Week 117: the Pirc Defense Classical Variation carried me, the London didn't
Fourteen games, and the rating barely moved: 1206 → 1207 from May 4 to 8, 2026, with seven wins and seven losses. Under that flat line are two very different weeks. With Black I went 5–2, and five of those seven games were the Pirc Defense, four of them in the Pirc Defense Classical Variation or its Schlechter line. With White I went 2–5, and every one of those games started with the London setup, 1.d4 and 2.Bf4.
The week in numbers
| Games | 14 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 7 / 7 / 0 |
| Rating | 1206 → 1207 (+1); high 1239, low 1199 |
| Average accuracy | 76.5% |
| My blunders | 26 |
| With Black | 5 wins, 2 losses |
| With White | 2 wins, 5 losses |
| Most played | Pirc Classical (3), London System (2), Modern Defense with 1 e4 (2) |
Tuesday, May 5, was the busiest day: six games, from 10:01 to 22:40, and after a win, two losses and three wins in a row, I reached 1239. Then came five losses in a row across the next two days, down to 1199, and one last win on Friday to finish at 1207.
The low point was game 2085 against m1roslav1981 (1214), 48.5% accuracy. On move 20 I had mate in one with a pawn move, and I played a knight move instead. I lost that game.
Pirc Classical: what the engine liked and didn't
My best game was game 2076 against Sh_Ayxan (1192), a Pirc Classical I won on time on move 47 with 93.4% accuracy. Even that one has a lesson in it, and so does a Pirc win from Monday.
Game 2074: a bishop for free, and I didn't take it
Against Ebensitumorang (1197), with Black, White's 12th move put a bishop on f4, where my knight on d5 could simply take it. The engine had me at −8.95: completely winning.
Knight takes on f4 doesn't just win a bishop. From f4 the knight attacks White's queen on e2, the bishop on d3 and the g2 pawn, a double attack. I played pawn to e6, and the evaluation went to +1.30 for White. I was lucky twice: White didn't move the bishop away, so I took it a move later, and I won by resignation on move 29 (game 2074).
Game 2076: take with check first
Against Sh_Ayxan (1192), in the Classical Variation, my knight on b4 could take White's bishop on d3, with check. The engine had me at −3.16.
I played bishop to g4 instead: it attacks the knight on f3, with the other knight on d1 behind it. It looks active, but it gives White one free move, and the engine uses it for bishop to e4, which saves the bishop and attacks my b7 pawn with the rook on a8 behind it. My advantage shrank to −0.52. Again White didn't find it, and I took on d3 three moves later. Same story as game 2074: look at the captures, especially the ones with check, before anything else (game 2076).
The London side of the week
All seven of my White games began 1.d4 and 2.Bf4, the London setup, whatever name Chess.com gave the opening afterwards. The three it actually labelled London (two London Systems and one Accelerated London) were all losses, and two more went the same way. But the openings themselves went well: my accuracy over the first 12 moves of those seven games was between 84.4% and 97.0%. In the middlegames it fell to between 41.3% and 85.9%.
The turning points were single moves. In game 2077 against aminbd1 (1249), a knight move on move 18 took the evaluation from +1.12 to −9.36. In game 2082 against AhmedEssam04 (1223) I was +4.78 on move 31 and a rook move took it to −3.64. In game 2086 against Jaza_Faiq (1219), two blunders on moves 12 and 13, a bishop capture and castling, decided it.
One of my two White wins, game 2075, is the third key moment of the week.
Game 2075: a pawn move that invited a sacrifice
With White against omaralvarez93 (1235), in an Indian Game, the position on move 17 was about equal (−0.18). Black had a rook on h6, aimed down the h-file at my king's side.
Pawn to h3 gives Black's bishop something to hit: it can take the pawn on h3, next to my king, with the rook on h6 behind it. That's exactly what happened, and I took the bishop, which the engine rated as a forced mate in 9 for Black. My opponent missed it, and I won by resignation on move 29 (game 2075).
The lesson of the week
Count the free material on the board before choosing a plan. In two of my Pirc wins I had a strong capture, one winning a bishop while hitting the queen, one taking a bishop with check, and I chose a quieter move. In game 2085 I didn't see a mate in one. All three are the same blind spot: I look at my plan first and at the pieces that can be taken second. The order should be the other way round, every move, for both sides.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2074 | May 4 | Black | Ebensitumorang (1197) | Win | Pirc Defense | 70.7% | game |
| 2075 | May 4 | White | omaralvarez93 (1235) | Win | Indian Game | 88.4% | game |
| 2076 | May 5 | Black | Sh_Ayxan (1192) | Win | Pirc Defense, Classical Variation | 93.4% | game |
| 2077 | May 5 | White | aminbd1 (1249) | Loss | London System | 70.2% | game |
| 2078 | May 5 | White | Vitor_god22 (1213) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 d4 | 73.8% | game |
| 2079 | May 5 | Black | Gbeast8592 (1185) | Win | Pirc Defense, Classical Variation | 80.5% | game |
| 2080 | May 5 | Black | lionjose48 (1219) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 78.4% | game |
| 2081 | May 5 | White | FantonHike (1209) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Variation | 87.5% | game |
| 2082 | May 6 | White | AhmedEssam04 (1223) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening, Accelerated London System | 65.2% | game |
| 2083 | May 6 | Black | Abhinav3333222 (1300) | Loss | Pirc Defense, Classical Variation | 75.6% | game |
| 2084 | May 6 | Black | jewel_1304 (1241) | Loss | Pirc Defense, Classical, Schlechter Variation | 84.1% | game |
| 2085 | May 7 | White | m1roslav1981 (1214) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening, Horwitz Defense | 48.5% | game |
| 2086 | May 7 | White | Jaza_Faiq (1219) | Loss | London System | 77.8% | game |
| 2087 | May 8 | Black | pelapahniyur (1186) | Win | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 77.4% | game |
Keep reading: week 116 came before, week 118 comes next, and the full series is on the journey hub. Stockfish found every one of these moments; if you'd like that for your own games, see how it works.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Pirc Defense Classical Variation good for Black at club level?
In my week 117 it scored well: the Pirc Classical and its Schlechter line came up four times, with two wins and two losses, and the Pirc as a whole gave me three wins in five games. My best game of the week, 93.4% accuracy, was a Pirc Classical.
What is the Classical Variation of the Pirc?
In my games it came after White put pawns on e4 and d4 and developed both knights to c3 and f3, instead of pushing the f-pawn early as in the Austrian Attack. In this week's Pirc Classical games the first big mistakes came between moves 9 and 18.
Why do I lose with the London System?
Look past the opening. All seven of my White games this week began 1.d4 and 2.Bf4 and I lost five, but my accuracy in the first 12 moves was 84.4% to 97.0%. The middlegames decided them: in game 2077 one knight move on move 18 took the evaluation from +1.12 to −9.36.