My Lichess nemesis: HumildePeon

The player I am most often matched with on Lichess is one HumildePeon, rated 1663 Blitz out of Mexico. Yesterday when I began writing this report, my match score against Humilde was a lousy 15-23. As of this morning it stands at an even lousier 15-25, after losses in the Englund Gambit and the Accelerated London.

The problem with the Englund Gambit is its trappy nature. Natural moves are dangerous to play, because experienced players memorize punishing lines against them. The only way to reliably defeat the Englund in fast time controls is to outmemorize the opponent. Against the London System I employ a Double-Fianchetto setup. It isn't a top defense, but that is the point. London players have a reputation for being risk-averse and superficial, and the Double-Fianchetto is a way to draw them out of their comfort zone.

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1. 2026-04-21 Englund Gambit with 6...Nb4

Position 1: White to move

Assigned the white pieces, I opened 1.d4 and Black replied 1...e5. I chopped with 2.dxe5, and Black threatened to chop back with 2...Nc6. I defended with 3.Nf3, and Black attacked again with 3...Qe7. I attacked Black's queen with 4.Bg5, and Black check-forked with 4...Qb4+. I retreated the bish with 5.Bd2, and Black chopped with 5...Qxb2. I disco-defended my rook with 6.Nc3, and Black opted for the 6...Nb4 variation. I continued 7.Nd4 per theory, and Black played the prophylactic 7...a6. I attacked Black's queen with 8.Rb1, and the queen found momentary refuge with 8...Qa3. I attacked again with 9.Rb3, and Black retreated the queen with 9...Qa5. I kicked Black's knight with 10.a3, and the knight withdrew with 10...Nd5. Ten moves of theory earned me an advantage of +3.0, but the eval bar dropped to +2.1 with the move 11.e4.

1. Why did I choose the move 11.e4?
Black's knight was a strong piece on d4, and the goal of 11.e4 was to force it onto a more passive square.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
The computer analysis doesn't disapprove of 11.e4; it lists it as the third-best move. The reason it's suboptimal is it allows Black to gain a material advantage and makes it harder for White to demonstrate his compensation.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top move is 11.Ndb5, putting the knight directly in the line of fire of Black's a6-pawn but blocking the Black queen's defense of her knight and leading to two critical sequences:
a. 11...Nxc3 12.Bxc3 and Black's only way to prevent 13.Nxc7+ is to give up his queen.
b. 11...axb5 12.Nxd5 and Black is again helpless to prevent 13.Nxc7+.

Position 2: White to move

Black exchanged with 11...Nxc3 12.Bxc3 and chopped with 12...Qxe5. My advantage was still a comfortable +2.3 as I had three pieces deployed to Black's one and a queen and bish ready to spring into action, but that advantage flipped to -2.8 with the move 13.Nb5.

1. Why did I choose the move 13.Nb5?
Feeling psychological pressure to prove the advantage I felt I must have, I looked for a move that would harass Black's queen and make my opponent regret his opening choice. In 13.Nb5 I thought I had found that move as it was a disco attack on the queen with a threat of 14.Nc7+. I expected 13...Qf4 after which a move like 14.g3 would force the queen off the diag with c7.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
What I missed was that my e-pawn not only hung but that chopping it came with check.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top move was 13.Bd3, defending the e4-pawn and prepping castles. It's a passive move but an improving one, building on the lead in development that was my most valuable asset in the position.

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2. 2026-04-21 Accelerated London

Position 1: Black to move

Assigned the black pieces, I replied to White's 1.d4 with the flexible 1...Nf6. White developed his bish a-la the London with 2.Bf4, and the move I have been playing in response has been 2...b6. White pushed 3.e3, and I fianchettoed with 3...Bb7. White continued 4.Nf3, and as the h5-square became available for my knight I availed myself of it immediately with 4...Nh5. Had White dropped the bish back with 5.Bg3 I'd have chopped with 5...Nxg3; had he attempted 5.Bg5 I would have to tread carefully on account of the potential for a disco attack on my knight, e.g. 5...h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Nfd2 and not 7...gxh5 but 8.Nf4; and in the event of 5.Be5, the best move, the engine recommends 5...d6 6.Ng5 disco-attacking my knight and 6...Nf6 7.Bxf6 exf6.

White continued inaccurately with 5.Ne5, and I correctly exchanged with 5...Nxf4 6.exf4. The computer doesn't have a problem leaving White's knight on e5, but I did and kicked it with 6...d6. The knight retreated with 7.Nf3, and prepped the kingside fianchetto with 7...g6. It is noteworthy that the move wanted by the computer for the last two turns was ...e6, making available the f6-square for my queen and the b4-square for my bish. Presumably, the absence of White's dark-square bish is what motivates this. White linked pawns with 8.c3, and I fianchettoed with 8...Bg7. After 9.Bd3 the computer wanted 9...c5 to invite 10.dxc5 bxc5 but I and opponent castled kingside with 9...0-0 10.0-0. Now I correctly struck with 10...c5, and White obliged with 11.dxc5 bxc5. After White's 12.Bc2 the computer wanted me to develop with 12...Nd7 or 12...Qc7, but I expanded on the queenside with 12...a5. White developed with 13.Nbd2, and I attacked with 13...Bh6 prompting 14.g3. I attacked again with 14...Qb6, and after White's 15.Rb1 the Fish evaluates my advantage as -0.8. That evaporated to -0.1 after 15...Bd5.

1. Why did I choose the move 15...Bd5?
15.Rb1 undefended a2 and 15...Bd5 attacked the pawn there.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
My bish had already moved once and it was actively positioned on b7. Furthermore, White could easily neutralize my threat to his pawn.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The computer's top move was 15...Nd7 deploying the last undeveloped minor piece and connecting the rooks. I can also conceive of a line where the knight maneuvers to c4 and a batter of bish and queen target White's knight on f3.

Position 2: Black to move

16.a3 removed White's pawn from harm's way, and 16...Nc6 deployed my last remaining undeveloped minor piece. 17.Nh4 gave me a tactical opportunity in the form of 17...Ba2, forcing White's rook to abandon the b2-pawn and allowing 18...Qxb2. Missing that, I instead replied 17...Rab8. White mobilized his queen to an attacking position with 18.Qg4, and I still could have gone for 18...Ba2 but attacked the queen with 18...Be3. White advanced 19.f5, opening up his d2-knight to an attack from my bish, and here I missed a strong move in 19...Nf5 that would have attacked White's queen and taken away the c4-square for White's knight. Instead I played 19...Bd7, and White's knight joined the kingside with 20.Ndf3. I unpinned my g-pawn with 20...Bg7, and White's 21.Qg5 invited 21...Bf6. White tried 22.Qh6, but I continued harassing with 22...Bg7. The queen relocated with 23.Af4, and I attacked again with 23...e5. My advantage after White's en-passant with 24.fxe6 was -1.1, but it flipped to +2.1 after 24...Be5.

1. Why did I choose the move 24...Be5?
Danger levels. Although my bish was attacked, 24...Be5 attacked White's queen. If the queen moved, I would chop the pawn on e6; if 25.Nxe5, then 25...dxe5 renewed my attack.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
The problem was White was up a pawn and could chop another pawn with check, i.e. the danger levels worked in his favor, not mine.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
What the computer wanted was 24...Bxe6. White could chop with 25.Qxd6 and leave me with three pawn islands, but I would have 25...Ba2 with the same threat as before of chopping on b2.

Position 3: Black to move

White remained up a pawn after 25.exf7+ Rxf7, and after 26.Qg5 I stacked on the f-file with 26...Rbf8. White had a strong move in 27.Be4, double defending the f3-knight from my rooks and threatening to skewer from the d5-square, but instead he blundered with 27.Nxe5. I think this is a blunder because 27...Nxe5 improved my knight. 28.f4 was another blunder, because of 28...c4+. Now I was in driver's seat, advantage -4.0, down a pawn but White's king was exposed. I replied to 29.Kg2 with 29...Bc6+, and White hid with 30.Kh3.

My advantage here stemmed from a tactical sequence that not only was impossible to see with 1:37 on the clock but even now looking at the board is beyond my calculation abilities. The move I played was 30...Bd7+. It was the second-best move and retained an advantage of -2.0 but is classified as a blunder. What the engine wanted was 30...Qe3, and the idea was not so much to close in on White's king as to trap White's queen with the bish on d7 and a pawn on h6. White repeated with 31.Kg2, and so did I with 31...Bc6+. We repeated again with 32.Kh3 Bd7+, and when White repeated a third time with 33.Kg2 I spent twenty seconds trying to figure out how to claim a draw in the app. Failing in that endeavor and with my clock down to 0:34, I repeated 33...Bc6+ but this time White blocked with 34.Nf3. I chopped with 34...Bxf3+, White rechopped with 35.Rxf3, I chopped the rook with 35...Nxf3, and White rechopped with 36.Kxf3. After all that, I still had an advantage of -4.8, but that fell to +0.3 after 36...Qc6+.

1. Why did I choose the move 36...Qc6+?
At this point I was frustrated for having wasted valuable time trying to find the option to claim a draw, and the most immediate forcing move was 36...Qc6+.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
The check accomplished nothing and in fact made things worse as it brought White's bish to a diag whence it could continued to d5-square and skewer my rook. Credit to the opponent for finding that skewer on the last move of the game.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top move was 36...Re8. With a rook patrolling the e-file, Black's queen would have a partner rather than trying to hunt White's king alone. Once the queen were to arrive at e3, White's uncoordinated pieces would be vulnerable to forks and double-attacks.

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3. 2026-04-20 Accelerated London

Position 1: Black to move

Game began much like the one above with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 b6 3.e3 Bb7 4.Nf3 g6, and here White continued 5.Bd3. I completed the double-fianchetto setup with 5...Bg7, and after 6.Nbd2 I attacked with 6...Nh5. White's best continuation was 7.Be5, in which case I would divert my attention away from the bish and strike at the center with 7...c5; or if 7.Bg5 then I attack with 7...h6. White, however, continued the way most London player do with 7.Bg3. An exchange ensued with 7...Nxg3 8.hxg3, and after 8...e6 9.c3 d6 the eval stood at 0.0. A series of normal development moves followed with 10.Qe2 0-0 11.g4, and I correctly struck in the center with 11...c5. Black correctly advanced 12.g5, and I should have maintained the tension in the center but chopped with 12...cxd5. The eval change on move 12 was negligible, but it is where the game started slipping away. After White rechopped with 13.exd4 his advantage was +0.4, and it grew to +0.7 when I pushed 13...a5.

1. Why did I choose the move 13...a5?
Concerned that White's light-square bish would chip away at the pawns around my king, I sought to trade it off with 14...Bb7.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
Gemini explains that White was gearing up for a kingside attack, and I therefore needed to draw his attention elsewhere on the board. Since the queenside was a low priority, the center was where I needed to focus my efforts. What happened in the game was that White chopped my bish, and rechopping with my knight left it in an awful position. Furthermore, 13...a5 made my b-pawn backward.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top recommendation was 13...Nbd7, deploying my last undeveloped minor piece and prepping to strike at White's center with the e-pawn.

Position 2: Black to move

White continued 14.g3, and I went ahead with my 14...Bb7 plan. White initiated the exchange with 15.Bxb7 Nxb7, leaving me with a sorely misplaced knight. After 16.Qf1, White's advantage was +0.8. That swelled to +4.0 after my 16...f6.

1. Why did I choose the move 16...f6?
If White were to ignore my attack on his pawn, I would chop with 17...fxg5 and have an open f-file for my rook. If White were to chop my pawn, I would rechop with 17...Rxf7 and still have an open f-file for my rook.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
While my king was starting to feel the pressure of White's impending rook-and-queen battery on the h-file, I was applying no pressure on White's king. As happened in the game, White could ignore the pawn tension generated by 16...f6 in favor of his attack on my king.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top recommendations are 16...Re8 and 16...e5, the only difference being move order and the point being threefold: pressure White's king along the e-file, open the c8-h3 diag for my queen and remove the defender of c5 in order for the square to become available for my knight.

Position 3: Black to move

White set up a rook-and-queen battery on the h-file with 17.Qh3 and I correctly gave up my h-pawn in favor of evacuating the king with 17...Kf7, but White correctly ignored my pawn in favor of 18.gxf6. I rechopped with 18...Qxf6, and White castled with 19.0-0-0. My best move here was 19...h6, but I pushed 19...h5. White set up a tactic with 20.Rde1, and his advantage of +1.8 surged to +4.7 when I played 20...b5.

1. Why did I choose the move 20...b5?
White having castled long, it seemed to me that breaking through on the queenside by engaging the c3-pawn from b4 was the way to create weaknesses. For example, 21...b4 22.c4 Nc5 23.dxc5 Qxb2+.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
My plan, aside from being slow and speculative, overlooked the tactic White found in 21.Rxe6 Qxe6 22.Ng5+.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The best moves in the position were 20...Qf5, offering to trade off the queens, and 20...Nc7, defending the e6-square.

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4. 2026-03-26 Englund Gambit with 6...Nb4

Position 1: White to move

Assigned the White pieces I opened 1.d4, and the game proceeded much like Game 1 of this report: 1...e5 2.dxe5 Nf6 3.Nc3 Qe7 4.Bg5 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Nc3 Nb4 7.Nd4 a6 8.Rb1 Qa3 9.Rb3 Qa5 10.a3. Here, instead of 10...Nd5, opponent tried 10...Nc6. Black's inaccuracy gave me a +3.7 advantage, but that fell to +1.9 upon playing 11.Nxc6.

1. Why did I choose the move 11.Nxc6?
Black had to pieces attacking my doubled e-pawn, one of which was the knight on c6. Moreover, I had multiple pawn weaknesses and 11.Nxc6 would force Black into doubled c-pawns.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
11.Nxc6 overlooked a tactic which I only found on the next move.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
Whereas 11.Ndb5 was correct in Game 1 when Black's knight was on d5, in this position with Black's knight on c6 the correct move was 11.Ncb5. If 11...Qb6 then 12.Nd6+ would win the queen, and if 11...Qa4 then 12.Nc7+ either winning a rook for a knight or even better 12...Kd8 13.Nxc6+ Kxc7 14.Ba5+ Kxc6 15.Rc3+ Kb5 16.Qd5+ leading to checkmate.

Position 2: White to move

After Black rechopped with 11...bxc6 I found 12.Nb5 and Black sacced his queen with 12...Qxb5. This led to 13.Rxb5 axb5, and I continued correctly offering a bish trade that Black correctly declined with 14.Bb4 c5. Here the computer finds a tactic with 15.Bxc5 Bxc5 16.Qd5 forking Black's bish and rook. Missing that, I retreated with 15.Be2 and Black chopped with 15...Rxa3. I continued 16.Qb1, and Black defended with 16...b4. I continued 17.Qb2, and Black developed with 17...Ne7. Material was equal and I had an advantage of +0.7, but my 18.Be3 gave an advantage of -1.2 to Black.

1. Why did I choose the move 18.Be3?
Black had an undefended pawn on c5. If that pawn were eliminated, my queen could then chop on b4.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
The bish got in the way of my rear e-pawn, which in turn was in the way of my light-square bish.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top recommendation was 18.e4, opening up a diag for my light-square bish and controlling the d5- and f5-squares where Black's knight was poised to land.

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5. 2025-10-17 Accelerated London

Position 1: Black to move

Assigned the black pieces I replied to White's 1.d4 with 1...Nc6, and the game continued 2.Bf4 b6 3.e3 Bb7 4.Nf3 Nh5. Here White continued 5.Be5, and correctly attacked with 5...d6. White retreated with 6.Bg3, and exchanged with 6...Nxg3 7.hxg3. I prepped the second fianchetto with 7...g6, and White developed with 8.Bd3. I fiachettoed with 8...Bg7, and White completed a pawn pyramid with 9.c3. Here the engine wanted 9...Nd7 but accepts 9...e5 leading to 10.dxe5 dxe5. White continued 11.e4, and now I developed with 11...Nd7. White mirrored with 12.Nbd2, and I moved in for the attack with 12...Nc5. White's 13.Bc2 gave me an advantage of -1.1, but that dwindled to -0.6 after my 13...a5.

1. Why did I choose the move 13...a5?
Presumably White intended to castle long, and pushing my a-pawn would either compel him to reconsider or give my queenside attack a headstart in the event he did castle there.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
White's king was uncastled, and the only square available for the queen in order to castle long was e2. My thinking should have been how to disrupt my opponent's immediate goal of clearing the queenside and thereby disrupt his longer-term goal of castling.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top recommendation was 13...Ba6, with the subtle idea of keeping White's queen stuck on d1 and the king stuck in the center.

Position 2: Black to move

White continued 14.a3, and I pushed 14...b5. White developed his queen with 15.Qe2, and I threatened a disco-attack with 15...Ba6. White moved his queen off my bish's diag with 16.Qe3, and I blundered my knight with 16...0-0. White missed it and double-attacked my h7-pawn with 17.Ng5 and I pushed 17...h6. Now White chopped with 18.Qxc5, but this allowed 18...hxg5 -- although 18...Qxg5 would have been better. White castled long with 19.0-0-0, and I prematurely pushed 19...b4. We exchanged with 20.cxb4 axb4 21.Qxb4, and I attacked White's rook with 21...Be2. White counterattacked with 22.Re1, and I retreated with 22...Bh5. White continued 23.Nf3, and I attacked White's queen with 23...Rb8. White double-attacked my e-pawn with 24.Qc3, and I defended with 24...Qf6. White double-attacked my forward g-pawn with 25.Qe3, and I prepped a rook stack with 25...Rb6. White's chop with 26.Qxg5 gave me an advantage of -1.5, but my 26...Qxg5+ gave White a +0.4 advantage back.

1. Why did I choose the move 26...Qxg5+?
It seemed to me that allowing White's queen to remain on g5 unchallenged was unacceptable, especially as 27.g4 was imminent. However, as I had no way of challenging, I traded.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
"To take is a mistake." I had better things to do with my tempo than help White advance his knight to g5. Indeed, my queen was more useful to me in pressuring White's queenside than opponent's queen was to him on my kingside.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top recommendation was 26...Qe6, even saccing a rook a-la 27.b3 Rxb3 28.Bxb3 Qxb3 and swinging the f8-rook over to the queenside.

Position 3: Black to move

White rechopped with 27.Nxg5, and I stacked on the b-file with 27...Rfb8. White pushed 28.b4, and I went after the a-pawn with 28...Ra8. White defended the best way with 29.Kb2, and I stacked on the a-file with 29...Rba6. White defended with 30.Ra1, and I targeted the second rank with 30...Rd8. White blundered his rook with 31.Rhd1, but I missed it and replied 31...Rad6. We exchanged with 32.Rxd6 Rxd6, and White double-attacked my f7-pawn with 33.Bb3. Now I infiltrated with 33...Rd2+ and chopped with 34.Kb1 Rxf2. After White's 35.Nxf7 the computer gives 35...Rxg2 as the best move, but I exchanged with 35...Rxf7 36.Bxf7+ Kxf7 for fear of the disco check.

White had a passed a-pawn and my bishes were tangled up on the other side of the board, so after 37.Kb2 I gave my light-square bish more scope with 37...Be2. White took aim at my iso c-pawn with 38.Rc1, and as I couldn't save it I replied 38...Kf6. White chopped with 39.Rxc7, and I attacked with 39...Bd3. White gave a check with 40.Rc6+, which was fine with me as 40...Kg5 was a free tempo for my king to target White's doubled iso g-pawns. 41.Rc7 was similarly a free tempo for improving my bish with 41...Bf6. White's 42.Kc3 allowed 42...Bxe4 and the position was equal. 43.b5 allowed 43...Bxg2, and 44.b6 invited a skewer in 44...Bd8 -- but I missed it in favor of 44...e4+. After 45.Kd2 I attacked White's rook with 45...Be5, and after 46.Rc5 Kf5 White was up +9.7 because 47.Ke3 would have allowed 48.Rxe5+ followed by 49.b7 and 50.b8=Q+.

White's immediate 47.b7 was therefore a blunder as it allowed 47...e3+ and the exchange 48.Kxe3 Bxb7. Now White started advancing on the a-file with 49.a4, and I correctly moved to intercept with 49...Ke6. Next came the first of two tragic missed tactics as White's 50.Kf2 invited 50...Bd4+, but I missed it in favor of 50...Kd6. White attacked my light-square bish with 51.Rb5, and I counterattacked with 51...Bc6. Now came the second missed tactic in 52.Rb6, but I again missed it in favor of 52...Kc5. White's 53.Rb3 allowed 53...Bxa4, and after 54.Re3 I finally found 54...Bd4, spiking my advantage to -79.9. After 55.Ke2 we exchanged with 55...Bxe3 56.Kxe3, and the game continued 56...Bc6 57.Kf4 Bd7 58.Ke3 Bf5 59.Kf4 Kd5 60.g4 Bb1 61.Kg5 Ke5 62.Kh4 Kf4. Then came the critical moment: White pushed 63.g5 and the eval bar indicates I was #-14. The game ended with 63...Bf5 as White was left with no legal moves.

1. Why did I choose the move 63...Bf5?
My plan might have been to follow up with 64...Bg4 and 65...h5 to force White's king to h3.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
63...Bf5 took away the h3-square from White's king, leaving him immobilized on h4 with a pawn that also couldn't advance.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
What I needed to do was force White to h3 with a waiting move. For example, 63...Bc2 64.Kh3 Kxg5 and White's king would be helpless to stop my g-pawn from promoting.

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► 2026-04-26 update

Move 15: Black resigns

Moments ago the Lichess system matched me yet again with HumildePeon and assigned me white pieces. Our game began with the usual 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bg5 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Nc3 Nb4 7.Nd4 a6 8.Rb1 Qa3 9.Rb3 Qa5 10.a3 Nd5, and here thanks to this report I knew 11.Ndb5. We exchanged with 11...Nxc3 12.Bxc3 and Black tried 12...Qb6, but 13.Nd6+ and Black gave up his queen with 13...Qxd6 14.exd6. After 14...Bxd6 15.Bxg7, Black resigned. 16-25.