The Bughouse London System
In chess, 1.d4 used to be considered a little taboo. During the romantic era, it was rarely seen. Players did not know how to handle the closed positions. Later, that changed. Most of the games from the Capablanca-Lasker (1921) matches and Capablanca-Alekhine (1927) matches featured the Queen's Gambit Declined opening. In bughouse, 1.d4 was once considered if not taboo, then a little boring and annoying. But now many players prefer it. First, let's look very briefly at the London System in Chess.
When I said briefly, I meant it. Anyway, what is the bughouse London and why does anyone play it?
Pros
- Simple, easy to remember
- Strong development
- White is self-sufficient
- High or low trades from the other board are OK
- Immense pressure on the dark squares
Cons
- Hard to get early trades for partner
- Some light-squared weaknesses
- Attacks often come later in the game
There is no school of bughouse, where you learn all of this stuff. But this is the sense I get from watching high level streams and from playing the London as White. Of course, there is more to it, which 2700 rated players will appreciate.
It is important to appreciate the differences with the chess London System. The main one that springs to mind is that White should regard the move c2-c3 as a concession. One job of the c2 pawn is to occupy the c2 square, which prevents Black from dropping pieces on c2. Another job of the c2 pawn is to defend the d3 square, which is often the source of Black's counterplay. So in the following diagram...
Even without the Black Bishop on f5, c2-c3 is still weak.
Often White will trade on e4, and pressure the pawn used to recapture.
