Bishop tier · French Devotee · plays the London System
Matteo is a retired engineer from Osaka who has played the French Defence against 1.e4 for forty years, and his taste for pawn chains follows him into every opening. Against the London he heads straight for a structure he understands: ...d5, ...c5, ...Qb6 and then ...c4, locking the queenside into a chain that he defends the way a French player defends d5 and e6.
He is comfortable in closed positions where the pawns set the plan and he can manoeuvre behind them for a long time. He tends to protect his chain stubbornly, sometimes at the cost of piece activity, and he would rather keep a cramped bishop than loosen a single pawn. What makes him uneasy is pressure against the base or the head of the chain, because then his structure turns from a strength into a target. Matteo is a slow, careful opponent who must be made to defend something.
At 1966 ELO, Matteo rarely gives material away for nothing. He is held to that rating by the engine, so you will see the occasional inaccuracy in quiet positions, but tactics are usually spotted. Games are won by building a better position over many moves and converting it carefully.
Against the London System (1.d4, Nf3 and an early Bf4) Matteo answers with ...d5 and ...Nf6, then hits the centre with ...c5. The plan is the most direct one Black has: pressure d4, bring the queen to b6 to eye b2, and push ...c4 to gain space on the queenside once White's queen has gone to b3.
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.c3 Qb6 6.Qb3 c4
Learn it move by move: London System walkthrough
Matteo teaches you to attack a pawn chain at its head and its base, a skill that carries over to every closed structure from the French to the King's Indian.