Is the London System truly no skill?

Personally, I think its a mixture. What about you guys?

I dont know. If you walk from your flat to Piccadilly Circus you dont find a chap that has a clue.

Its so unknown in London, that...does anybody know the London?. Maybe a woman enjoying a scone with her afternoon tea knows the London?

Meme post, serious answer. It requires a lot more skill than one might expect against a competent opponent, but as with some openings (especially the ones which aren’t the very best of the best), it’s very simple and easy to capitalize if your opponent doesn’t know any of the counterplay.

There is no such thing as a no skill opening. I never played the london but if people say its no skill they probably dont fight it the right way. I like playing against the London, sure its hard to crack but you can force white to not play their setup exactly like they want to. If you allow them to get everything they want you will most probably end up in a bad position.

I still had to put effort in to learn it, but in chat, people were constantly saying it's no skill and Its the exact same game every single time. Iv also had people say that it ruins chess. I don't know if these people are mad and salty but yeah. Personally, I disagree with these players but that's just me.

These are ignorant people trying to look smart. There chess skills are limited, but they love to hear themselves talk

These type of people get warnings in my club. After that, they are expelled. We also forbid unsound gambits and moving Rook pawns on the first move (for either White or Black). This type of Chess is only permitted with written consent from the opponent and the "offending" player is forced to make such moves in a rated game.

people play the london to avoid learning actual openings and they typically just repeat the same pyramid setup then play it like a colle which is why it has such a bad reputation. another reason why people hate it is because 90% of the 1.d4 players at the club level play this or the colle which makes the game boring and gets people mad because they cant play their mar del plata kings indian or some sharp semi slav or the benko.

but the people who dont treat it like some system get a little respect

the london is often very boring if black plays the optimal computer lines and it just ends up a reverse slav where a bunch of exchanges happens and you draw the endgame

I agree, but it's still very good if you're still open to learning new things. However, the draw thing is very inaccurate. It's a fresh experience around when the opening phase is over.

when i play the most optimal lines agianst the london we either draw just because neither of us could gain an advantage and the game ends up as some 95% accurate game because there were 0 tactics or i win because white screwed something up in the endgame

it certainly requires skill to play the london system. with that being said i still believe there are better openings and i wouldnt reccomend it to others anymore.

in the london system you give equality move 2, then you have to figure out how to gain the advantage agian, which i guess could be hard.

but you could have played 2.c4 and kept your advantage and more active play

The London is boring for me, personally. I try to treat chess like a mental exercise for outwitting your opponent, and thinking through the process. When I’ve played the London or played against it, the tactics were hardly present, and it just felt like a waste of time. Games are suppose to challenge you; playing just to acquire a higher number without growing as a person is pathetic imo. But, again, to each their own; the London is just not thoughtful/strategic at the sub-1800 level especially when noobs are spamming it.

TL;DR, it’s a valid opening. But noobs spamming the system to avoid thinking is what I dislike about. Challenge your brain, and grow as a player.

d4 gets a very bad reputation at the club level because everyone who plays it is typically a lazy patzer who just wants to be a bum and cut out learning any opening for white. also not the mention but the london system is very boring for both sides (unless one side messes up) and typically black will end up with an edge just because white gave up their initative.

as you get better the london system becomes less and less reliable when you are playing for a win

I think it's like any opening. It's good and requires skill to learn. However, the problem is people stick with it for too long.

I believe it works best when you incorporate it into a larger repertoire. This way, you aren't playing it all the time, falling into a repetitive habit - instead, you can play it occasionally, while alternating between other White openings as well.

This'll keep your view of the opening fresh, and help prevent it from feeling overfamiliar.

Variety is the spice of life, and all that jazz ...

I couldnt agree more with that statement.

@d_new_11 that's exactly what I think. There's also no transposition when playing the London, while starting with E4 usually leads to sharp and fun openings