Jump to content

Dutch defence

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dutch defence
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
f5 black pawn
d4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
White to move

The Dutch defence is one of the oldest chess openings. It aims to counter-attack White's kingside in the middlegame. White can respond in various ways:

2.g3. This fianchetto of the bishop signals White's attempt to control the central squares. It is the main line for tournament players. White continues with moves like Bg2, Nf3, 0-0, c4, Nc3.

2.Bg5. This makes 2...Nf6 doubtful, since 3.Bxf6 doubles Black's pawns and makes Black's game more difficult. Black usually plays 2...g6 to fianchetto his bishop before he plays Nf6. 2...g6 marks the Leningrad variation of the Dutch defence. White's bishop cannot trapped: 2...h6 3.Bh4 g5 4.Bg3 f4? 5.e3! Mate is threatened (6.Qh5#), so the pawn on f4 is won.

2.e4. This is Staunton's Gambit. After 2...fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 d5 5.f3, White may or may not have enough for the pawn loss.

Further reading

[change | change source]
  • McDonald, Neil (2004). Starting out: the Dutch Defence. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-857443-77-2.
  • Williams, Simon; Palliser, Richard and Vigus, James (2010). Dangerous weapons: the Dutch. Everyman Chess. ISBN 978-1-85744-624-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)