Why learn the London?

It’s so bizarre to me that beginner to intermediate players actually learn and play the London System. Openings barely matter at lower levels anyway, yet they choose to spend a ton of time and effort in learning an opening that is well known for being very boring, having tons of variations you have to know, and for not giving you a lot of tactical opportunities, meaning at low levels it’s not conducive to teaching you how to recognize tactical patterns that will help you improve.

If you’re sub-elite, chess definitely isn’t a career, so why so would you put that much time into something that at best won’t even be fun? Why not put that effort and time into getting better at chess, instead of just learning the most boring opening, so all your games are slogs?

I hate when people play it against me so much, because then I know they are going to know way more theory than me, and I’m going to have to be worried that they are expecting every move deep into the game and that they will immediately know how to punish any little mistake. But more than that, I just don’t understand why they think it’s worth it. Anyone who plays it half-decently has spent time studying. Couldn’t they all be better at chess, if they instead spent time learning tactics or endgames?

Then if you get to the level that you’re playing chess seriously, and you have to actually know a bunch of theory to be competitive, you can then dedicate the time and effort to learning the boring slog parts like the London System. It’s makes no sense that it’s so common at beginner and intermediate level. Just do something fun with your time. I hate trap openings too, but at least learning them comes with the reward of feeling satisfied when the trick works. With London there’s no upside, and if you ever decide you actually do want to improve beyond your ceiling with it, you have to learn an entirely different way of playing.

The London System is known for its solidity. It’s hard to outright refute or attack the setup, which means that beginners can often reach middlegames without facing a significant disadvantage. This safety net can be appealing to players who are still working on their tactical vision and don’t want to lose quickly due to an opening trap.

London System is good. Here is a game from the most recent World Championship Match:

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2477747

I think the biggest misunderstanding is that they spend a ton of time on it. In high level chess the London is a very theoretical intensive opening, but at my <1600 level everyone I've seen playing it treats it like a system and plays the same moves no matter what black plays with few exceptions. And the truth is that is usually fine enough.

But should they? Is the London a boring and non tactical opening? If you know the theory but for most people they get into chaos pretty much immediately.

Probably the best reason.

Try the English Attack against the Najdorf.

I'm from London so it made sense to check it out. When I have the time I will study it properly, I have some books and a real chess board! It is actually great fun to play and yes it can also go pear shaped quickly - because as I am learning - you can't always do the standard opening moves against a sneaky opponent. For a beginner it definitely improves your game and teaches you to develop your pieces! And it also teaches you patience. Very it's like a game of poker, just waiting for your opponent to make a mistake and then they go on tilt 😀

I recommend for the OP to play the London!

Once, you get a taste of the London. Your not going to want to play something else.

The London is very solid. You don't wanna lose in 5 moves, the London is what you want. I use the London in some of my tournaments. I really like it. If I was playing against a GM and was white, I would use that.

The real appeal of the London is past the opening and into the middle-game, where White can build up some powerful kingside attacks that can be difficult to stop, if Black isn't careful.

For example:

And Black can't stop the mate.

Another example:

And another:

In the hands an experienced player, the London can be quite an aggressive opening - and Black shouldn't be lulled into thinking that it's just a "boring slog" ... or he might find himself getting attacked quite viciously.