Piece Pattern Atlas
London System
Where each piece lives in the middlegame that follows, drawn from 18,707 real games.
Its usual journeys
- g1–f35,688 games
- g1–f3–e55,010 games
- g1 · stays home849 games
- g1–f3–e5–c6767 games
When it leaves the board
Usually traded around move 13.
Survives past move 30 in 25% of games.
Most common end: e5, move 10 (531 games).
What its fate costs
Traded early (by move 8): White wins 54%. Kept: 53%. (n=1,399 / 17,308)
When it reaches f3: White wins 53%. When it never does: 54%. (n=16,733 / 1,974)
The choice
Move 1: d5 or Nf6?
Same opening, two futures for the g1-knight. Real games, side by side.
d5
After d5, the g1-knight spends 18% of the middlegame on g1; after Nf6, 5%. White scores 54% here (n=12,252).
Nf6
After Nf6, the g1-knight spends 63% of the middlegame on f3; after d5, 42%. White scores 52% here (n=3,331).