Tomás Reyes: Level 2 Chess Rival (700 ELO)

Pawn tier · Steady Beginner · plays the London System

How Tomás plays

Tomás is nine and already has the patience of a much older player. His coach gave him one clear plan against 1.d4, and he follows it with care: pawns to d5 and c5, a knight on f6, the queen out to b6 to look at your b-pawn. He likes knowing what comes next, and for the first dozen moves he usually does.

The trouble starts when the plan runs out. Tomás feels at home in closed, tidy positions where nothing is under attack, and he tends to keep pushing queenside pawns because that worked in the opening. When you create a threat on the other side of the board, he often notices it a move late. He also has a young player's attachment to his queen: once it sits on b6, he can lose track of whether it is doing something useful or just standing there. Steady is the right word for him, but steady is not the same as alert, and his games are usually decided by the first threat he does not see coming.

At 700 ELO, Tomás plays like a real club player at that rating: he sees simple threats but still leaves pieces hanging and misses tactics two or three moves deep. Check every capture he offers, and look for loose pieces after each of his moves. Most games at this level are decided by the first clean tactic, not by the opening.

London System: the line Tomás plays

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

  1. When his queen lands on b6, cover b2 with Qb3 or Qc2 and move on. His queen is then a long way from his king, which is the moment to turn your pieces toward the kingside.
  2. After ...c4 his queenside pawns have done their job and his plan is mostly spent. Count his loose pieces every move: at 700 he leaves bishops and knights undefended while still thinking about the queenside.
  3. Make a simple threat on the kingside, such as Ng5 eyeing h7 and f7 with your queen on c2 behind it. He tends to answer only the last thing that happened, so a second threat elsewhere often wins material.
  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 Tomás teaches you

Tomás teaches you to play against a plan rather than a person: let his opening scheme finish, then move the fight to the side of the board he is ignoring.

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