Roberto Patel: Level 27 Chess Rival (1774 ELO)

Bishop tier · Defensive · plays the London System

How Roberto plays

Roberto is a retired schoolteacher from Galway who plays chess the way he used to mark exams: carefully, and with no interest in surprises. Against the London he chooses the most structured reply he knows. He strikes with ...c5, brings the queen to b6 and, once your queen arrives on b3, closes the queenside with ...c4. After that he is content to sit behind a pawn chain that looks like a wall.

He is happiest in locked positions where nothing can happen quickly, and he will shuffle pieces for a long time if you let him. His weakness is the flip side of that patience. Because his attention is all on the queenside clamp, his king can end up with few defenders, and he tends to react slowly when the fight moves to the other wing. Roberto would much rather defend a bad position for forty moves than open lines himself.

At 1774 ELO, Roberto 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.

London System: the line Roberto plays

Against the London System (1.d4, Nf3 and an early Bf4) Roberto 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

How to beat Roberto

  1. Once ...c4 locks the queenside, his pieces drift toward that side. Prepare a kingside pawn advance with h3, g4 and g5 to kick his f6 knight, but only after your king is safe in the centre or on the queenside.
  2. Do not rush. He rarely creates counterplay of his own, so spend moves improving your worst piece first, typically by rerouting the queen's knight to f3 or e5 before committing any pawns.
  3. Keep the dark-squared bishop on the h2-b8 diagonal. Play h3 early so it can drop to h2 if he tries ...Nh5 to trade it, because that bishop is your main attacking piece.
  4. If you play the London into the book, finish development calmly with Nbd2, Be2 and castling, then aim at the e5 square with Ne5 and f4. The ...c4 advance closes the queenside, so the game is decided in the centre and on the kingside.
  5. The book only answers 1.d4. Open 1.e4 or 1.c4 and he is on their own from move one.

What beating Roberto teaches you

Beating Roberto trains you to recognise when the centre and one wing are closed and to switch your forces to the open sector. It also teaches patience against a rival who will not hand you anything.

Neighbours on the ladder