Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in the middlegame on White's kingside ; however, it also weakens Black's kingside to an extent (especially the e8–h5 diagonal).[1] Like its 1.e4 counterpart, the Sicilian Defence, the Dutch is an aggressive and unbalancing opening, resulting in the lowest percentage of draws among the most common replies to 1.d4.[2] Historically, White has tried many methods to exploit the kingside weaknesses, such as the Staunton Gambit (2.e4) and Korchnoi Attack (2.h3 and 3.g4).
Elias Stein (1748–1812), an Alsatian who settled in The Hague, recommended the defence as the best reply to 1.d4 in his 1789 book Nouvel essai sur le Jeu des échecs, avec des réflexions militaires relatives à ce jeu.[4]
Siegbert Tarrasch rejected the opening as unsound in his 1931 work The Game of Chess, arguing that White should reply with the Staunton Gambit, with White being better after 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 c6 5.f3! exf3.[5]
Theory
White most often fianchettoes the king's bishop with g3 and Bg2. Black also sometimes fianchettoes the king's bishop with ...g6 and ...Bg7 (the Leningrad Dutch), but may instead develop the bishop to e7, d6 (after ...d5), or b4 (the latter is most often seen if White plays c4 before castling). Play often runs 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 (4.Nh3!? is also possible, intending Nf4–d3 to control the e5-square Black plays the Stonewall Variation) 4...Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 and now Black chooses between 6...d5 (the characteristic move of the Stonewall), 6...d6, the Ilyin-Zhenevsky Variation (less popular today), or Alekhine's move 6...Ne4!? retaining the option of moving the d-pawn either one or two squares.
The following are several known main variations which are important to know if one wants to really learn and understand the Dutch Defense.
The Leningrad Dutch, in the Leningrad variation of the Dutch Defense, black fianchettos the dark-squared bishop. From g7, this bishop will not only be a good defender of the king, but also an active piece on the long diagonal.
The game may proceed 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nc3 0-0 6. Nf3 d6 7. 0-0 Qe8. The g2 bishop helps protect white’s king against black’s possible kingside aggression, and this bishop would possible be blunted by the f5 pawn if it were instead to develop to d3.
The opening code for the Leningrad Dutch in the Dutch Defense is A87 to A89 in the ECO (Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings) classification system.
A87: Dutch Defense, Leningrad System
A88: Dutch Defense, Leningrad System with ...d6 and ...c6
A89: Dutch Defense, Leningrad System with ...d6 and ...Nc6
The second variation is The Stonewall Dutch in which black plays …d5 in the opening and secures a tight grip of the e4 square. A possible example is 1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. Nf3 d5 5. c4 c6.
The ECO codes for the Stonewall variation of the Dutch Defense are A90 to A92:
A90: Dutch Defense, Stonewall variation
A91: Dutch Defense, Stonewall variation with Nc3
A92: Dutch Defense, Stonewall variation with c4 and Nc3
The third variation is The Staunton Gambit, a fairly combative approach with Black's pawn sacrifice after 2. e4!?.
The Staunton Gambit is an aggressive attempt by White to sacrifice a pawn in exchange for rapid development and attacking chances against Black's Dutch setup.
The ECO code for the Staunton Gambit in the Dutch Defense is A83.
Of course, like any other opening in chess, there are countless variations and lines, but the above three are considered part of the main theory of the Dutch Defense.
Practitioners
The Stonewall Dutch enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the 1980s and 1990s, when leading grandmasters (GMs) Artur Yusupov, Sergey Dolmatov, Nigel Short and Simen Agdestein helped develop the system where Black plays an earlier ...d5 and places his dark-squared bishop on d6.[6] Termed the Modern Stonewall, this setup has remained more popular than the traditional early ...Be7.
Simon Williams is one of the leading practitioners of the classical Dutch[citation needed] and wrote more than one book on the opening.[9]
White continuations
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Position after 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 d6
The traditional move order involves White playing 2.c4. More commonly, White will start with 2.g3. Some common variations are: c4 is played after g3 and Bg2; c4 is played after Nf3; and c4 is played after 0-0.
Carl Mayet introduced a completely different gambit approach to the Dutch in 1839 against von der Lasa, playing 2.h3 followed by 3.g4.[15] Von der Lasa later published analysis of this line in the first edition of the Handbuch des Schachspiels.[16][17]Viktor Korchnoi, one of the world's leading players, reintroduced the line into tournament practice in Korchnoi–Känel, Biel 1979.[18] GM Christiansen later concluded, as von der Lasa and Staunton had done over 140 years earlier, that Black could get a good game by declining the gambit with 2...Nf6 3.g4 d5![19]
2.Qd3, the Alapin Variation
Black sometimes starts with the move order 1...e6 to avoid these lines, although Black must then be ready to play the French Defence if White continues 2.e4, rendering the Dutch no longer an option. The Staunton Gambit remains a good choice of opening for White in blitz tournaments where Black has little time to ponder the most accurate defense.
The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory. The other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences, known as openings, have standard names such as "Sicilian Defense". The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage.
The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
The Bogo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Queen's Indian Defense (QID) is a chess opening defined by the moves:
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:
Bird's Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move:
The Benoni Defense, or simply the Benoni, is a chess opening characterized by an early reply of ...c5 against White's opening move 1.d4.
The Dunst Opening is a chess opening in which White opens with the move:
The Queen's Pawn Game is any chess opening starting with the move:
The Zukertort Opening is a chess opening named after Johannes Zukertort that begins with the move:
In chess, an exchange variation is a type of opening in which there is an early, voluntary exchange of pawns or pieces. Such variations are often quieter than other lines because the early release of tension minimizes the possibility of surprise tactics or sharp, forcing lines, particularly where it results in a symmetrical pawn structure.
In chess, the Maróczy Bind is a term alternately used to refer to an opening or its associated pawn structure, named for the Hungarian grandmaster Géza Maróczy. When the Bind is discussed as an opening, it is defined as 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4. The Maróczy Bind opening is a continuation of the Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon, where 5.c4 is the characteristic move.
A Semi-Closed Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.d4 but Black does not make the symmetrical reply 1...d5.
A Steinitz Variation is any of several chess openings introduced and practiced, or adopted and advocated by Wilhelm Steinitz, the first officially recognized World Chess Champion.
The Van 't Kruijs Opening is a chess opening defined by the move:
↑ Stein, Elias (1789). Nouvel Essai sur le Jeu des Échecs: avec des Reflexions Militaires Relatives à ce Jeu[New Essay on the Game of Chess, with Military Reflections Regarding This Game] (in French). La Haye, France: (Self-published). pp.114–115. The Dutch defence is presented on p. 114: "Dix-huitieme Partie. Celui qui n'a pas la Trait ne veut pas recevoir le Gambit de la Dame. 1. B. Le P. de la D. 2 pas. N. Le P. du F. du R. 2 pas (a). 2. B. Le P. du F. de la D. 2 pas. N. Le C. du R. à la 3me case de son F." (18th Game. He who does not have the Treatise does not want to get the Queen's Gambit. 1. White: the Queen's pawn advances 2 squares; Black: the King's bishop pawn advances 2 squares (a) 2. White: the Queen's bishop pawn advances 2 squares; Black: The King's knight advances to the third square, in front of his [i.e., the King's] bishop.) From p. 115: "(a) On a déja vu que, quand on ne veut pas recevoir le Gambit du Roi, on doit pousser, au second coup, le pion de la Dame deux pas. De même vous devez observer que, lorsque votre adversaire commence par débuter au premier coup en poussant son pion de la Dame, deux pas, vous ne pouvez mieux faire que de pousser le pion du Fou du Roi deux pas." ( (a) One has already seen that when one does not want to get the King's Gambit, one should push, on the second move, the Queen's pawn two squares. Likewise, you should note that when your opponent begins on the first move by pushing his Queen's pawn two squares, you cannot do better than to push your King's bishop pawn two squares.)
↑ In 1939, Fine wrote that, "The Staunton Gambit ... offers White considerable attacking chances." Fine, R.; Griffith, R.C.; White, J.H. (1939). Modern Chess Openings, 6th edition. David McKay. p.176. In 1964, Horowitz wrote that the Staunton Gambit gives White "sharp attacking chances for his Pawn" and places the opponent at a psychological disadvantage by requiring Black to renounce his aggressive intentions and "resign himself to an accurate and stubborn defense". Horowitz, I.A. (1964). Chess Openings: Theory and Practice. Simon and Schuster. p.611. More recent writers have observed that fear of the Staunton Gambit has discouraged many players from using the Dutch. Yet many have used it anyway Christiansen, L.; Silman, J. (1989). The Dutch Defense. Chess Digest. p.192. ISBN0-87568-178-6.; Schiller, E.; Bill Colias (1993). How to Play Black Against the Staunton Gambit. Chess Digest. p.4. ISBN0-87568-236-7.
↑ In 1925, the editors of the Fourth Edition of Modern Chess Openings (MCO-4) wrote that the Staunton Gambit "has fallen out of favour for no clear reason". Griffith, R.C.; White, J.H. and M.E. Goldstein (1925). Modern Chess Openings, 4th edition. Whitehead & Miller. p.120. In 1939, Fine wrote in MCO-6, "The Staunton Gambit fell out of favour some time ago and still remains so ... ." Fine, R.; Griffith, R.C.; White, J.H. (1939). Modern Chess Openings, 6th edition. David McKay. p.176. GM Nick de Firmian writes in MCO-15 (2008) that the Staunton Gambit "is not in much favor today". de Firmian, N. (2008). Modern Chess Openings, 15th edition. Random House. p.494. ISBN978-0-8129-3682-7.
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