The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 f5 Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in the middlegame on White's ; however, it also weakens Black's kingside to an extent (especially the e8–h5 diagonal). 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. Historically, White has tried many methods to exploit the kingside weaknesses, such as the

Staunton Gambit The Staunton Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 f5 (the Dutch Defence) :2. e4!? White sacrifices a pawn for quick development, hoping to launch an attack against Black's , which has been somewhat weakened by 1... ...

(2.e4) and Korchnoi Attack (2.h3 and 3.g4). The Dutch has never been a main line against 1.d4 and is rarely seen today in high-level competition, although a number of top players, including

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...

Bent Larsen Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess grandmaster and author. Known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, he was the second strongest non-Soviet player, behind Bobby Fischer, for much of the 19 ...

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was c ...

Miguel Najdorf Miguel Najdorf (born Mojsze Mendel Najdorf) (15 April 1910 – 4 July 1997) was a Polish–Argentinian chess grandmaster. Originally from Poland, he was in Argentina when World War II began in 1939, and he stayed and settled there. He was ...

, and

Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru Nakamuraworld champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Mikhail Botvinnik and his challenger,

David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (russian: Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet and Ukrainian chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narro ...

, played it in their 1951 World Championship match.

History

Elias Stein Elias Menachem Stein (January 13, 1931 – December 23, 2018) was an American mathematician who was a leading figure in the field of harmonic analysis. He was the Albert Baldwin Dod Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at Princeton University, whe ...

(1748–1812), an Alsatian who settled in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, 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''.

Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...

rejected the opening as unsound in his 1931 work '' The Game of Chess'', arguing that White should reply with the

, with White being better after 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 c6 5.f3 exf3.

Theory

White most often

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many " hypermodern" ...

es their king's bishop with g3 and Bg2. Black also sometimes fianchettoes their king's bishop with ...g6 and ...Bg7 (the Leningrad Dutch), but may instead develop their 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 opening's attacking potential is shown in the

Polish Immortal Polish Immortal is the name given to a chess game between Glucksberg and Miguel Najdorf played in Warsaw. The game is celebrated because of Black's sacrifice of all four of his . Some sources give the date of this game as 1930 or 1935, and give th ...

, in which

, using the Stonewall Variation, sacrificed all of his to win by checkmate.

Practitioners

The Stonewall Dutch enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the 1980s and 1990s, when leading grandmasters Artur Yusupov,

Sergey Dolmatov Sergey Viktorovich Dolmatov (born February 20, 1959) is a Russian Grandmaster of chess and former World Junior Chess Champion. Born in Kiselevsk in the former Soviet Union, Dolmatov's solid yet enterprising style of play was soon to launch hi ...

Nigel Short Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach, and commentator, who is the vice-president of FIDE since October 2018. Short earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19, and was ranked third in the ...

and

Simen Agdestein Simen Agdestein (born 15 May 1967) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster, chess coach, author, and former professional footballer as a striker for the Norway national football team. Agdestein won eight Norwegian Chess Championships between 1982 an ...

helped develop the system where Black plays an earlier ...d5 and places his dark-squared bishop on d6. Termed the Modern Stonewall, this setup has remained more popular than the traditional early ...Be7.

Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...

has used the Stonewall to score wins against

Viswanathan Anand Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating o ...

and

Fabiano Caruana Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Caruana became a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days—the youngest grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United Sta ...

. Simon Williams is one of the leading practitioners of the classical Dutch and wrote more than one book on the opening.

White continuations

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. Examples: * traditional: 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 * common: 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 d6 (see diagram)

Other second moves

White has various more aggressive alternatives to the standard moves, including * 2.Nc3 Nf6 (or 2...d5) 3.Bg5 (Raphael Variation); * 2.Bg5, the Hopton Attack; e.g. 2...Nf6 (2...g6 is the most popular move) 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 or e4 * 2.Bf4 or 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4, the

London System The London System, also known as the Mason Variation, is an in chess where White opens with 1.d4 but does not play the Queen's Gambit, instead opting to rapidly develop the . This often results in a . The London System can be used against virt ...

* 2.g4, Krejcik Gambit * 2.e4!?, the

, named after

Howard Staunton Howard Staunton (April 1810 – 22 June 1874) was an English chess master who is generally regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Ama ...

, who introduced it in his match against Bernhard Horwitz. The Staunton Gambit was once a feared attacking line, but it has been out of favour for over 80 years. Grandmaster

Larry Christiansen Larry Mark Christiansen (born June 27, 1956) is an American chess player of Danish ancestry. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1977. Christiansen was the U.S. champion in 1980, 1983, and 2002. He competed in the FIDE World Champ ...

and International Master Jeremy Silman have opined that it "offers White equality at best." *

Carl Mayet Carl (Karl) Mayet (11 August 1810, Berlin – 18 May 1868, Stettin, now Szczecin) was a German chess master. He was one of the most original of the Berlin Pleiades (the seven stars of German chess). In 1839, Mayet defeated Jozsef Szen in a match ...

introduced a completely different gambit approach to the Dutch in 1839 against von der Lasa, playing 2.h3 followed by 3.g4. Von der Lasa later published analysis of this line in the first edition of the ''

Handbuch des Schachspiels ''Handbuch des Schachspiels'' (''Handbook of Chess'', often simply called the ''Handbuch'') is a chess book, first published in 1843 by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was a comprehensive reference book on the game, and one of the most im ...

''.

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. H ...

, one of the world's leading players, reintroduced the line into tournament practice in Korchnoi–Känel,

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...

1979. 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! * 2.e3, 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 The French Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e6 This is most commonly followed by 2.d4 d5, with Black intending ...c5 soon after, attacking White's and gaining on the . The French has a reputation for solidity ...

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.

''ECO''

The ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () is a reference work describing the state of opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Chess Informant). It is current ...

'' () has twenty codes for the Dutch Defence, A80 through A99. *A80: 1.d4 f5 *A81: 1.d4 f5 2.g3 (Fianchetto Attack) *A82: 1.d4 f5 2.e4 (

) *A83: 1.d4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 (Staunton Gambit) *A84: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 *A85: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 (Rubinstein Variation) *A86: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 (Fianchetto Variation) *A87: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 (Leningrad Dutch) *A88: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 c6 (Leningrad Dutch, Warsaw Variation) *A89: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Nc6 (Leningrad Dutch, Matulovich) *A90: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 (Classical Variation) *A91: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 *A92: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 *A93: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d5 7.b3 (Botvinnik Variation) *A94: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d5 7.b3 c6 8.Ba3 (Stonewall) *A95: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d5 7.Nc3 c6 (Stonewall) *A96: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 *A97: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Qe8 (Ilyin–Genevsky Variation) *A98: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Qe8 8.Qc2 (Ilyin–Genevsky Variation) *A99: 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Qe8 8.b3 (Ilyin–Genevsky Variation)

References

External links

Learning the Dutch DefenseNouvel essai sur le jeu des échecs 1789 (Internet Archive)
{{chess, state=collapsed Chess openings 18th century in chess