Dutch Defense

The idea

The f-pawn on f5 controls e4 and gives Black space on the kingside. Black then chooses a setup. The Stonewall puts pawns on c6, d5, e6 and f5, a rock-solid wall with a hole on e5. The Leningrad plays ...g6 and ...Bg7, like a King's Indian with the f-pawn already forward. The Classical keeps it flexible with ...e6, ...Be7 and ...d6.

White usually puts a bishop on g2 to fight on the long diagonal, and later aims at the e5 square or the e6 pawn. Black looks for ...e5 in the Leningrad and Classical, or a kingside attack with ...Qe8 and ...Qh5 in the Stonewall.

Unbalanced from the first move. The Dutch weakens Black's king a little, especially on the e8 to h5 diagonal, but gives real winning chances. It was played by several world champions in big games.

Players who want to play for a win against 1.d4 and like kingside play. It also suits those who want to avoid the deep theory of the Queen's Gambit.

Watch the diagonal from h5 to e8. Early Qh5+ ideas and the Staunton Gambit, 2.e4, can catch an unprepared Dutch player.

The main line, move by move

1. 1.d4 · White puts a pawn in the center where the queen guards it, and frees the bishop on c1. It leads to slower, more strategic games than 1.e4.
2. 1...f5 · The Dutch Defense: Black takes the e4 square with a pawn and plans to attack on the kingside. The price is a king with less cover and a bishop on c8 that is slow to develop.
3. 2.c4 · White takes more space in the center and prepares Nc3, so that two pieces will fight for e4 and d5. The pawn move also opens a path for the queen toward b3.
4. 2...Nf6 · Black develops the knight toward the kingside and adds a second guard to e4. It also gets Black ready to castle, which matters because the f-pawn has moved and the king has less cover.
5. 3.g3 · White prepares to put the bishop on g2. From there it will look down the long diagonal toward e4 and b7, and it will shield the king once White castles, the usual answer to the Dutch.
6. 3...e6 · Black opens the diagonal for the bishop on f8 and supports a later ...d5. It keeps the e-file closed, which suits a plan of attacking on the wing rather than in the center.
7. 4.Bg2 · The bishop lands on g2, where it watches e4 and the whole long diagonal. It is the piece that keeps White's king safe against Black's kingside plans.
8. 4...Be7 · Black develops the bishop so castling is next. From e7 it guards the knight on f6, and later it can swing to d6 to aim at White's king.
9. 5.Nf3 · White develops the knight and prepares to castle. From f3 it watches e5, the square where Black would like to push ...e5 and open the center, and it covers g5 and h4 near White's king.
10. 5...O-O · Black castles, tucking the king away while the center is still quiet. The rook now sits on f8 behind the f-pawn, ready for a kingside attack.
11. 6.O-O · White castles too, with the bishop on g2 as the king's shield. The plan is to fight for e4 with Nc3 and Qc2, or to trade off Black's dark bishop with b3 and Ba3.
12. 6...d5 · The Stonewall: pawns on d5, e6 and f5 build a wall that keeps White's pieces off e4. The cost is a hole on e5 that no Black pawn can guard, and a boxed-in bishop on c8.

Next moves in book

• 2.Nc3 · Raphael Variation
• 2.Bf4
• 2.Bg5 · Hopton Attack
• 2.c4 · Dutch Defense
• 2.Qd3 · Alapin Variation
• 2.e4 · Staunton Gambit
• 2.Nf3
• 2.g3 · Fianchetto Attack
• 2.g4 · Krejcik Gambit
• 2.h3 · Korchnoi Attack

Related openings

• Queen's Gambit Declined D02–D69 · 138 named lines
• King's Indian Defense E60–E99 · 109 named lines
• Nimzo-Indian Defense E20–E59 · 68 named lines
• Englund Gambit A40 · 9 named lines