat1358 (1290) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 70.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145533840800) |
| 1835 | 2025-11-15 | Black | jean1111111 (1309) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 81.9% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145551595482) |
| 1836 | 2025-11-16 | White | Aarav1_37 (1257) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 97.5% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145579946304) |
| 1837 | 2025-11-16 | White | mohammad_321321 (1251) | Win | Dutch Defense | 89.3% | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/145583387472) |

Previous week: [week 93](/journey/week-2025-w45/). Next week: [week 95](/journey/week-2025-w47/). Every week is on the [journey page](/journey/). If you play the London too, you can [review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

## FAQ

### How should White react to ...Qb6 in the London System?

In my game 1811 Black played ...Qb6 and then ...Qb4, and the queen ended up deep in my position. When Black then blundered with 7...Bd6, Stockfish's move was 8.a3, attacking the queen, and it rated White completely winning (+7.97). I traded bishops instead and the advantage disappeared (+0.23).

### What is the longest winning streak in my journey?

Eleven games, from game 1812 to game 1822, on November 11 and 12, 2025. My rating went from 1207 to 1297 during the streak.

### Did I play perfectly during the 11-game streak?

No. Stockfish counted 15 blunders in those 11 wins, five of them in one game. My accuracy ranged from 61.7% to 93.3%.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 93 (Nov 2025): losing winning positions, 1301 to 1229](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w45.md)
- [Week 95 (Nov 2025): my 1385 peak, with the Pirc going 4-0](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w47.md)
- [Free AI chess analysis of your games, explained](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/features/ai-chess-analysis.md)