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 Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com
Neil McDonald

play the Dutch

an opening repertoire for Black based on the Leningrad Variation

EVERYMAN CHESS
Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com
www.Ebook777.com
First published in 2010 by Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman
Publishers plc ) , Northburgh H ouse, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT

Copyright © 2010 Neil McDonald

The right of Neil McDonald to be identified as the author of thi s work h as been
asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication m ay be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system or tran smitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission of the publi sher.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

I S B N : 978 1 8 5 744 641 8

Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, P.D Box 480,
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Everyma n Chess Series

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Cover design by Horatio Monteverde.
Printed and bound in the US by Versa Press.
Contents

Preface 5

Introduction 7

1 Gambit Lines and Early Oddities 16

2 White Plays 2 tbC3 37

3 White Plays 2 il.gs 52

4 White Avoids an early g2-g3 against a Leningrad Set-up 65

5 Sidelines in the Leningrad Variation 87

6 The Main Line Leningrad: 7 tbc3 c6 115

7 The Main Line Leningrad: 7 tbc3 tbc6 140

8 The Dutch versus 1 tbf3 and 1 c4 155

Index of Variations 172

Index of Games 174

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Preface

It is an appealing feature of the Dutch that 1 .. .fS can be played again st virtually
any opening move apart from 1 e4.
H owever, this is slightly misleading if it suggests that you only h ave to learn
one basic sequence of moves after 1 .. .fS and then you are ready for anything. In
reality the Dutch l eads to a range of pawn structures, each of which requires its
own special treatment. For example, thi s book is built around the Leningrad
Dutch, but in many cases Bl ack will do best to set up a Stonewall centre with ... d7-
dS, rather than play the 'characteristic' ... d7-d6 Leningrad move.
Likewise after 2 ttJC3, 2 ..tg s and other early divergences by White, the pawn
structure h as little, or sometimes nothing at all, in common with the traditional
Leningrad Dutch . Thus at times the centre is characteri stic of the Queen 's Gambit;
at other times the King's Indi an ; and after 2 ..tg s it feel s like a strange Sicilian
Hedgehog !
So more preparation is required to play the opening than is apparent at first
glance, when 1 . .fS appears such a great l abour-saving device. On the plus side you
.

are going to h ave more fun playing the Dutch - its variety mean s you aren 't going
to grow bored of it any time soon .
In view of the range of possibilities after l...fS, can we say that there is any one
strategic theme that run s through the openin g ? I find the varied adventures of
Black's f-pawn the most intriguing aspect of the opening. The pawn is cast for­
ward irretrievably into the world on move one, and ends up performing varied

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Play t h e D u tc h

roles, sometimes i n the same game: a battering ram when i t advances t o f4; a pil­
lar of the state in the Stonewall, perhaps supporting a knight on e4; and the de­
stroyer of the white centre when it is exchanged for a pawn on e4. In a less aggres­
sive role it sits patiently on fS, restraining the white centre. Destroyer, restrainer,
pillar: the impact of the f-pawn is felt throughout the game, even if it vanishes
from the board at an early stage.
The Dutch i s a difficult opening for both players to h an dle, and sometimes it all
goes wrong for Black. H owever, there are al so great moments when the f-pawn
shows its power. Even the strongest opponents can find their position ripped up
by the dynamism of this little pawn .
Let me wish you good luck in your Dutch adventures. H ave fun with the f­
pawn !

N eil McDonal d
Gravesend
September 2008

6
 I ntr o d ucti on

Some St rate g ica l a n d

Ta ctica l Themes i n t h e D utch

Before w e become immersed i n sophis- 6 0-0 7 0-0 e6

...

ticated modern theory, I thought I'd

show you one of the very first Dutch
games on record.

Ci.Wa l ker-P. De Saint Amant

London 1836

1 d4 fs 2 e4 ttJf6 3 ttJe3 d6 4 ttJf3 e6?!

Chess history, or at least its termi­
nology, would h ave to be rewritten if
Bl ack had played 4 ... g 6 here, since the s .te2?!
Leningrad Dutch wasn't invented until Nowadays we'd expect 8 e4, seizing
a hundred or so years after this g ame. space before Black can establish a
Not surprisingly, Black puts his bishop Stonewall with his next move.
on e7 in Classical Dutch style. S dS 9 exd s exd s 10 iLd2 ttJe6 11 'iie 2
..•

S e3 iLe7 6 .td 3 a6 12 a3 .1i..d 6 13 b4 ttJe4!

White is al so unable to play in mod­ A procedure that will be much re­
ern style by fianchettoing his king's peated throughout this book. Bl ack
bi shop with S g 3 and 6 .1i..g2. m akes use of the 'de facto' outpost on

7
Play t h e D u tc h

e4. Its effect i n 1836 is such that White guard thing s on g7. H ere the dark
immediately blunders a pawn . squares around the black kin g are en­
tirely unprotected. Still, even after this
positional blunder the wedge of pawn s
on the light squares acts as a barrier
against the white attack.
25 f4 �b8 26 l:!.b1 iLe8 27 �b6
The manoeuvre 27 iLe1 and 28 iLh4
to infiltrate the dark squares on the
kingside l ooks strong .
2 7. . .�a7 28 iie7 d4 29 e 4 fxe4 30 f5?
A clever attackin g idea but with a
fatal flaw. H e should prefer 30 iLxe4.
14 b5? tiJxe3 15 iLxe3 axb5 16 �xb5
.l::txa 3 17 l:.xa 3 iLxa 3 18 .l::. a 1 i.. d 6 19
i.. d 3 �e7 20 iLd2 i.. d 7 21 iib3 J:tb8 22
l:te1 l:!a8 23 tiJe5 i.. x e5 24 dxe5
Now Black could keep his extra
pawn with 24 ... iixe 5 25 �xb7 l:ta7 26
"iVb6 ':a1 followed by simplifying. How­
ever, it seem s that Saint Amant wanted
to strengthen the f5 -pawn against any
possible i.. xf5 sacrifice.

30 ... 'iWb8!
Walker was hoping for 30 ... exd3 ? 3 1
f6 ! b 6 (to stop mate on g 7) 3 2 f7+ �g 7
3 3 iLh 6+! �xh 6 34 f8ii+ completing a
brilliant career for the f-pawn . In stead
he is obliged to exch ange queen s and
after some further adventures was de­
feated in the endgame by the pretty
finishing stroke 40 ... tiJf7.
3 1 'i\¥xb8 tiJxb8 3 2 i..x e4 gxf5 3 3 i.. x b7
24 ... g6?? iLxb7 34 Itxb7 :a1+ 35 �f2 tiJe6 36
The Leningrad Dutch king side pawn iLh6 tiJxe5 37 l:tg7+ �h8 38 h3 l:[a2+ 39
structure is ri sky enough for Black even �g3 f4+ 40 �xf4 tiJf7! 41 l:[xf7 .l:.f2+ 42
when there is a bishop available to �e4 l:txf7 43 �xd4 J:tf6 0-1

8
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

The Dutch pawn-ra m passed pawn h ave all become impor­

tant dyn amic factors in the position
th anks to the sacrifice of the torrent
pawn . The upshot is that thanks to the
' Dutch' pawn Bl ack gains activity in
what would otherwise h ave been a
dour defen sive position for him.
2 5 .ie5
It is the bl ack TOok on the c-file that
profits after 2 S g 3 d4 26 .id2 ':C2.
25 ...':'C4 26 ttJc3 d4 2 7 ttJa2

The position was reached in

V.Sergeev-N.Firman, Alushta 2009. It
looks as though Black can't do anything
but suffer with 2 3 ... l:ted8. H owever,
there came:
23 f41 1
•••

A move of splendid vitality.

24 exf4 ttJe6
What h as Black achieved with his
.. .fS-f4 move that serves him so well in
the Dutch ? N ow Black should have continued
Firstly, the scope of the bishop on a7 g enerating dynamism with his pawns
has been increased - it attacks f2 with 27 ... g S ! , creating a passed pawn
rather than (in Nimzowitsch's memo­ and active pieces after 28 fxg s ttJxg S .
rable phrase) 'bitin g on granite' Still, he m an aged t o win the endgame
against e3. anyhow after 22 moves.
Secondly, the rook on e8 is granted
an open file. Black esta blishes
Thirdly, the pawn on dS is converted a pawn wedge in the centre
into a passed pawn th at can advance to Sometimes the .. .fS-f4 pawn-ram oc­
d4 where it will be well defended. curs in a closed or static pawn struc­
Fin ally, the knight on e6 h as been ture after systematic preparation. Of­
activated with a threat to f4 as 2S ':'xdS ten White can be accused of nothing
ttJxf4 intending 26 ... ttJe2+ is at least worse than passive play in the Dutch,
okay for Black. but ends up in great difficulties before
So a black TOok, knight, bishop and move 20. Here is a typical positional

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Play t h e D u t c h

squeeze by Black again st passive play,

adorned with the pawn-ram .

W.Buehl-L.Reifurth
Chicago 1994

1 d4 fs 2 liJf3 liJf6 3 g3 g6 4 .i.g2 .i.g7 S

c4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 liJC3 c6 8 b3 'ii'a s 9
.i.b2 e5 10 'it'c2?

15 b4 .i.e6 16 liJa4 .i.f7 17 'it'd2

White h as no counterplay and so
Bl ack h asn't hurried his attack. How­
ever, now he decides it is time for vio­
lence:
17 ...liJg4 18 h 3 .i.h6! 19 e3
Black provoked this move so th at a
future .. .fS-f4 breakthrough will not
only attack e3 but al so contain the
threat of .. .f4-f3, smothering the bishop
An irresolute move that allows Black on g 2 .
to g et a grip on the centre. In stead 10 1 9. . .liJf6 20 � c 3 a6 2 1 l:t b l b 6 22 liJc2
dxe s dxes 11 e4 is di scussed in Chapter .i.e8 23 :fcl g5 24 .i.fl liJe7!
Six.
10 e4 ll liJel
•..

From bad to worse. He should pl ay

1 1 liJd2 followed by 12 e3 and then try
to edge forwards on the queen side.
11 d S 12 cxd 5?
..•

The fin al mi stake, giving the black

knight the c6-square.
12 ... cxd 5 13 a3 liJc6 14 ,l;tdl 'it'd8!
The queen has served her purpose
on the queenside and i s now n eeded to
support a king side attack. Black's basic Nicely done. Bl ack win s time to m a­
aim is to advance .. .fS-f4 at the most noeuvre his knight to g 6 to support the
favourable moment. .. .fS-f4 advance by a discovered attack

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 I n t ro d u c t i o n

on the knight on a4. and h ave t o b e grasped!

25 ttJb2 The following position was reached
The white pieces are grouped on the in A.lljushin-E.Berg, European Champi­
queen side, but what can they do? onship, Budva 2009.
25 ...f4
The Dutch pawn h as the decisive
word.
26 exf4 gxf4 27 gxf4 ttJg6 28 �h1 ttJxf4
29 i.g2 ttJg4!
It's not too late for Black to throw it
all away with 29 ... ttJxg 2 ? 30 'iVxh6 when
31 :g l gives White a strong attack.

The c6-pawn i s attacked twice. If

21 ... i.e8 then 22 ttJe6 win s the ex­
change, while 21 ... i.xd4 22 'ii'x d4 gives
up Black's important dark-square
bishop, and 21 ... c5 22 .l:tb7 'iVc8 23 ttJc6
'ii'xb7 24 ttJxd8 'ii'C 7 25 ttJxf7 �xf7 26
'iVxd6 'iVxd6 2 7 l:txd6 leaves him a
pawn down in an endgame. Berg
30 ttJe3 comes up with a far better solution to
It all caves in for White after 30 Black's travails:
hxg4 'ifh4+ 31 �g l ttJh 3+ 32 i.xh 3 21 ... d5! 22 cxd 5 i.xd 5
i.xd2 3 3 i.xd2 'iVxf2+. Black remains under inten se pres­
30 ... ttJxh 3 3 1 i.xh3 'ii' h 4 0-1 sure after 2 2 ... cxd5 2 3 l:tdc1.
Either h3 or f2 drops next move 2 3 ttJxc6!
with a quick massacre Winning a pawn .
2 3 ... i.xc6
Black wins through tactica l If 23 ... i.xg 2 24 ttJxd8 ltxd8 25 'ii'b 3+
sha rpness after a tough defence �g 7 26 �xg 2 and White wins.
In the Dutch White often strives to g ain 24 'ii'C4+ �h8 2 5 i.xc6 .l:txd1+ 26 l:[xd1
space and/or open lines on the queen­ :c8 27 ':'C1 'ii'd 6
side. Black needs to be patient and White h as won a pawn, but the
keep an eye open for favourable tactics. presence of opposite-coloured bishops
Opportunities may appear suddenly mean s he has few winning chances.

11
Play th e D u tc h

the h8-square: for example, 40 ... 'ii'd 3+

41 �g 2 'ii'e 2+ 42 �h 3 'ii'x C4 43 'ii'h 8+
':h 7 44 'iVf8+ ':g7 45 'jfh 8+.
39 ':e7 40 i.. g 2 'ii'e 1+ 41 �h2 l:te3 1 42
..•

':c1 "XC1 43 'iVd4 'iVc3 44 'iVxa 7?

Black would still h ave to prove he i s
winning after 4 4 'ii'd 8 ! a s 4 4. . .':xg 3 ?
would only draw after 4 5 'iVf8+.
44 'ii'e 11 0-1
•••

A typica l adva ntage for Black

28 a4 �g7 29 �g2 l:r.C7 30 ':c2 'ii'd 1 3 1 in the endga me
h3 h S 3 2 h4 'ii'd 6 3 3 a s 'ii'd 1 34 a6 'ii'd 6 Black does surprisingly well in the end­
35 'iVbs �h6 36 ':C4 i.. d 4 g ame in the Dutch as White's pawn
Now the exchanges that result from structure gets worn down . In fact
37 i..f3 or 37 'ii'd 5 would leave White White often wears it down him self, or
with negligible winning chances, but makes it disjointed, by playing overly
he has lost his sen se of danger: sh arply. Assuming that e7 remain s
37 'ii'a 4? i.. xf2 1 1 guarded, the Dutch Leningrad pawn
structure is rather solid for Black - the
pawn on e7 is a linchpin that is difficult
to attack and holds together the black
centre.
The following position was reached
in A.Karpov-H.Nakamura, Cap d' Agde
(rapid) 2008.

The weakness of f2 strikes again .

3 8 �xf2?
White can hold on with 3 8 i..f3, for
instance if 3 8 ... i.. C 5 3 9 :C2.
38 .. :iVd2+ 39 �gl?
White can still draw with 39 �f1
:te7 40 'ii'a 1! stopping the mate on e1
and aiming for a perpetual check via Black has a couple of advantages:

12
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

The white bishop is shut in on g 2 by arrang e ... dS-d4, whereas White can
a solid barrier on e4. If f2-f3 i s ever only m ake moves with his pieces and
played to free it then the white pawn wait.
structure and pieces will be exposed to But still, can we really say th at the
tactical blows from the black pieces position is anything other than a draw?
that are m assed on the e-file and f­ For the sake of fairness I should point
files. H ere i s the paradox of the Dutch out this was a rapidplay g ame. On the
e2, f2, g 3 and h 2 pawn structure: it is other h an d, the fact th at Karpov
incredibly solid, but it can become a couldn't defend it shows that it isn 't
tomb for the bishop on g 2 - and in easy. Simple endgame position s are a
some cases for the king on g l. Being forte of the great masters, even after
behind h eavy fortification s is okay so their opening knowledge h as withered
long as you don 't want to get out. and their tactical sight declined.
In contrast, the black bishop on c4 is 2 S .. :ilt'f61
active. Unlike its opposite number on
g2, it h as escaped outside the pawn
chain and h as a target on e2. Further­
more, and this is an important factor
on a board that is so open, it is de­
fended by the pawn on dS and so is
secure from attack.
Whereas the pawn on dS is soundly
defended by the bishop on c4, White
has two pawn s that are potentially
vulnerable. The first is the pawn on e2
- it cramps the white queen 's mobility By threatening to mobilize the
to have to defend it. The second vul­ pawns with 26 ... d4 N akamura per­
nerable pawn is on f2. Its defen sive suades White to exchange off his active
alliance with the bishop on e3 is less rook.
secure than th at between the black 26 l:txf7 'ili'xf7 27 �fl
bishop and pawn on dS, because of the Intending to unwind with 28 �d4
possible disruptive move ... dS-d4. and 29 e3. If all the bishops vanish
Whereas the white pawn structure from the board, Karpov could even try
is solid but inert, the black pawns con­ to prove that the ds-pawn is a weak­
trol more space and are more dyn amic. ness.
To h ave pawns on dS and e4 versus 27 ...'iff61
pawn s on e2 and f2 gives Black a lot Denying Karpov his plan .
more potential to expand. H e can try to 28 �gs 'iffs

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Play t h e D u tc h

With t h e incidental tactical threat rook checking there, poor Karpov h as to

of 29 ... e 3 ! winning in stantly as bl, d2, worry too about a possible invasion on
f2 and g 5 would suddenly all be hang­ his second rank with 3 1 ...l:la2.
ing ! 3 1 :e7?
29 l1b7 The calm 31 �e3 would still h ave
saved the day: if 31 .. JU8 then 32 �d4
when 32 ... �xg 3 ? ? allows the killer
check 33 :g7+; and 31 ... l:.a2 32 'iVb4
threatens 3 3 'iVe7 and so prevents Black
from continuing his attack.
3 1 . .l::tfS
.

With a double threat to f2 and g 3 .

3 2 �f4?!
After 3 2 �e3 �xg 3 ? ? 3 3 'iVd4!,
threatening m ate on g 7 and defending
f2 a third time, turn s the tables. But the
29 .. JlaS intermedi ate 3 2 ...'iIi'f6 ! does the trick
In principle it would be wrong to after 3 3 lIb7 �xg 3 .
hurry the ... d5-d4 push as it deprives 3 2 . . .�xf4 3 3 gxf4 'iVg4+!
the bishop on c4 of its defender. And The hurried 3 3 ... 'iVxf4? allows White
there i s also a tactical reason why: counterplay after 34 'ii'd4 lIf6 (34 ... 'ii'f6
29 ... d4 30 l:lxg 7+! 'iit x g7 3 1 �h 6+ i s best) 3 5 �h 3, etc.
(stronger than 31 'iVxd4+ 'iVe 5 when g 5
as well a s c4 is hanging) 3 1 ... 'iit g 8 3 2
'iWxd4 'iWf7 3 3 �Cl! intending 3 4 �b2.
Then, notwith standing being an ex­
ch ange up, Black can never hope to win
because of his dark-square holes.
30 h4
Bl ack's persi stence begins to pay off.
Karpov secures his bishop but in doing
so weaken s his king side pawn s. It was
simpler to retreat with 30 �e3 ! and ask
Black 'how can you m ake progress?' 34 �g2 'iVxh4
30 ... �e5 ! Winning a pawn and attacking the
N akamura straightaway homes i n white rook. ..
o n the g 3-pawn. A s the bishop al so 3 5 :C7 'iVxf4
control s b8 and prevents the white ... and so winning a pawn while

14
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

again attackin g the white rook. No �d4 0-1

chance is given to White to counterat­ White's isolated pawn is no m atch
tack. The rest is fairly straightforward. for Black's connected passed pawn s.
36 'ii'xf4 :xf4 37 e3 .l:tf7 38 .l:tc8+ �g7
39 :c5 l:te7 40 :c6 i.e2 41 i.h3 %1a7 42 Karpov didn't play as well in 2008 as
:d6 i.C4 43 �g2 h5 44 �g3 .:tal 45 h e did twenty years earlier, but I 'm
�f4 l:thl 46 i.e6 :fl 47 �g5 .:tgl+ 48 pretty sure if he couldn't defend
�f4 .:tg2 49 i.xd5 l:txf2+ 50 �xe4 White's position then it won 't be easy
i.xd 5+ 51 :xd5 h4 52 :d7+ :f7 5 3 for your opponents either.

15
 Chapter One

Gambit Li nes a n d Ea rly Od d ities

1 d4 fS change his fs-pawn for the white e4-

pawn, or, even worse, by dislocatin g
the white king side pawn s with g 2 -g4.
That is why the strongest players h ave
shown little interest in these variation s
for White. In fact only in the Staunton
Gambit (2 e4) is the theory developing
fairly fast.
The opening period can be a rather
anxious time when facing a gambit, as
White m akes it clear from move two or
three th at he is out for blood. It m ay
In this ch apter we'll examine the feel that defeat - and an embarrass­
moves 2 g4, 2 h 3 , 2 'iVd3 and 2 e4, as we ingly quick one - is only one slight mis­
start our journey into the theory of the step away. But once the initial storm
Dutch Defence by con sidering those passes over, Black is left in a healthy
variations in which White aim s at the state. As we will see in the following
immediate elimination of the fs-pawn . g ames, the bl ack pieces easily find
These lines can be tricky and a careless g ood squares - even the bishop on c8.
or under-prepared pl ayer might well be If in doubt, play moves like ... lDf6, ... d7-
caught out by them. However, posi­ dS and ...lDc6, and you can 't go far
tion ally speaking, the move 1 .. .fS can 't wrong again st any of the White g am­
be refuted by allowing Black to ex- bits.

16
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

swered by Kindermann's recommenda­

tion of 7 ... ii.b4! 8 eS lLle4 9 ii.xe4 dxe4
Pa rt One: 2 g4
when White is loose on the light
squares, and Black can build up with
l d4 fS 2 g4 ... 0-0, ... b7-b6, ... ii.b7, etc.
In stead 3 ii.f4 is an anti-... g4-g 3
measure, but there is nothing to stop
Black developing with 3 ... lLlf6 4 h3 dS 5
lLlC3 lLlc6 etc, when we h ave to ask our­
selves what White h as got for his pawn .
3 dSI
•••

White deflects the pawn from fS in

order to build a centre with e2-e4, or to
use the pawn on g4 as a hook to open
lines with h 2-h 3 . As long as he plays
with a little care, Black is sure to g et a
good g ame as White's pawn thrust
doesn't have the support of his pieces Reuben Fine was right when he said
and loosen s his king side too much . In th at ... d7-dS is the antidote to all g am ­
his work on the Dutch, leadin g expert bits !
Valeri Beim even goes so far as to give 2 4 es
g4 a question m ark. Now after the n atural move 4 ... �fS,
2 fxg4 3 e4
... White can try 5 lLle2 ! ? e6 6 lLlg 3 with
After 3 h 3 , 3 ... g 3 ! i s simplest, return­ the idea of h 2-h 3 and lLlxfS at the right
ing the pawn to prevent White opening moment. I don't like this for Black, as it
lines on the kingside (you might like to feels like his pawn structure is being
compare this with the line 1 d4 fS 2 needlessly compromised.
'iVd3 dS 3 g4 fxg4 4 h 3 g 3 ! given l ater in Therefore I would recommend
the chapter). After 4 fxg 3 lLlf6 5 ii.g 2 dS 4 ii.e61? If White then plays slowly,
.••

Black can develop with moves like the retreat ... ii.f7 followed by ... e7-e6
6 ... e6, 7 ... ii.d6, 8 ... 0-0 and 9 ... lLlc6. An would turn it into a kind of French in
attempt to throw a spanner in the which the black bishop is on the good
works with 6 lLlc3 e6 7 e4 is well an- f7-square.

17
Play t h e D u tc h

the pawn is doing on h 3 . If in stead 4 g 5

lDe4 5 i.f4 e 6 6 lDf3 c5 we h ave
reached the type of set-up for Black
th at is recommended in Chapter Two
against 2 lDc3, but how inferior has
been the play of White ! H e h as g ained
little from the pawn moves on the g­
file and h -file, whereas Black has been
steadily increasing his power in the
centre. Indeed, after 7 e3 'ii'b 6 8 'ii'c 1
i.d7 ! (positionally alert, non-routine
Play could go 5 lD e 2 'ii'd 7 6 lDf4 lDc6 play: Black intends to exch ange off his
7 lDxe6 'ii'x e6 8 i.e2 and now 8 ... lDh 6 ! bad bishop before pl aying ...lDc6) 9 c3
i s an efficient way t o defend g4, a s 9 i.b5 10 lDbd2 lDc6 Black h ad an excel­
i.xh 6 'ii'xh 6 10 i.xg4 e6 looks very lent position in the g ame K. Kusnetsov­
comfortable for Black. Instead after 9 M.Dzhumaev, Dubai 2001.
c4 0-0-0 White stood badly in More testing i s 4 'ii'd 3, but in the
A.Truskavetsky-V. Romcovici, Dniprope­ following example Bl ack got a good
trovsk 200 5 . g am e with simple consolidating and
developing moves: 4 ... e6 5 gxf5
(against slower play Black can build up
Part Two: 2 h3
with ... i.e7, ... 0-0, ... C7-c5, etc) 5 ... exf5

1 d4 f S 2 h 3 lDf6 3 84

6 i.g 5 (White decides to eliminate

the knight that would become strong
H ere simpl e and good is 3 d S . If 4
•.. in the future after ... lDe4) 6 ... i.e7 7
g xf5 i.xf5 Black is ahead in develop­ i.xf6 i.xf6 8 i.g2 c6 9 lDd2 0-0 10 C4
ment and we are left wondering what i.e6 1 1 cxd5 i.xd5 (the fact that Black

18
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

can exchange off the light-squared .tf4 liJf6 6 liJf3 .td6 7 liJ e 5 liJh 5 8 e 3 !
bishops in a Stonewall set-up is a far and the knight h ad a strong outpost
from encouraging sign for White) 12 square on e5 in H .Teske-A. Berelowitsch,
.txd5+ 'iVxd5 13 liJgf3 liJa6 14 'iVb3 Miilheim 2009.
'i'xb3 1 5 liJxb3 lUe8 16 l:.dl :ad8 17 So m aking it messy with 3 .. .fxg4
l:td2 litd5 and in B.Heberla-P. Nguyen, looks best. In the followin g illustrative
Warsaw 2008, Black h ad achieved a full g ame, we see a theme characteristic of
development without incurrin g any g ambit lines in the Dutch : a white
weaknesses. H e possessed the best mi­ knight on gl dominated by a black
nor piece in the shape of the dark­ pawn on e4.
squared bishop and had pressure on
the white centre. White was rated Elo
L.l ba rra Chami­
248 5, Black 2 3 2 7, but Heberla still h ad
A. Rodriguez Vila
to struggle to draw after his poor open­
Mexico City 2007
ing.

1 d4 fS 2 'i'd3 dS 3 g4
Pa rt Th ree: 2 1fd3
If White doesn't act quickly then
Black can build up with ... liJf6, ... e7-e6,
1 d4 fS 2 'ii'd 3 ... c7-c5, ... liJc6, etc, when White has
A direct attack o n the f 5 pawn by Her trouble in justifying his queen move -
Majesty. Now 2 dS with a Stonewall
•.. in fact she could become a target of the
centre looks the best respon se. After 3 black pieces.
g4 ... 3 fxg4 4 h3 g3!
..•

... Black can be very solid with 3 ... e6, An important strategical device in
but this to some extent justifies this type of position. Black doesn 't
White's play: for example, 4 gxf5 exf5 5 want to take on h 3 as 4 ... gxh 3 5 liJxh 3

19
 Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com
Play t h e D u tc h

activates the white knight a n d open s

the h -file for a possible attack on h7. As
White al so threaten s to open the h -file
and clear h 3 him self by playing 5 hxg4,
Black elects to advance the pawn to g 3 .
s fxg3
In contrast to 4 ... gxh 3 5 liJxh 3 , this
recapture does nothing to improve the
dynamism of the white pieces. On the
contrary, the white pawn s are a little
bit compromised (one less pawn being
in the centre). 8 g4 �g7 9 c3 0-0
The alternative 5 'ili'xg 3 makes a lot With ideas of 10 ... liJxg4.
of sense, but I don 't think White can 10 'ii'g 3
claim any advantage. For example, Chami defends his bishop and at­
5 ... liJf6 6 liJC3 �f5 7 �f4 liJh 5 (al so pos­ tacks the a-pawn . However, he h as
sible is 7 ... liJa6 with ideas of ...liJb4) 8 fallen too far behind in development
'ili'g 5 g 6 9 �e5, as in G.Welling-1Bosch, and Black is able to exploit this with
H ertogenbosch 1999, and now 9 ... liJf6 ! ? vigorous play.
is an interesting way t o keep the ten­ 10 ... liJe4 11 �xe4 dxe4
sion, intending 10 �g 2 (or 10 e3 liJbd7
11 0-0-0 e6) 10 ... liJbd7 11 0-0-0 (an im­
portant point i s that 11 liJxd5 fail s to
11...liJxe 5) 1 1...c6 12 liJf3 e6 etc.
S ...liJf6 6 �g2 liJc6
Note the typical ...liJf6 and ... liJc6 re­
spon se to White's g ambit line. Did
White really imagine that with a few
flimsy pawn moves he was going to
break through the enemy line when
there are such powerful 'keepers' op­
posing him ? White tried to strike a quick blow in
7 �f4 g6 1 the opening, but h as ended up drained
Planning t o gain time by attacking of dynamism himself because of the
the queen with 8 ... �f5 . White's next difficulty in developing his knight from
m ove stops this but leaves the bishop g l.
on f4 undefended - a factor that be­ 12 �xC7 'iVd s 13 'iVe3
comes important as early as move 9. After 13 liJd2 not so clear is 1 3 ... e3

20
www.Ebook777.com
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

1 4 ttldf3, but Black can keep o n attack- e4 fxe4.

ing with 13 ... e 5 .
13 . . .ttlxd4! 1 4 ttla 3
Al so hopeless i s 14 cxd4 .i.xd4 1 5
Wh3 .i.f2+ 16 �fl .i.b6+ 17 �g 2 'ilixb3
18 axb3 .i.xc7 and wins.
14...ttlbs 15 ttlxbs
Or 15 c4 'ilif7 ! 16 cxb 5 'ii'f 1+ 17 �d2
'ii'x a1.
lS ...'ilixbs 16 0-0-0 'ilie4 17 .i.g3 .i.e6

It deserves respect as it is the only

system for White in this ch apter th at
h as the backin g of several top-class
players. It h as al so collected an awful
lot of sharp theory, as we shall see.
The modern way to play the Staun­
ton for White i s 3 ttlC3 ttlf6 4 .i.g 5 . This
will be analysed in Part Five. H ere we'll
look at the old-fashioned method
If you are wondering why Black's at­ which is to stab at the e4-pawn with
tack i s unstoppable, just l ook at the f2-f3 in an attempt to open lines on the
white knight on g l and the rook on h i. kingside.
18 b3 'ilie6 19 �bl bS 20 :tel a s 21 'iVd2 In virtually all lines in which White
a4 0-1 plays f2-f3 without a preliminary d4-
White was by no mean s a bad d5, it is possible for Black to stand his
player - he was rated 2 3 2 5 - but he ground in the centre by defending the
was entirely helpless once the l ack of e4-pawn with ... d7-d5, and supportin g
cohesion in his position drove him fur­ i t again if necessary with . . ..i.f5. I t is
ther and further behind in develop­ then a thorn in White's side - or per­
ment. h aps we should say it is a stone in the
hoof of the knight on g l, as it is pre­
vented from going to f3. We have al­
Pa rt Fou r:
ready seen White's problems when the
The Sta u nton Gambit
knight is dominated by a black pawn
on e4 in the Chami-Rodriguez game
The Staunton Gambit begins 1 d4 fS 2 above.

21
Play t h e D u tch

Black can mobilize all his pieces.

6 .i.gs .i.fS !
B.Predojevic-N.Sedlak
In Queen's pawn openings Black's
Nova Gorica 2008
m ain strategic problem i s usually the
development of his queen's bishop. The
1 d4 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJc3 fact that it here finds a comfortable
After 3 f3 the ... d7-dS recipe already deployment to fS is enough on its own
applies: 3 ... dS 4 fxe4 dxe4 and now 5 to condemn White's opening play.
ttJC3 ttJf6 6 .i.g s .i.fs transposes to our 7 .i.C4 ttJc6!
main g ame, while 5 .i.C4 ttJf6 6 ttJe2 Black's piece deployment is flowing
allows Black at least equality with the very smoothly.
freeing move 6 ... e s ! when 7 dxe S ? ! 8 ttJge2 e6 9 0-0 ttJa s
jfxd1+ 8 c;i;>xdl ttJ g 4 would b e bad for A familiar plan : Black hunts down
White. the strong light-squared bishop. It feel s
3 ... ttJf6 4 f3 that the g ame i s turning in Black's fa­
We sh all discuss ideas of f2-f3 after vour, but Predojevic finds a curious
3 ttJC3 ttJf6 4 .i.g s ttJc6 in Part Five. drawing variation .
4 ... d S I 10 .i.d S !

Black refuses t o fall behind in de­ A move that appears t o be a typo, as

velopment and give White the initia­ it is surely impossible that the bishop
tive after 4 ... exf3 5 ttJxf3. goes to a square defended three times
S fxe4 dxe4 by the black pieces. Alas for Bl ack his
The doubled pawn s look ugly, but control over dS proves a mirage: the
the one on e4 is denying the white queen dare not take on dS, the knight
knight its n atural square on f3 . It will on f6 is pinned and the pawn on e6
require some time and effort for White need- s to defend fS.
to regain his pawn, and meanwhile 10 'ifd7 l1 l:txfS I exfs 12 .i.xf6 gxf6 13
.••

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 G a m b i t L i n es a n d E a rly O dd i t i e s

t'Llf4 h S draw.
Black's king can't run away as 17 ... .:xh S 18 t'Llxf6+ �e7 19 t'Llg8+ Va-Va
13 ... 0-0-0 loses the queen to 14 .te6. It A very exciting g ame. I'm curious to
seem s that the text move permanently know how much of this was the pl ay­
stops the white queen giving a check ers' opening preparation, and how
on h S, but there i s going to be another much was over-the-board in spiration . I
surprise ... hope they didn 't both h ave the position
after 17 "ii'xh S+! on their computer
screen s before th e g am e !

Part Five: The Modern

Stau nton Variation

1 d4 fS 2 e4 fxe4 3 t'LlC3 t'Llf6 4 .tgs

At the time of writing this is the
only move respected by very strong
players. White undermines e4 by at­
14 .te6 "ii'd 6 lS g3 l:td8 16 t'Llcd s c6 tackin g the black knight.
It appears that White's initiative is
coming to an end after 17 t'Llxf6+ �e7
when, besides the knight on f6, the d4
pawn is h anging with check.
17 'iix hS+!

White also sets a positional trap

that all Dutch players should be aware
of: 4 ... dS? S .txf6 exf6 6 'iih S+ g6 7
'iix ds and White has regained his
pawn with an excellent g ame. That
Saving him self. A great move, but I mean s of course th at we are deprived,
can 't bring myself to give it two excla­ at least temporarily, of our favourite
mation m arks as it only leads to a ... d7-dS move.

23
Play t h e D u tc h

But no matter: 4. . .liJc6 is a n attrac­ liJxe4?? liJxe4 1 3 .l:txe4 'iVds ! and White
tive altern ative. was unable to defend both e4 and g s .
b ) 5 �bs a 6 and now Black has a
good version of the 4 f3 gambit style
J.Cha uca-L.Rodi
centre after 6 �xc6 dxc6 ! ? intending
B ra s i l i a 2010
7 ... �fs etc. 50 White might retreat the
bishop with 6 �a4 when 6 ... bs 7 �b3
1 d4 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 liJC3 liJf6 4 �gs liJc6 liJas ! hunts down the important white
bishop, and after, for example, 8 .i.ds
liJxds 9 liJxds �b7 10 liJf4 g6 11 h4
�g8 12 hs cs 13 hxg6 hxg6 14 dxcs
"fiC7 Black h ad good play in R.Cifuentes
Parada-V.Malaniuk, H astings 1994/9 5 .
s liJes
•••

S dS
The purpose o f thi s move i sn 't only
to force the knight to es, where it can
be attacked by the white queen . A sec­
ond objective is to stop Black support­
ing the pawn on e4 with ... d7-ds . How­
ever, if White avoids 5 ds, the ... d7-ds 6'i1i'd4
move remains a motif: After 6 f3 Black can't support the
a) 5 f3 ds 6 .i.bs a6. Now Black had e4-pawn, but he can sell its life in re­
a good g ame after 7 �a4 b s 8 �b3 turn for g aining time to equalize:
liJas 9 �xf6 liJxb3 10 �xg 7 �xg 7 11 6 ... liJf7 7 �e3 (naturally 7 �xf6 exf6 8
axb3 0-0 in A.Matviychuk-R.Khaetsky, fxe4 �b4 is simply terrible for White)
Evpatoria 2007. In stead 7 .i.xc6+ bxc6 8 7 ... e s ! (unfortunately bypassing the f3-
fxe4 dxe4 is unclear. In the g ame pawn with 7 ... e3 8 �xe3 just strikes me
A.5chlosser-M.Urban, German League as good for White) 8 dxe6 dxe6 9
1994, White decided to get rid of the 'ii'x d8+ �xd8 10 0-0-0+ (or 10 fxe4
pesky e4-pawn as quickly as possible, liJg4) 10 ... �d7 1 1 liJxe4 liJxe4 1 2 fxe4
but it turned out to be a bad mistake: 9 �d6 13 liJf3 rJ;e7 with equality.
liJge2 g 6 10 0-0 �g 7 1 1 l:tf4?! 0-0 12 6 ... liJf71

24
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

The knight completes a three-move .i.xb 2 ! i s ruinous for White: 16 'it'xb2?

journey to the king side. Wh at I find ttJC4+.
most satisfying is that Black gets full 14 ... bSI
value for 1 .. .f5 by utilizing the vacated
f7-square for his knight.
7 .i.xf6
White decides to g et his pawn back,
but n ow Black's dark-squared bishop
will h ave no rival . The alternative 7 h4
is con sidered below, while after 7 .i.h4
g 5 ! 8 .i.g3 .i.g 7 9 ttJxe4, the fully ade­
quate 9 ... c6 intending 10 .. :iVb6 h as
been recommended, but surely Black
can trap the white queen with 9 ... ttJxe4
10 'iWxg 7 ttJf6 intending 11 .. Jlg 8 ? 15 h S 'iWf6
7 ... exf6 8 ttJxe4 fS ! Other things being equal, it is
doubtful that White's attack along the
h -file could compete with the diagon al
and frontal pressure Black will build up
again st b2. But what will really kill
White here is the combination of the
pressure on b2 with the entrance of a
black rook along the e-file.
16 c3 .l::t b 8 17 hxg6 hxg6 18 ttJh3 b4 19
cxb4?
More resistance was offered by 19
c4, but Black should win : 19 ... .i.a6 20
Shades of 1 .. .fS. Black's f-pawn has litcl :fe8 with the idea of 21 ... l::t e 3 ! in
been reborn and drives the white the style of the g ame (the rook is im­
knight from the centre. mun e due to mate on b2), and then,
9 ttJg3 g6 10 0-0-0 .i.h6+ 11 'it'b1 0-0 12 once the knight is driven from g 3 ,
h4 .i.g7 13 'iVd2 ttJd6! 2 2 . . .ttJe4 with a crushing initiative.
The knight will support queenside 19 ... a S ! 20 a3 axb4 21 axb4 l::t e 8 22
action from a central post from which ttJgs :e3 !
it cannot be dislodged. Once more we have t o give credit to
14 f4 the Dutch pawn . If White hadn't felt
An ugly move is needed to restrain obliged to stop it in its tracks with 14
the Dutch pawn, for 14 ttJf3 f4 is ttJe2 f4, the e3-square would never have

25
Play th e D u tc h

become available t o the black rook. And

it is this which breaks the white posi­
F.Cira bisi-M.Dzhumaev
tion - not only is g3 hanging but there
Genova 2006
is the threat of 23 ... l:r.b3 .

1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJc3 ttJf6 4 �g5 ttJc6

5 d5 ttJe5 6 'ii'd 4 ttJf7 7 h4 c6

2 3 ttJh7 "iie 7 24 .:th3 l:[xg31 2 5 :xg3

ttJe4 0-1
After 26 'ii'e 1 .:txb4 Black h as a win­
ning attack as b2 is collapsing, to say This is the most interesting re­
nothing of the hanging knight on h7. spon se, but it is al so rather double­
edged. The idea is to challenge the
I dare say that White m ay do better white queen with ... 'ifb6.
with 1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJC3 ttJf6 4 �g5 8 0-0-0
ttJc6 5 d 5 ttJe5 6 'ii'd 4 ttJf7 7 h4!? Play tran sposes after 8 �xf6 gxf6 9
0-0-0 'irb6.
8 ..."ii b 6 9 �xf6
Feeble for White is 9 'ii'd 2 ? ! 'ii'a 5, at­
tackin g d5 again and clearing the way
for the queenside pawn s to advance:
10 �C4 ttJd6 11 �b3 c5 12 ttJxe4 'ii'x d2+
13 ttJxd2 b 5 14 c4 �a6. Here Black en­
joyed a strong blockading knight on d6,
the bishop-pair and active queen side
pawn s in l Boguszl avszki-Hoang Thanh
Trang, Budapest 2007.
H ere Bl ack can choose between 9 ... gxf6
7 ... c6 and 7 ... e5, and we will examine H aving studied various g ames in
each move in turn . this line, I think I need to point out a

26
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

golden rule for Black: l1 lLlf3

If White plays precisely the open e­
file m ay become a useful attackin g re­
source for him. H owever, everything
went swimmingly for Black after the
misguided 11 dxc6 bxc6 12 i.C4 i.h6+
13 'it>bl 'ili'f4 14 'ili'e2 in lColeto
Calderon-A. Ruiz Saiz, Parl a 2008, and
now 14 ... dS, inviting an inadequate
sacrifice on dS, was probably even
stronger than 14 .. J�b8.
11 ... i.h6+ 12 'it>b1 'ike3 13 'ii'a 4 'ilkf4 14
U nless Wh ite can reply with 'ikh5 'ikb3 0-0
mate, you shou ld answer i.xf 6 with
... gxf6! rather tha n ... exf 6.
After ... g xf6, the way is cleared for
the bishop on f8 to enter the g ame.
There is often the bonus that ... i.h 6
gains time by giving check to a white
king castled on cl. Moreover, the black
pawn centre is increased in size and
forms a hard shell around the black
king . And, finally, even if the black cen­
tre pawns aren't n eeded to defend the
king, they are a useful position al asset. Black decides to evacuate his king
In contrast, 7 ... exf6 weaken s the black from the centre.
king and l eaves the central light 15 i.e2?
squares around it full of holes. Even worse is 15 l::t d4? ? which looks
But remember what I said about not like a strong attacking move, because ...
being m ated by 'i1ihs after ... g xf6. If the well, I'll let the reader tell me! We shall
king is boxed in, m ake sure you h ave a discuss the improvement 1 5 i.d3 ! be­
move like .. ,eDf7 available ! l ow.
10 'ikxe4 'ikxf2 1 5 c51
.••

Black h as not only g ained the f2- Stopping 16 l::t d4 and threatening to
pawn, he h as also opened up the e3- exchange queen s if wished with
and f4-squares for co-operation be­ 16 ... 'ili'b4. Black went on to win in
tween his queen and dark-squared rather straightforward fashion :
bishop. 1 6 d6 e 6 17 lLl b 5 b 6 1 8 i.C4 .i.b7 19

27
Play t h e D u tch

.::t hf1 'ifg3 20 ttJC3 �h8 21 ttJe1 ttJes 22 Assuming the 7 ... c6 line i s under the
.tbS a6 2 3 .te2 bS 24 .tf3 ttJxf3 2 S gxf3 weather, Black should turn his atten ­
'ii' h 3 26 l1f2 :g8 27 ttJe2 'ifxh4 28 l:.f1 tion to 7 ... eSI.
�d S 29 l:.xd S exd s 30 'ii'x d s l:.ae8 3 1
'ili'd1 c 4 3 2 f4 'ili'h2 3 3 ttJd4 :g1 0-1

Returning to the position after

14... 0-0, it seems that White was dazzled
by the chance to play 16 lId4 and so
blocked the e-file with his bishop. In­
stead 15 .td3 ! would set Black some
major problems. The intention is simply
16 .l:r.del to attack e7, possibly followed
by 17 l:.e4 to hound the black queen.
Black could counter this with l s ... as
when 16 l:.del bs! 17 ':xe7 a4 is bad for
J.Boguszlavszkij-S.Ferkingstad
White because his queen is smothered
Buda pest 2009
after 18 'ii'a 3 b4. However, 16 ttJd4!...

1 d4 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJc3 ttJf6 4 .tgs ttJc6

S ds ttJes 6 'ii'd 4 ttJf7 7 h4 eS 8 dxe6
Instead 8 'ili'a4 was played in
G .Mester-F.Grafl, Budapest 2003, but it
hasn't attracted any followers at the
time of writing .

.. .is a powerful respon se intending

17 ttJfs to hit e7 and h6. The knight i s
immune because o f 16 .. :iVxd4 17
.txh 7+. I can't find a satisfactory line
for Black: for example, 16 ... �h 8 17 ttJfs
bs 18 ttJe2 ! .
The position leadin g up t o 1 5 .td3 i s
very interesting and you might like to It led to wild complication s after
try to find an improvement for Black. 8 ... c6 9 .txf6 g xf6 10 0-0-0 fs ! 11 g4 b s

28
 G a m b i t L i n e s a n d Ea rly O d d i t i e s

12 'iVb3 b4 13 dxc6! bxC3 14 cxd7+ 11 lDb5

iLxd7 15 iLbs �d6 16 'iWe6+ WfS and After 11 lDge 2 ? ! Black can defend
now 17 iLxd7 might be good for White the e4-pawn with all his minor pieces:
as he doesn't get m ated after 17 ... 'iWb6 11... lDf7 12 lDg 3 lDd6 13 �e2 (he
is b3 'iWb4 19 ':'ds ! . shoul d swallow his pride and g et his
Being more cowardly, I would rec­ pawn back with 13 �xf6 g xf6 14
ommend S ... h6 9 iLxf6 'ifxf6 10 lDxe4 lDgxe4, although after 14 ... lDxe4 1 5
"iVb6 lDxe4 iL e 7 Black h a s the two bishops
and the superior pawn centre) 13 ... iLc6
14 .l:thel iLe7 15 iLxf6 iLxf6 16 iLg4
�xC3 17 bxc3 rtie7 and it h ad all gone
horribly wrong for White in D. Rensch ­
G .Antal, Lubbock 2009.
11 iLxb5 12 iLxb5+ c6 13 iLc4 iLC5 14
..•

lDh3 lDd 5 15 ':'he1 0-0 16 ':'xe4 iLxf2 17

lDxf2 ':xf2 18 iLxd8 ':xd8 19 ':xe6 rt;f7
Instead 19 ... .:.xg 2 looks like a draw
after 20 ':e7 bs 21 iLxds+ cxds 2 2
':'xa7 ':'cS 2 3 ':'d2 ':'g1+ 24 ':'dl ':' g 2
11 0-0-0 'iWb4 12 'ifxb4 iLxb4 when I with a repetition .
don't see any advantage for White.
S dxe6 9 'ii'x dS+ lDxdS 10 0-0-0
...

In stead 10 iLxf6 g xf6 11 lDxe4 iLe7

is pleasant for Black, while 10 lDbs
iLb4+ 11 c3 iLas defends c7 and leaves
White struggling .
10 iLd7
•.•

20 lIe2
If 20 ':'del, threatening 21 ':'e7+,
20 ... rtifS breaking the pin on ds l ooks
the most precise reply.
20 lIxe2 21 iLxe2 rtie7
..•

Black is comfortable and somehow

contrived to win the endgame.

29
Play t h e D u t c h

Another interesting idea for White inflict doubled and isol ated pawns on
in the Staunton Gambit is 1 d4 fS 2 e4 him with 9 d6.
fxe4 3 liJc3 liJf6 4 ..tgs liJc6 5 dS liJes 6 We h ave reached one of the most
'iie 2!?, which has to some extent su­ critical position s in the modern theory
perseded 6 'iid 4. of the Staunton Gambit, so we'll take a
good l ook at Black's options. If you wish
you can skip straight to 8 . :�e 7 ! in Sce­
.

nario Two which is the move I think

Bl ack should pl ay.

Scena rio One:

Black plays 8 .i.e7 or 8 i.. b 4+
... ...

The immediate 8 ... ..te7 i sn 't very prom-

ising for Black after 9 d6!

6 ... liJf7
Black retreats his knight to a safe
square (kindly provided by 1 .. .fS ! ) and
forces White to choose wh at to do with
his bishop. Now we'll examine 7 h4
towards the end of this chapter, but
first we must see wh at h appen s if
White exchanges:
7 ..txf6 exf6 8 liJxe4
9 ... cxd6 10 0-0-0 0-0 and here White
can deprive the black knight of es with
11 f4! ?, as he did in D.Ortega H ermida­
A.Menvielle . Lacourrelle, Las Palmas
2009:
11 .. :�a s?
A poor reaction . Black should try
11 . . b6 or offer to give back the pawn
.

for some freedom with 11 ... dS, when

White would reply 12 liJC3, aiming to
take on dS with the knight.
Threatening m ate in one. After 12 liJC3
Black blocks the e-file, White intends to It is to stop this move th at Black

30
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

plays 8 ... �b4+ in the variation that fol­ This aim s t o develop with 1 2 �C4
lows. Now White now m akes full use of when the bishop exerts strong pres­
Black's weak squares on C4 and dS. sure. Black stopped thi s with 11 'iiC 7 .•.

12 �d8
..• in V. Erdos-V.5ikul a, Budapest 2009, but
This position is h ardly an adver­ it still led to trouble for him :
tisement for the power of the bishop­ 12 ttJg3
pair! Not allowing the ch ance for 12 .. .fS .
13 ttJf3 l:tb8 14 .l::td S I bS 15 .l::tx bS l:txbS 12 ... 0-0 13 iLe2 ::te8 14 iLf3 fS
16 'ilixbs 'iiC 7 17 iLc4 �b7 18 ttJdS 'iic 6
19 'iib 3 iLa6 20 �xa6 'iix a6 21 ttJd4
Wh8 22 lte1 'iia s 23 c3 'iic s 24 'ilibs a6
25 'iix d7 !
A pretty combination t o put Black
out of his misery.
2S .. Ji'xd s 26 :e8 1-0
If 26 ... �g8 then 27 ttJe6 and splat!

Instead Beim and others h ave rec­

ommended the sequence 8 ... �b4+ 9 c3
�e7 10 d6 cxd6 after which White no Trying to do something fast before
longer h as the option of ttJC3 to g et his White can play 15 ttJge2, 16 0-0 and 17
knight in contact with the hole on dS. If ttJf4, dominating the centre.
11 0-0-0 then the white king's resi­ 15 ttJxfS ! �gS+ 16 ttJe3 'ilics 17 �d S I
dence is slightly compromised and can
be a source of counterplay for Bl ack.
Thus the most dangerous move ap­
pears to be the quiet 11 'iid 2!?

Black is playing without his queen­

side rook or bishop, so White is going
to come out top in the firefight in the
centre.

31
Play th e D u tch

17 g6 18 tbf3 .txe3 19 fxe3 J:lxe3+ 20

•.. tbxd3+ 17 tbxd3 and Black h as a very
'iti>dl 'iti>g7 21 ':fl l:te7 22 e4 poor endgame. As usual, White's idea
Intending 23 tbd4 and 24 'ii'f4, with would be to apply pressure along the e­
a decisive attack along the f-file. file after, say, 18 0-0-0 and 19 J:lhel
22 'ii'e 3 2 3 'ii'x e3 ':xe3 24 'iti>d2 l:te7 2 5
.•. perh aps followed by doubling rooks.
tbd4 l:tb8 26 l:tael tbe5 27 tbb5 b 6 28 So the conclusion i s th at Bl ack h as a
tbxd6 .ta6 29 b4 b5 30 e5 tbe4+ 3 1 hard life after both 8 ... .te7 and
.txe4 l:txel 3 2 l:txel bxe4 3 3 'iti>e3 .tb7 8 ... .tb4+ 9 c3 .te7 .
34 tbxb7 .l:txb7 35 'iti>xe4 'iti>f7 3 6 a4 l:tb8
37 b5 ':e8 38 'iti>d 5 1-0 Scena rio Two:
The leading Dutch expert Vladimir Black plays 8 'iVe7 !
•••

Malaniuk al so came a cropper in this

variation when he tried 11 :ii'a 5 12
V E rdos P Nikolic
. .

-
. .

.te4 'ii'e 5, aiming to do something fast

Germ a n league 2010
before White can develop and castle
kingside:
13 .td 5! tbg5 1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 tbe3 tbf6 4 .tg5 tbe6
s ds tbe5 6 'ii'e 2 tbf7 7 .txf6 exf6 8
tbxe4 'ii'e 71
I think this is the best remedy for
Black.
9 d6 'ii'e 61

Now instead of the slow 14 f3 in

5. Drazic-V.Mal aniuk, Milan 2009, the
clever 14 tbf3 ! ? l ooks stronger:
a) 14 ... tbxf3+ 15 g xf3 intends 16
0-0-0 and 1711del. Black can 't respond
l s .. .fs as 16 f4 traps the queen. If you play through the variation s of
b) 14 ... tbxe4 1 5 'ii'd 3 ! (a neat point) the previous scen ario, you'll under­
ls ... tbcs+ (to exchange queen s, as stand why Nikolic is keen to avoid the
ls ... tbxf2+ 16 'iti>xf2 followed by 17 doubled pawn s and light-square
:ael is horrible for Black) 16 tbxe s weakness that result from 9 ... tbxd6 10

32
 G a m b i t L i n e s a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

tLlxd6+ cxd6. White could continue 1 1

0-0-0 o r even 1 1 g 3 ! ? planning 1 2 �g 2.
10 dxc7 �b4+
This is Nikolic's idea: Black will re­
capture the c7-pawn with his bishop.
In stead 10 ... dS give White the chance
to attack the ds-pawn with 11 liJc3 !
(better than the 1 1 liJd2 of I,Nemet­
A.Cherniaev, Biel 2006), such as with
11...�b4 12 'ii'x e6+ �xe6 13 liJge2 �d7
14 0-0-0.
11 c3 �a s 12 tLlcS I Nikolic sees the chance for counter­
Forcing Black t o unwind the white play against the f2-pawn with moves
king side by capturing on e2. like ... �cS and ... 1:te2, so White is com ­
12 ...'ii'x e2+ 13 �xe2 �xc7 14 liJf3 b6 1S pelled to go on the defen sive.
tLla61 22 liJd s :te2 �3 :hfl �cS 24 liJd4 �xd4
25 1:txd4 1::[c S 26 tLlf4 l:te7 27 tLld S ':'e2
28 tLlf4 %ie7 29 tLld S Vz-Vz
The active black rooks persuade
White to agree to a repetition.
That wasn't the most exciting g ame
ever in the Dutch, but Nikolic achieved
a fairly comfortable draw as Black
again st one of the most promising
young Hungarian Grandmasters. And if
White h ad played one or two inaccu­
rate moves, the veteran Bosnian
If the knight retreats Black will h ave Grandmaster could have tried for the
a comfortable g ame with lS ... �b7. In advantage.
fact, the bishop-pair would allow him We now turn our attention to an ­
to pl ay for an advantage. other sub-variation in which White
lS .. �d8 16 0-0-0 �b7 17 tLld4
. delays recouping his pawn .
After 17 liJxC7 �xc7 Black is in no
danger as the i solated pawn is soundly
L.Rosko-D.Semcesen
defended. He could even try to increase
Olomouc 2008
the pressure along the a8-h l diagon al.
17 ...�f4+ 18 �bl 1:te8 19 �f3 �xf3 20
tLlxf3 ':c8 2 1 tLlb4 �d6! 1 d4 fS 2 e4 fxe4 3 tLlc3 tLlf6 4 �gs tLlc6

33
Play t h e D u tc h

5 d s ttJ e s 6 �e2 ttJf7 7 h4!? pawn to strengthen his centre.

Ag ain we see this bold advance.
7 ... c6!

10 i.. xf6
If 10 ttJxf6+ gxf6 and Black will build
Freein g the black queen for action a m assive centre with ... d7-dS.
on as or b6, and preparing to complete 10 ... gxf6 11 'ii'xe4 i.. h 6+ 12 ttJe3 fs 13
the liquidation of the white pawn cen­ 'iVb4 'ike7
tre which began with 2 .. .fxe4. Securing the right to castle, as the
8 0-0-0 cxd S 9 ttJxd s endgame is poor for White after 14
After 9 i.. xf6 gxf6 10 ttJxdS Black �xe7+ cJ;;x e7.
can tran spose with 10 ... e6. 14 'YWb3 0-0
I can sympathize if you find this po­
sition rather scary for Black, but let's
not forget that White no longer h as a
battering ram in the shape of a centre
pawn . Unless Bl ack blunders, there's no
good reason why White shoul d be able
to break through his defen sive line.
9 ...e6!
Here's a way for Black to blunder
and lose: 9 ... b6?? 10 i.. xf6 gxf6 (or
10 ... exf6 11 'iWxe4+ 1i.e7 - 11 ... ttJes 11
f4 - 12 ttJxe7, attacking a8) 1 1 �xe4 Black h as a big centre and the
i..h 6+ (if 11 ... i..b 7 it's m ate in one) 12 bishop-pair, including the dark-square
'it'b1 and Black h as no defence to the mon ster on h6.
double threats of 1 3 ttJxf6+ and 13 Realizing that his position was go­
ttJxe7, uncovering an attack on a8. ing to go gradually downhill if he didn 't
In stead Black returns the extra do anything fast, White tried to attack

34
 Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com
G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O d d i t i e s

along the g -file, but the bl ack king A n aggressive move pl anning to
proved to be safe on h8. The remaining drive back the knight with S g S .
moves were: 4 d5!?
..•

15 lDf3 b6 16 .i.b5 a6 17 .i.e2 b5 18 g4

fxg4 19 lIhgl �h8 20 lIxg4 'ii'f6 21
lDg5 lDe5 22 lDe4 "ike7 2 3 "ikc3 .i.g7 24
.l:!.xg7 'ii'xg7 25 .:tfl d 5 26 lDg3 lDC4 27
'iVxg7+ �xg7 28 lDh5+ �h8 29 lDg4 e5
30 lDgf6 .i.e6 3 1 b3 lDd6 3 2 l:1dl l:tad8
33 .i.g4 .i.xg4 34 lDxg4 lDe4 35 lDxe5
l:txf2 3 6 lDd3 l:lh2 3 7 lDhf4 l:tc8 3 8 lDel
lDC3 39 l:td3 lDxa2+ 40 �b2 lDb4 41
l:tg3 lDxC2 42 lDf3 l::tf2 43 lDd3 .l:!e2 44
lDf4 :e4 45 lDxd 5 lDd4 46 lDg5 11e2+ 47
�a 3 lU8 48 �b4 :e5 49 lDC7 h6 50 The norm al move is 4. . .h6, securing
lDh3 lDc6+ 51 �c3 as 52 lDgl .l:!c8 5 3 the knight on f6, but it would be great
lDa6 lDb4+ 0-1 if Bl ack could just ignore the threat.
There now begins an extremely long
forcing line:
Pa rt Six: The Sta unton
5 g5 .i.g4
Gambit with g2-g4
Not allowing White the initiative he
is looking for after S ... lDg8 6 f3 ! .
6 .i.e2 .i.xe2 7 'ii'x e2
V.Gerber-A.Panchenko
If 7 lDgxe 2 ? then Black has the reply
Kyiv 2008
7 ... lDh S .
7 . . .lDg8 8 'ii' b 5+
1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 lDc3 lDf6 4 g4 White should prefer 8 f3 : for exam­
ple, 8 ... lDc6 9 fxe4 (Black is doing nicely
after 11 SLe3 e6 12 fxe4 SLb4) 9 ... lDxd4
10 "iVd3 eS 11 lDf3 .i.cS with unclear
play.
8 ... lDc61
The only good move. A couple of
players have fallen for the tradition al
Staunton "iVh S+ and "iVxds trick in a
different form after 8 ... "ikd7 9 "ikxb7
'ili'c6 10 'ili'c8+ �f7 11 'i!VfS+ �e8 12
'i¥xdS.

35
www.Ebook777.com
Play t h e D u tch

9 ttJxd S And now White has a good g am e af­

If this is White's best move then the ter 1 2 f3, but absolutely crushing was
opening has gone wrong for him. 12 ttJh 3 ! with the threat of 13 g6+ hxg6
Black al so stands well after 9 'ii'x ds 14 ttJg S+. If Black stops it with 12 ... g6,
"xdS 10 ttJxdS 0-0-0, but the key line is both 1 3 f3, to open the f-file for the
9 "xb7 ttJxd4 10 ttJxdS ttJxC2+ 1 1 'ito>dl attack, and 13 ttJf4 are killing. H owever,
ttJxal 12 'ii'x a8 'ii'x a8 13 ttJxC7+ �d7 14 in the g ame White gradually lost his
ttJxa8 e S . However, this al so looks ex­ way and ended up droppin g a piece:
cellent for Black as the knight on a8 is 12 �f4 ttJe7 13 "C3 ttJg6 14 �e3 �d6
easier to trap than the one on al: for lS h4 'ifd7 16 hS ttJe7 17 0-0-0 l::t hf8 18
example, 1 5 �e3 ttJe7 16 ttJe2 (or 16 g6+ hxg6 19 h6 gxh6 20 �xh6 l::t h 8 21
�xa7 �c6 planning 17 ... �b7) 16 ...ttJdS ttJe2 "g4 2 2 f3 exf3 2 3 l:.df1 ttJfS 24
17 ttJC3 ttJxe3+ 18 fxe3 �b4 with win­ 'ii'xf3 'ifxf3 2 S l::t xf3 �f8 26 ttJg3 �xh6+
ning chances for Black. 2 7 'ito>d1 �g7 28 :thf1 �xd4 29 c3 �es
9 e6?
.•. 30 ttJxfS gxfs 3 1 l::txfS+ 'ito>e6 0-1
A serious mistake. H e shoul d play So is this line playable for Black?
9 .. :iVd7! intending 10 ... 0-0-0 when Was 1 M Panchenko following some
White looks busted as 10 'ii'x b7 l:r.b8 1 1 analysis he prepared years ago and
ttJxc7+ �d8 costs h i m a piece. forgot what to do after the inferior 9
10 'ii'x b7 exd s ttJxdS ? Or was he feeling in spired at
The best chance is 10 ... �d7, but the board, and the in spiration ran out
simply 11 ttJc3 should be winning for after eight moves? I can 't an swer those
White. two questions, but 4 ... dS ! ? looks to be
11 "xc6+ 'ito>f7 in good sh ape from what I can see !

36
 Chapter Two

W h ite Pl ays 2 l2JC 3

1 d4 fS 2 lDc3 can't cause Black as much grief as with

2 c4.
Let's now turn to 1 d4 fS 2 lDC3.
Once again White has blocked in his c2-
pawn . On the other hand, he is threat­
ening to seize space with 3 e4 - if he
can pl ay this unopposed then there can
be no criticism of 2 lDC3. For example,
after 2 lDC3 d6 ? ! 3 e4 fxe4 4 lDxe4 we
h ave a kind of mirror image of the Sicil­
ian Defence with 1 e4 cS 2 lDf3 e6 3 d4
cxd4 lDxd4. In the Sicilian version
In the Queen 's pawn opening, after Black's queen and bishop on f8 have
1 d4 dS, the move 2 lDC3 (The Veresov open lines, and he can ch allenge the
Opening) has never become particu­ white knight on d4 with 4 ... lDc6. Things
larly popular for White. It is well known are much poorer for Black in the Dutch
that he gain s the most profit by attack­ version due to the fragility of his king
ing the black pawn centre with 2 c4 or and the fact that his queen and dark­
2 lDf3 and then 3 c4, and putting the squared bishop are still passive.
horse on c3 gets in the way of this plan . Therefore, in contrast to the Sicilian,
Of course White doesn't stand worse after 1 d4 fS 2 lDC3 it is importa nt th at
after 2 lDc3; it merely mean s that his B lack pu t up an obstacle to Wh ite's 3 e4
strategic option s are more limited. He adv ance.

37
Play t h e D u t c h

W h i c h va riation t o choose? So after 2 ... liJf6 Black has a reduced

One obvious method of stopping 3 e4 is capacity to m ake effective pawn
2 ....�Jf6. The knight is bound to go to f6 breaks. Therefore I want to recommend
at some point, so why not play it there 2 d S in this ch apter, and after 3 .i.f4,
•••

straightaway? A typical sequence is 3 the little pawn move 3 a61 .

.•.

.i.g 5 d5 4 .i.xf6 exf6 5 e3.

In contrast to White's 2 liJc3, Bl ack

White might then engineer c2-c4 avoids blocking in his c-pawn with
after all with .i.d3 and liJce2, or try for ... liJc6. He intends to build up with
an attack as Bl ack often castles queen­ ... liJf6, ... e7-e6, ... c7-c5 and only then
side. Black has a lot of resources in ... liJc6. If he succeeds he h as a big g er
these variations, and m any strong centre than White.
Grandm asters have defended them Such a strategy, with its multiple
with success. The bishop-pair and a pawn moves, l ooks risky. However,
solid centre are not to be sneezed at, Black is trustin g in the solidity of the
and I g ave 2 ... liJf6 my support in Sta rt­ Stonewall centre and the fact that
ing Out with the Du tch. White cannot easily arrange a pawn
H owever, in this book the emphasis break. The move 3 ... a6 actually m akes
i s on dynamism. I find the position s the bl ack centre safer as it rules out an
after the exch ange .i.xf6 and the recap­ attack on it based on liJb5 followed by
ture ... exf6 a little static for Bl ack. The c2-c4.
pawn break ... c7-c5 would leave the d5-
pawn weak after d4xC5, while advanc­ A word on the
ing the king side pawn clump is prob­ Stonewa l l Formation
lematical. We occasion ally see a g ame In this book I've referred to any struc­
in which Black man ages to arrange ture as a Stonewall in which Black ad­
.. .f5-f4 to get the pawn s rolling, but it vances ... d7-d5 so th at his pawns on d5
requires some help from White ! and f5 give him a grip on the central

38
 W h i t e Plays 2 ltJ C 3

light squares. In particular, White's e2- centre. From a strategic point of view
e4 space-gaining move is prevented or he has two options: play a violent e2-e4
made difficult to arrange. White's breakthrough or else arrange c2-c4 af­
light-squared bishop is al so reduced in ter all .
scope, as on g2 it would be staring at a
wall on ds, or on d3 at a wall on fs . 50
The Immedia te
White's attacking chances are on the
Ciambit: 3 e4
whole reduced.
So the good news for Black is that
he has equal space in the centre and is 1 d4 f5 2 lDC3 d 5 3 e4 dxe4 4 f3 e 5 !
solidly entrenched on the light squares.
The m ain drawback is that Black has
renounced setting up a mobile pawn
centre with ... d7-d6 and ... e7-e s . In­
stead the es-square is a hole in the
black centre, a perfect post for a white
knight, and h as to be carefully watched
over by the black pieces.
Perh aps the fundamental strategic
decision Black h as to m ake in the Dutch
is: shoul d I set up a Stonewall centre
(with ... d7-ds) or a mobile centre (with Bl ack i s at least equal after this free­
... d7-d6 and ... e7-es). Black doesn 't al­ ing move, which explains why highly­
ways h ave a choice - as in the 2 lDc3 rated players prefer to play 3 .i.f4 to
variation, where he is virtually obliged rule it out and only after 3 ... a6 go 4 e4
to set up a Stonewall to prevent White (not that it does them much good in
gaining space with an 'easy' e2-e4. the g ames in this ch apter).
5 dxe5
Wh ite's strategy Black has opened the centre at a
Turning to the specific position after 2 bad time for White, as his knight on g l
ltJc3 ds, Black is planning to seize a is denied the f3 -square. I n fact this has
large share of space in the centre and, proved the downfall of White in all the
if left alone, will complete his devel­ g ambit games discussed here - he sac­
opment with a safe and active g ame. rifices a pawn to speed up his devel­
The weakness of the es-square isn't opment, only to find that it has made it
enough on its own to cause him any harder, not easier, to mobilize his king ­
trouble. White therefore h as to devise a side pieces.
plan of action to undermine the black 5 ... 1i'xd1+ 6 �xd1

39
 Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com
Play t h e D u tch

After 6 lLlxdl lLlc6 7 f4 lLlb4!... defend g 2 : for instance if 1 2 ':'g l .ltcs,

etc. In P.Raineri de Luca-F. Peralta, Cas­
telldefel s 2005, White g ave up the ex­
ch ange but eventually lost after 13 :e2
.ltg4 14 lLlf2 .ltxe2+ 1 5 �xe2 when
ls ... lLlxg 2 was simplest.
A curious point: after the move or­
der 1 d4 fs 2 lLlC3 ds 3 e4 dxe4 4 .ltf4
should Black play 4 ... a6, or find a more
'productive' move? I think we should
stick with 4 ... a6. After all, in the g ames
that follow it helps Black destroy a
... Black already h ad the initiative in couple of top players in the move order
S.Tikhomirov-M.Grunberg, Buch arest 3 .ltf4 a6 4 e4.
2002.
6 ... lLlc61 7 .ltf4 lLlge7 8 lLlh3 .lte61 9 fxe4
The Delayed Ciambit:
0-0-0+
3 i.f4 a6 4 e4
Bl ack has responded to White's
pawn sacrifice with a double-pawn
offer in order to speed up his develop­
V.Ma lakhatko-N.Firman
ment and embarrass the white king .
Germ a n League 2008
1 0 .ltd3 h6!
Threatening 11 ... gs when the es­
pawn is sure to drop. 1 d4 fs 2 lLlC3 ds 3 .ltf4 a6 4 e4
11 exfs lLlxfS 12 :e1 lLlh4! White tries to prove that 3 ... a6 is an
irrelevant, self-indulgent move by
starting a fight in the centre. H owever,
as we shall see, in a fast-moving battle
the fact that 3 ... a6 prevents lLlbs or
.ltbs proves valuable.
4 dxe4
•..

Every Dutch player needs to know

that in this type of position 4 .. .fxe4?
runs into 5 "iWh s+ and 6 "ii'x ds, leaving
the black centre ruined.
5 f3 lLlf6!
And suddenly White's position is Very sen sible. H avin g taken a liberty
collapsing as there i s no good way to with 3 ... a6, we shouldn't push our luck

40
www.Ebook777.com
 W h i t e Plays 2 tD c 3

too far. Rather than speed up White's i n disposing of the fs-pawn, m aking
development with s ... exf3 6 tDxf3, the path more smooth for the bishop
Black brings his own knight into the that follows in its wake.
game.

11 'iVd2 e6 12 0-0-0
6 fxe4 fxe4 Mal akhatko h as made a lot of ag­
The black pawn on e4 looks ugly, gressive moves, but it is Firman who
but just as ugly is the fact that the has the more dynamic chances th anks
white knight on g l can 't go to f3. And to his steady and preci se play.
ugliest of all from a strategic perspec­ 12 il.b4 13 h3 0-0 14 g4 iLg6 15 'ife3
•••

tive is the fact that White h as granted as!

an easy development to the bishop on Black already h as an excellent g ame
c8, Bl ack's worst piece in 1 d4 openings thanks to his grip on the centre. Now
for the past 500 years. the wonderful a-pawn is called on to
7 iLc4 tDc61 lead the attack again st the white king .
Preparing to hunt down White's ex­ 1 6 'ifg3 'ifd7 17 h4 h S !
cellent light-squared bishop. You will
notice thi s plan is possible due to the
service of the a6-pawn in preventin g
tLlbS .
8 tDge2
The alternative 8 iLes is examined
in the next g ame.
8 tDa s 9 iLb3 tDxb3 10 axb3 iLfS
•.•

This bishop always seem s super­

charged once the obstruction on fS is
removed. Perhaps it is because White
has h ad to soften up his light squares A crucial move t o break u p the

41
Play t h e D u t c h

white attacking front and prevent the Of course if 3 0 'iVC2, then 3 0... :a1+
bishop being driven backward with 18 31 'iltb2 .l:ita2+ win s the white queen .
hS. 30 l:.a6 3 1 :g2 :c6+ 3 2 ':C2 liJg3 !
..•

1 8 gxh 5 .1l.xh 5 19 11dg1

It appears at first glance that
White's assault is as promising as
Black's queen side play. However, he
can't conquer the g7-point, whereas
Bl ack can break through along the a­
file where the attackers far outnumber
the defenders.
19 ... a4
This is not even a sacrifice as both
20 liJxa4? .1l.xe2 and 20 bxa4 .1l.xe2 2 1
liJxe2 .l:itXa4 (but not 2 1 . . .'ifxa4??) are The entry of the knight decides mat­
bad for White. ters. If now 33 .:tel Black can get a king
20 .1l.e5 axb3 21 cxb3 .1l.xe2 22 liJxe2 and pawn endgame three pawn s up:
liJh5! 33 ... liJe2+ 34 liexe2 'iVxe2 3S ':xc6
'iVxb2+ 36 �xb2 bxc6.
33 lixc6 liJe2+ 34 'ifxe2 'ifxe2 35 ':xC7
'iVu 36 ':'h3 d4 37 :g3 'ii'a 1+ 0-1

I.Lysyj-M.Narciso Dublan
E u ropea n C h a m pio n s h i p,
Plovd iv 2008

1 d4 f5 2 liJC3 d 5 3 .1l.f4 a6 4 e4 dxe4 5

f3 liJf6 6 fxe4 fxe4 7 .1l.C4 liJc6 8 .1l.e5
The knight takes over the defence of White defends his d4-pawn with his
g 7 to free the bl ack queen for deci sive bishop as he is evidently unh appy
action on the queen side. about 8 liJge2 liJas ! as in the g ame
2 3 'ii'g 2 'iVc6+ 24 liJC3 ':f3 2 5 d 5 exd 5 26 above. If now 8 ...liJas White could al­
'iltb1 .1l.xC3 27 .1l.xC3 .l:[xc3 ways keep his bishop with 9 .1l.e2 ! ? -
Simultaneously destroyin g White's not that there is anything great for him
hope of an attack g 7 and wrecking his in the resulting position. In stead N ar­
king's defences. ciso Dublan prefers to increase the
28 bxc3 'ifxc3 29 'ii' b 2 'ifd3+ 30 'iltC1 pressure on the white centre:

42
 W h i t e Plays 2 lLl c 3

8 ... lLlg4! 12 'ili'C4?

Black would h ave a useful initiative
after 12 'ikd2 e6 ! . Therefore White tries
to continue in attackin g vein, but with
disastrous results.
12 ... lLlxC2+ 13 'iti>e2 e61
Al so good enough was 13 ...lLlxal,
but Black didn't want to give White an
attack after 14 �f7+ 'iti>d7 1 5 lLlh 3 .
1 4 �xb7 'ifg5 !
Decisive, a s 1 5 �xa8 'ikxg 2+ 16 'iti>dl
lLle3+ win s the white queen .
And why not? Bl ack h as just as 15 �c6+ 'iti>f7 16 �xe4 lId8!
much dynamism as White in this posi­
tion - he doesn't h ave to be awed by
his opponent's attacking gestures. Now
besides the double capture on e 5 White
has to watch out for a fork on e3. In­
deed, 9 lLlge 2 ? ? lLle3 would win a piece.
9 �d 5 �f5!
Black develops simply and leaves
White to sort out his mess. Once again
the plan of king side development with
10 lLlge2? falls apart: 10 ... lLlxe5 11 dxe 5
lLle3 12 'ifd2 lLlxg 2+ 1 3 �1 e6! and the So that if 17 l:td1 'ike3+ and mate in
bishop on d5 is pinned. two moves.
10 'ife2 lLlgxe5 11 dxe5 lLld4 17 �XC2 'ii'x g2+ 18 'iti>el 'ii'x hl 19 �xf5
White is now threatening m ate in
one so Black has to play with a little
care.
19 :WWx gl+ 20 'iti>e2 'i!i'xh2+ 21 'iti>f3
.•

'ikxe5 22 :fl �e7 2 3 lLle4 �f6 24 'iti>g2

l:td4 25 lLlg5+ �xg5 26 �xe6+ 'iti>e7 27
1:[f7+ 'iti>d8 28 'ifxa6 l:td2+ 29 'iti>fl l:tdl+
30 'iti>f2 'ike3+ 0-1

In these l ast two g ames we h ave

seen players rated 2 6 3 3 and 2 5 9 5 lose

43
Play t h e D u tc h

with White again st players rated 2 5 2 5 knight m anoeuvre is decidedly suspect

and 2 509 respectively. The problem for - he spends two moves to exchange it
White is that he can't develop his on c6, which merely strengthens
knight to f3, while .i.c4 and ttJge2 runs Black's centre and open s the b-file for
into the awkward ... ttJa5 ! exchanging Bl ack's heavy pieces; still, White is al­
off the important bishop. ready in an awkward situation as after
say 10 1:[g l 0-0 he has to reckon with a
... d4 pawn advance) 10 ... 0-0 1 1 'ii'd 2
White Plays ttJes
1:[e8 12 ttJxc6 bxc6 13 .i.e2 .i.d6 (secur­
ing b8 for his rook) 14 .i.xd6 'iix d6 1 5
We shall now consider g ames which 0-0-0 ':'b8 and Black had the attack i n
feature a more positional approach by T. Reiss-M. Bartel, Wattenscheid 2009.
White. After 3 .i.f4 a6 4 e3 ttJf6 5 ttJf3 5 e6 6 ttJe5
..•

e6 he has two strategic strings to his

bow: the hole on e 5 and the possibility
of undermining the black pawn struc­
ture along the c-file.

K.Sa kaev-A.Volokitin
E u ro pea n C l u b C u p,
O h rid 2009

1 d4 f5 2 ttJc3 d5 3 .i.f4 a6 4 e3 ttJf6 5

ttJf3 At the first opportunity the white
White can also delay developing his knight takes possession of the hole on
knight in favour of immediate king side e5.
action with 5 h 3 , whereupon after the In stead White can play solidly with
routine 5 ... e6?! the pawn lever 6 g4! 6 .i.d3 c5 7 dXc5 .i.xC5 8 0-0, aiming to
worked out well in V.Epishin­ hit the d5-pawn with a quick c2-c4.
V.Malaniuk, Tashkent 1987. In a later Incidentally, this is the approach advo­
g ame Bartel struck back with the im­ cated by Richard Palliser in Play 1 d4!.
mediate 5 ... c 5 : 6 dxc5 ttJc6 7 ttJf3 e6 8 After 8 ... ttJc6 9 ttJe2 0-0 10 c4, Glenn
g4 (the consistent move, though it Flear recommends 10 ... ttJb4 ! ? with un­
seem s to leave White's position too clear pl ay.
loose; perh aps he should play 8 ttJa4 6 ttJbd 7 !
•..

when 8 ... ttJd7 9 c4 ttJxC5 is bal anced) Immedi ately challenging i t s oppo­
8 ... .i.xc5 9 gxf5 exf5 10 ttJe5 (White's site number. Now Volokitin intends

44
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W h i t e Plays 2 ttJ C 3

... i.. d 6 and ... 0-0, which would leave pawn endgame. For the record here are
White in a positional dead-end. After the remaining moves:
all, how can he improve his position, as 15 .l:.gl 'ike7 16 'ikf4 i.. d 7 17 ttJd4 'ii'f7
f2-f3 can be answered by ... ttJh s, h ar­ 18 c4 ':g8 19 l:txg8 'ii'x g8 20 cxd 5 cxd 5
assing the bishop on f4? Perhaps the 21 'iti>bl 'it'g5 22 'it'h2 .l:.c8 2 3 h4 'it'g7 24
best ch ance would be ttJb1, ttJd2 and i.. d 3 'iti>b6 2 5 .:tgl 'ii'e 7 26 h 5 'ikb4 27 f4
ttJdf3, but this convoluted m anoeuvre 'iti>a7 28 'ii'f2 'ii' b 6 29 'ii'd 2 i.. e 8 30 i.. e 2
is hardly a vote of confidence in 2 ttJc3. i.. b 4 3 1 'iVdl i.. C 5 3 2 'iVd2 i.. a 4 33 i.. d l
In stead Sakaev tried to force m at­ i..x d4 34 'ii'x d4 'ii'x d4 3 5 exd4 i..x dl 3 6
ters: ':'xdl ':'g8 3 7 'iti>C2 :g4 38 :fl 'iti>b6 39
7 g4 ttJxe5 8 dxe5 ttJxg4 9 h 3 ttJh6 10 'iti>d3 :g3+ 40 'iti>d2 11g2+ 41 'iti>c3 'iti>b5 42
i.. x h6 gxh6 11 'ii' h 5+ 'iti>d7 12 0-0-0 1:[cl :h2 43 'iti>b3 ':'xh 5 44 ':'C7 l:th3+ 45
Threatening 13 ttJxds ! . 'iti>c2 .l:.h4 46 .l:.xb7+ 'iti>C4 47 .l:.a7 .l:.xf4 48
1 2... 'ii'g 5! 13 'ii'f3 c6 .:txa6 ':f2+ 49 'iti>bl 'iti>xd4 50 ':xe6 .:te2
51 a4 .l:.xe5 52 1:[f6 'iti>e3 53 'iti>C2 d4 54
b4 d3+ 55 'iti>C3 f4 56 .l:.d6 'iti>e2 57 .l:.xd 3
l:te3 58 ':xe3+ fxe3 0-1

So the immediate 6 ttJe s got no­

where. But we should see what hap­
pens if White waits a move with 6 i.. d 3
and only after 6 . . . cs plays 7 ttJes.

Formerly speaking, White h as a

huge l ead in development, but there is
no good way to break through . In the
Dutch we often see the resilience of the
Stonewall centre and the feebleness of
the white pawn s as an attacking force.
14 ttJe2 'iti>C7
Black h as m an aged to flee with his
king, after which his dark-squared Then 7 ... ttJbd7 ! ? still seem s okay: for
bishop, solid centre and fairly useful example, 8 0-0 ttJxes 9 i.. x es i.. d 6 looks
extra pawn give him the advantage. equal or critically 9 dxe s ttJd7. The
Volokitin was eventually able to ex­ black centre seem s to be holding firm
change down into a winning rook and as 10 i.. xfs ? doesn't work for White

45
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Play t h e D u tc h

after 10 ... exf5 11 liJxd5 liJb6 ! . That okay in this position. However,
means that Bl ack will have time for 7 ... liJbd7 ! ? makes me feel a lot more
10 ... it.e7 and 11 ... 0-0 with a good game. confident about Black's chances.
Instead White can try 6 it.d3 c5 7 Thus it appears that White can't get
0-0 liJc6 8 liJe5, but 8 ... liJxe5 tran sposes l asting benefit through putting his
to the 7 ...liJbd7 8 0-0 liJxe5 line above. knight on e5.
White could al so play 6 it.e2 (rather
th an 6 it.d3) but I don't think thi s helps
White Tries for
him. For example, 6 ... C5 7 liJe 5 (7 0-0
Queenside Adion
will be seen in our next illustrative
g ame) 7 ... liJbd7 8 it.h 5+ g 6

F Elsness M Bartel
.
-
.

E u ropea n Tea m
C h a m pions h i p, Novi Sad 2009

1 d4 f5 2 liJc3 d5 3 it.f4 a6 4 liJf3 liJf6 5

e3 e6 6 it.e2 c5 7 0-0 liJc6

9 it. e 2 (if 9 liJxg 6 h x g 6 10 it.xg 6+

<l;e7 1 1 dXc5 liJxC5 and the Stonewall
centre protects the black king) 9 ... liJxe 5
10 it.xe5 (after 10 dxe 5 liJd7 the pawn
on e5 can be assailed with ... it.g7)
10 ...it.d6 and playing ... g 7-g6 doesn't
really seem to have hurt Black.
Incidentally, in my book Sta rting Black has almost completed the
Out: th e Du tch I was rather di smissive plan of development he envisaged with
of the plan of 2 ... d5 because I was too 3 ... a6. H owever his centre is still some­
impressed by the g ame F.Ljubicic­ what fragile. Elsness hopes to exploit
M.Zelic, Split 2000, where White was this by l ashing out at the c5-pawn .
allowed to weaken the black pawns 8 liJa4 cxd4
after 6 it.d3 c5 7 liJe 5 liJc6? ! 8 0-0 it.e7 9 Instead 8 ... C4 looks sounder, but 9
b3 0-0 10 liJxc6 bxc6 1 1 liJa4! etc, al­ b3 g ave White some edge and he man ­
though in fact Black is probably still aged t o win i n I.Sokolov-M.Bartel,

46
 W h i te P l ays 2 lD c3

European Ch ampionship, Warsaw 16 11b1 :a8 17 'iVe2 �f7!

2005. In his preparation for the present The decision of a seasoned Dutch
game Bartel h ad come up with a more Defence player. The obvious move was
dynamic plan for Black. 17 ... 0-0, but Bartel sees it is a g ood idea
9 exd4 lDe4 10 lDe5 to set the king to work in defendin g the
Even so, the position l ooks awkward e6-pawn. In doing so he frees the black
for Black. After 10 ... lDxe5 11 .ltxe 5 he queen for aggressive action, whereas
has to reckon with the di sruptive 12 otherwise she would have been tied to
i.h 5+ (as 12 ... g 6 drops h8). Meanwhile e6 by White's l atent threat of f2-f3,
f2-f3 is hanging over his head: once the driving away the knight, followed by
knight i s driven back from e4, the en­ 'ii'x e6.
ergy in Black's set-up would begin to 18 .ltd3
fade and his positional weaknesses Giving back the pawn . In stead the
come to the fore - a backward pawn on g ame might h ave ended 18 f3 lDf6 19
an open file on e6, and dark-square b4! lDh 5 ! 20 g 3 (20 a4? lDf4 win s the
holes on c5 and e 5 . bishop) 20 ... lDxg 3 2 1 hxg3 'iVxg 3+ 22
1o ... .ltd6 ! �h l 'iVh 3+ 2 3 �g l 'ii'g 3 + and Black
gives perpetual check, as intervening
with the queen costs White the bishop.
18 .. J:txa2

Bartel plays the move he wants to

play, even though it costs him a pawn .
11 lDxc6 bxc6 12 .ltxd6 'iVxd6 13 lDb6
l:tb8 14 lDxc8 l:txc8 15 i.xa6 l:tb8 Bl ack now has a clear edge and
The pawn sacrifice h as increased wrapped up the endg ame with some
the size of Black's centre and removed sharp moves.
from the board his passive bishop on 19 .ltxe4 dxe4 20 c3 l:tb8 21 f3 exf3 22
c8. The white knights that were putting 1:txf3 g6 2 3 'ii'f2 c5 24 dXc5 l:.bxb2! 25
pressure on the c5 and e 5 dark squares "1Wxb2
have al so vanished. Instead 25 l:txb2 l:tal+ 26 'it'fl

47
Play t h e D u t c h

'iVxC5+ is similar t o the g ame, and after moves. In fact, it was preparation for a
2 5 cxd6 l:1xbl+ 26 'ii'fl ':'xfl+ 27 'it>xfl nasty trap as 30 f41 followed.
�e8 Bl ack will pick up the d6-pawn
with a winning endgame.
2 5 :ii'xc5+ 26 �hl l:txb2 27 l:txb2 e5 28
.•

l:tb7+ 'itf6 29 l:txh7 e4 30 l:tfl e3 3 1 :b7

e2 3 2 l:tel 'iVf2 3 3 lIbbl �e5 34 c4 �d4
0-1
White h as had enough of his para­
lysed position, and resigned before
Bartel h ad the chance to demon strate
the win by advancing his king side.

I 'm most impressed by Bartel 's After 30 ...'ii'x e3 31 :f3 1 'ii'x cl 3 2

move 17 ... �7 ! . It is all too easy to get 'ii'x e6+ the e6-pawn, the linchpin of the
caTTied away with an attack and forget black pawn structure, h ad collapsed.
about the weakness of e6. Your author White grabbed a lot of pawn s before
had the following bitter experience: regaining the rook:
32 �f8 33 'iVf6+ �e8 34 'iVh8+ �d7 3 5
•..

'ii'x h7+ �d8 3 6 'ii'g 8+ �e7 3 7 'ii'g 7+

�d8 38 'iVf8+ �d7 39 'iVf7+ �d8 40
'iVxd 5+ �e7 41 'ii'e 5+ �d8 42 'iVd6+
�e8 43 'ii'x g6+ �d8 44 'ii'f6+ �e8 45
l:txc3 l:txc3 46 'iVxc3 'iVb2 47 'ii'c 8+ �e7
48 �h3 lDd4 49 'ii'C 7+ �e6 50 'ii'e 5+
�d7 51 g6 lDe6 52 'iVxf5 �e7 5 3 .lid S
lDg7 54 'iVe5+ 1-0
In stead I should have played the
'Bartel' move 29 ... �f7 ! defending the
The diagram position was reached e6-pawn, and only then thought about
in Hoang Than h Trang-N.McDonald, doubling rooks along the c-file. The
Budapest 2003. White played 29 �h2 Dutch i s an opening that is unforgiving
whereupon I confidently replied of n atural moves. Black pushes so
29 l:tfc8? doubling up rooks on the c­
••. m any pawns that he h as to keep his
file. I was convinced I h ad a good posi­ eyes open for sudden tactics. Of course,
tion and that there was n o danger fac­ the same problem faces White - he
ing me - I took 29 �h 2 as an indication also pushes a lot of pawns, and so is
that White h ad run out of con structive vulnerable to sudden tactics.

48
 W h i te Plays 2 tD c 3

O r 4 i.h4 g s 5 e3 tDf6 (in stead

S ... g xh4 6 'ifh S+ �d7 7 tDf3 l ooks risky
White Plays
for Black, though it might be worth a
2 liJC3 d 5 3 .i.g5
try) 6 i.g3 i.g7 7 tDf3 0-0 8 tDes, tran s­
posing to the note to White's 6th, be­
We should n ow consider what to do low.
if White plays 3 i.gs, hoping to tran s­ 4 tDf6 S e3 gs
•••

pose to the 2 tDC3 tDf6 3 i.g s dS varia­

tion.

S.H uerta-A.Ciraf
Merida 2006

1 d4 fs 2 tDc3 d s 3 i.gs h6
Played in the spirit of 2 i.g s h 6 as
seen in Chapter Three. But in those
lines the intention i s to build a small
centre with ... d7-d6, whereas here we 6 i.es
are committed to a Stonewall centre A challenging move. The threat i s 7
with ... d7-dS . The upshot is that once i.xf6, doubling our pawn s, which
White's bishop is chased to g 3 , it will would be bad enough anyway without
enjoy an open diagonal and access to the disruptive queen check after
the es-square. Do we care? Let's see 7 ... exf6 by 8 Vh s+.
how Graf, a 2600-rated pl ayer, m akes it If White had played more peaceably
work for Black. with 6 i.g3 I assume th at Graf would
have developed his king side normally:
6 ... i.g 7 7 tDf3 0-0 8 tDe s, but now, de­
spite being an advocate of ... tDe4 in the
Stonewall set-up, I have to say that
8 ... tDe4 i s prem ature and bad, as White
h ad an obvious advantage after 9 tDxe4
dxe4 10 i.C4+ e6 11 'ili'd2 'ili'e8 12 h4 in
R.Geisler-K. Renner, German League
1994.
More appropriate is the immediate
advance 8 ... cS to attack the white cen­
4 i.f4 tre.

49
 Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com
Play t h e D u tch

n o good way to strengthen his attack.

9 ... cxd6 10 .i.xf6 'iVxf6

For example, 9 dXc5 'iVa5 10 'iVd2

lLlc6 intending ... 'iIi'xc5 or ... lid8 as ap­
propriate, and Black is active. Alterna­ Bl ack has a huge centre that pro­
tively, if 9 h4 we can counterattack tects his own king and can power for­
with our favourite centre-busting wards to cause problem s for the white
move: 9 .. .f4 ! ? 10 exf4 (10 hxg 5 fxg 3 11 monarch .
g xf6 gxf2+ 1 2 'itxf2 ':xf6+ is al so good 11 .i.d3 lLlc6 12 'iVh 5+ 'ite7 13 c3 e5 14
for Black, so the best of a bad lot is the 'ii'd 1 .i.e6 15 lLle2 e4 16 .i.c2 f4 17 f3
meek 10 .i.h 2) 10 ... cxd4 1 1 'ili'xd4 gxf4 exf3 18 gxf3
12 .i.xf4 lLlg4! with an awkward pin on Black h as dangerous passed pawn s
e5, including ideas of ... .l:.xf4 followed for the exchange after 18 .i.xh 7 fxg 2 19
by ... .i.xe 5 . :g l fxe3 (threatening m ate on f3) 20
In the above analysis both ... C7-C 5 ! l:txg 2 'ii'f3 ! 21 lLlf4! 'ili'xdl+ 2 2 'itxdl
and .. .f5-f4! ate away at the white cen ­ g xf4.
tre. Whereas after 8 ... 1L1e4? in the 18 .:g7 19 'ili'd2 fxe3 20 'ili'xe3 l:tf8
.••

Geisler-Renner g ame the black pawn s

became a static clump in the centre.
Maintaining the vitality of his pawns is
essential for Bl ack - you might call it
guarding the dynamic health of the
bl ack position.
6 ... e6 7 1L1b5 llh7!
An economical move as it breaks the
pin on f6 and defends C7.
8 .i.e2 .i.d6 9 1L1xd6+
It m akes a bad impression to rid
Black of the hole on e5, but White had Bl ack stands well as f3 is weaker

50
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 W h i te P l ays 2 lZJ c3

than his doubled centre pawns.

21 .l:!fl 'iitd 8 22 0-0-0 J£.h3 2 3 .l:If2 lIe7
24 'ii'd 2 'iVe6 2 S lZJgl
It is only Chapter Two of thi s book,
and already we h ave seen a white
knight sitting passively on gl in a re­
m arkable number of g ames.
2S J£.fS 26 :e2 iVg6 2 7 J£.b3 l:[xe2 28
•.•

'iVxe2 'iVf7 29 l:tel J£.g6 30 �d2 lZJas 3 1

�e3?
He h ad to keep the bishop with 3 1
�C2. 3 3 'iit d 2 iVfS
31 lZJxb3+ 3 2 axb3 'iit d 7 !
.•. The queen-and-bishop battery is
So th at the king can go t o c6 t o stop now decisive.
the exchange of queens that occurs 34 :Icl l:!.e8 3S iVf2 �d3 mate (0-1)
after the immediate 32 .. :�f5 33 �e7+ An upbeat moment to end our ex­
'it'c8 34 �e6+. amination of the 2 lZJC3 variation !

51
 Chapter Three

Wh ite Pl ays 2 � g 5

1 d4 f5 2 iLg5 going to h appen to the bl ack king .

In this chapter we'll look at the most I n fact, Bl ack's play is based o n solid
radical respon se to White's 2 iLg 5, strategic considerations, not an urge to
namely 2 h61? At first glan ce this
••• commit h ari-kari . H e is planning to
seem s like an in sane move: Black h as utilize his kingside pawn s before de­
already weakened his king side with veloping any pieces. This mean s that he
1 .. .f5, and now he pl ays 2 .. h6, just ask­
. is going to h ave dynamic ch ances, even
ing to be mated on the light squares ! if the pawns are somewhat fragile. In­
Well, I hope the shock isn't too much cidentally, he is playing according to
when I tell you that his third move is the precepts of Ph ilidor, who taught
3 ... g5. In reality, so long as we avoid a th at in the opening the pieces should
couple of beginner's mates, nothing is always pl ay second fiddle to the re-

52
 W h i te Plays 2 .t g 5

quirements of the pawn s. Black's set­ but they are careful t o delay . . .ltlc6 un­
up might be described as a dynamic til the l ast m oment, so th at n o target is
hedgehog. He builds a strong but flexi­ presented for a centre-splitting d4-d5
ble structure on d6 and e6, and only advance by White. At the same time,
then tries to lash out with .. .f5-f4 on the n atural move ... .tg7 is held back -
the king side. after all, why weaken the d6-square by
A good practical feature of 2 ... h6 is moving the bishop away from its de­
that it allows Black to dictate the open­ fence when c4-c5 is looming ?
ing variation, whereas after 2 ... g6
White can choose between a sharp bat­
tle in the centre with 3 ltld2 .tg7 4 e4
or solid play with 3 e3.

The Solid 3 i.h4 g5 4 e3

G.Kaspa rov-Leigh I nterest PLC

london s i m u l ' 199 3
S ltlf3 .td7 9 'ili'C2
1 d4 f51 The white queen clears the way for
A good choice by the business peo­ 0-0-0 and gives the c4-c5 pawn push at
ple in this simul ' g ame. The dyn amic least moral support. After .td3 next
properties of the Dutch seem to make move she adds extra power to a d4-d5
Kasparov uncomfortable even when he advance in reply to ...ltlc6, as the f5-
isn't being distracted by other g ames. pawn would become a target.
2 .tg5 h6 3 .th4 g5 4 e3 ltlf6 5 .tg3 d6 9 .tg7
.••

6 c41?
Kasparov wants his own torrent
pawn on the c-file to counter the force
of Black's battering ram on the f-file. A
c4-c5 advance would fit in nicely with
the bishop on g 3 . The alternative, 6 h4,
will be seen in the next g ame.
6...e6 7 ltlc3 Ve7
The con sulting team go about the
business of mobilizing their pieces with
a view to a future queenside castling,

53
Play t h e D u tc h

The Black players decide i t is time to one g ame, but i n a simul ' he makes a
develop their other minor pieces. natural move th at aim s to win control
10 .i.d3 lLlc6 of the es-square.
Very tempting, as 11...lLlb4 is a
threat. Non etheless, lo ... lLlh s ! ? should
have been preferred: for example, 1 1
ds? lLla6 o r 11 'ilVb3 ( a chang e o f front)
11 ... lLlc6 12 ds (if 12 'ii'x b7 .:tb8 13 'ii'x C7
lLlxg 3 14 hxg 3 and Black has a at least a
draw with the repetition 14 ... :c8 1 5
'ilVb7 .:tb8 etc, a s 16 'ii'a 6? lLlb4 forks a6
and d3) 12 ... lLlas 13 "iVb4 b6 14 lLlbs
c;td8 ! ? with unclear pl ay.
11 a 3
A simple move that puts Black into 14 lLlg4!
.•.

difficulties. Sudden ly the dynamism of the black

11 :ii'f7
•. set-up exerts itself. If 15 h3 Black can
Fighting again st 12 ds, but allowing apply a pawn-ram with ls ... lLlges and
White's other pawn advance: then 16 .. .f4.
12 C5! dXc5 13 dXc5 :c8 15 0-0-0 a6 16 �xc6 �xc6 17 h 3 .i.xf3
18 gxf3 lLle5 19 f4 lLlc6

14 .i.b5?
Instead 14 lLlbs ! attacking c7 would Black h as an excellent bishop on g 7
be very awkward for Black, as the n atu­ and pawn s that cover key squares in
ral reply 14 ... lLlds allows the tactic 1 5 the centre.
.i.xc7! threatening a fork with 1 6 20 l:thg1 'ili'e7 21 'iWb3 .l:.b8 22 c;tb1 0-0
lLld6+. There i s little doubt that Kas­ 23 fxg5 hxg5 24 lId2 l:1f7
parov would have seen this in a one-to- Directed again st an invasion at-

54
 W h i t e Plays 2 � 9 5

tempt on d7 after 2 S l:tgdl. to save him self. But then World Cham ­
25 liJe2 liJa 5 pions are very resourceful s o Yz-Yz
-

Satisfied that they h ave neutralized

the pressure from the World Cham­
pion, the con sulting team become am­
bitious.
26 'ifc2 b5!

R.Hille-V.Malaniuk
M u n ster 199 5

Planning a knight invasion on c4. 1 d 4 f5 2 �g5 h 6 3 �h4 g 5 4 e 3 liJf6 5

27 liJd4 .l:.e8 28 b3 �g3 d6
Keeping out the enemy knight, but No routine S . . �g 7 please. As we
.

now thing s begin to look shaky for saw in the g ame above, there are
White along the al-h 8 diagonal . sound strategic reason s to delay the
2 8. . .f4 29 exf4 gxf4 30 � h 2 e5 3 1 liJf5 development of the bishop for a con­
'i¥e6 3 2 liJxg7 ':xg7 33 ':xg7+ �xg7 siderable number of moves.
The simplification has eliminated 6 h4 l:tg8
Black's powerful bishop, but on the
other hand White h as weak pawn s on
b3 and h 3 , as well as an entombed
bishop on h 2 .
3 4 �b2 l:th8 3 5 'iWc3 'ii'x b3+!
Forcing White into an unpleasant
endg ame.
36 'ii'x b3 liJxb3 3 7 �xb3 htxh3+ 38 f3
Uncovering a defence of his bishop.
Here Kasparov was astute enough to
offer a draw, as after 38 .. J::txf3+ 39 �b4
�f6 40 c6 e4 he would be h ard pressed This seems more precise than 6 ... g4,

55
Play t h e D u tc h

which, although i t closes the king side, This i s confirmed in a tacit way by
lessens Black's control over the f4- the l ater g ame Y. Kuzubov-D.5wiercz,
square. Instead Malaniuk is prepared Polanica Zdroj 200B, in which White,
to cede an open h -file to the white rook rated 2 S 7B, declined to play Kasparov's
in order to keep the chance of a dy­ 14 dS and only drew after 14 'iti>bl �g7
n amic .. .fS-f4 advance - see his 14th 15 lDge2 lDg4 16 dS exds 17 exds lDces
move. lB lDd4 a6 19 �e2 'iti>bB 20 .:the l 'iff7 2 1
7 hxg5 hxg5 s lDd2 .:tfl Y2-Y2 .
The 2 �g s variation h as been under SO it seem s there's not much to fear
a cloud because of the space-gaining here for Black. Furthermore, Illescas
line B lDc3 e6 9 f3 'ile7 10 'ild2 lDc6 11 Cordoba h as played an interesting
0-0-0 �d7 12 e4 fxe4 (a key point is variant on his g ame with Kasparov:
th at 12 .. .f4, our favourite move, fails 10 ... a6 ! ? (rather th an 10 ... lDc6) 11 0-0-0
after 13 �f2 �g7 - or 13 ... a6 14 es! - lDc6 12 e4 and here, because lDbS h as
14 lDb S with a dangerous initiative for been ruled out, we can play 1 2 .. .f4!.
White) 13 fxe4 which Kasparov used
again st Illescas Cordoba at Dos H erm a­
n as in 1996.

Only after 1 3 �f2 is the bishop de­

veloped to d7. The g ame M.Gurevich­
M. lllescas Cordoba, Spanish Team
That g ame continued 1 3 ... 0-0-0 14 Championship 2004, continued
dS exds 15 exds lDe s 16 l:tel 'iti>bB 17 13 ... �d7 14 eS lDdS 15 exd6 'ilxd6 16
'iti>bl �g 7 lB a3 l:th B 19 l:txh B l:txh B 20 lDe4 'iVe7 17 �C4 0-0-0 and Black went
�xes dxe s 21 lDf3 e4 2 2 'ifxg s and on to win in a h air-raising fight.
White had won a pawn, although I Finally, in the g ame E .Atalik­
wonder whether White h as any real M.Muzychuk, Dagomys 2010, White
advantage after, say, lB ... lDfg 4 ! ? when tried a different way to attack in the
19 lDf3 lDxf3 20 gxf3 lDes is nothing for centre: B �d3 ! ? (rather than Kasparov's
White. B lDc3 e6 9 f3) B ... e6 9 lDC3 lDc6 10 dS ! ?

56
 W h i te Plays 2 .i. g 5

After 10 ... liJe7 1 1 dxe6 .i.xe6 1 2 liJf3, break - see, for exampl e, the Kasparov
rather th an 1 2 ... c5 as played, I would g am e above.
recommend the simple 12 .. .'lWd7 and if 11 .i.d3 .i.d7 12 liJe2 "iif7 13 f3 0-0-0
13 liJd4 0-0-0 Black is very active - the
exch ange 14 .i.xe6 'iVxe6 increases his
initiative.
S e6
•..

Black h as built up his g ame in im­

peccable style. His pawn chain contains
no weaknesses and controls a lot of
squares. His queen side pieces have
Malaniuk clears the way for the been developed in good order and his
queen to g alvanize the black position king is safely castled. H e h as been as­
from the second rank. tute enough to leave his bishop on f8 to
g e3 deter pressure by White against d6. A
Hille's moves aren 't forceful and crass example: put the bishop on g 7,
they allow Black to mobilize without move the white knight from d2 on c4,
any problems. Not that there is any­ and already White has .i.xd6 ! winning
thing exactly wrong with playing like a pawn due to a possible knight fork.
this as White. In fact m any players with Of course, this tactic could be easily
a pronounced positional style are avoided by Black, even if he h ad played
happy to defer the m ain struggle to the ... .i.g 7 - the real danger to d6 comes
middlegame. from a c4-c5 pawn advance. In this
9 Ji'e7 10 'ike2 liJe6
.. g ame Hille h as made no effort to ar­
Further to the previous comment, range c4-c5, but Malaniuk wasn 't to
it's something of a luxury for Black not know that his opponent was going to
to be in any danger of being hit over be in a peaceful mood.
the head with d4-d5. If that threat had Malaniuk has also been clever
existed Malaniuk might have employed enough to put his queen on f7, where
the move order ... .i.d7 and only then she supports moves like ... liJh 5 and the
... liJc6, to lessen the impact of a d4-d5 pawn-ram .. .f5-f4. Meanwhile White's

57
Play t h e D u tch

cental pawn s moves h ave been too the Leningrad that it is nice to see
solid, without any bite. If he had car­ White get some of his own medicine.
ried on solidly with 14 0-0-0 chances Or 17 b S ttJe7 18 ttJxf4 .i.h 6 and, with
would h ave rem ained about equal . the white bishop denied access to the
Black might then have tried a different g 6-square, Bl ack h as a strong initiative.
pawn advance: 14 ... ttJdS 15 .i.f2 g 4 ! ? as 17 ttJxf4 :g8
14 ... f4? is ineffective after 15 exf4 gxf4
16 .i.h4! with a much superior version
of the actual game for White.
14 b4
White suddenly wants to attack the
black king , but the quiet 14 0-0-0 was
required.
14 ... f41 15 exf4 gxf4

18 ttJg6?
After 18 .i.g 6 'iVg 7 19 0-0-0 the
white pieces appear rather loose on the
king side, but 19 ... e S 20 dxes dxe s 2 1
ttJe4! is unclear, perh aps good for
White, so Black would h ave to make do
with a solid alternative such as
19 ... ttJe7.
16 .i.h4!
In stead 16 .i.xf4 ':'xg 2 is just good
for Black, so Hille pin s f6 and prepares
to take on f4 with his knight.
16 l:txg2?
.•.

And now it i s Black's turn to be in

too much of a hurry. The subtle
16 ... l:te8 ! was stronger. It breaks the pin
on f6 and prepares to an swer 17 ttJxf4
with 17 ... e s ! opening the centre to get
at the white king . If 17 0-0-0 then
17 ... ttJdS sets up a fork on e3 - Black 18 ttJe7 !
..•

suffers so much with the hol e o n e6 in The exch ange of knights removes

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 W h it e Plays 2 .i g 5

the dyn ami sm that compen sated for White loses a TOok after 3 3 "iVxe2
the weaknesses in the white pawn ':h 1+.
structure.
19 ttJxf8 l:ldxf8 20 c4
White Plays 3 .i.f4
White is understandably reluctant
to let the black knight into the centre
with 20 0-0-0 ttJeds, attacking his weak 1 d4 f5 2 .ig5 h6 3 .if4
squares on e3 and f4. On the other
hand, his pawn structure is becoming
even flim sier.
20... ttJc6 21 "iVc3 e5 22 d5 ttJd4 23 .if2?
He should h ave castled, although
Black h as huge pressure on the king­
side after 2 3 ... ttJh S intending 24 ... ttJf4,
etc.

The thing most noteworthy here is

3 ... ttJf6 4 e4 - a gambit line in the style
of the Staunton . As usual, sound devel­
oping moves, a refusal to remove the
pawn from e4, and hunting down
White's light-squared bishop are the
perfect recipe for Black: 4 e4 fxe4 5 ttJC3
dS 6 f3 .ifs (it's not a good sign for
23 ...ttJxf3+1 White's strategy when Black is able to
Black has such a huge amount of develop his light-squared bishop so
firepower on the f-file that a combina­ easily) 7 fxe4 dxe4 8 .iC4 e6 9 ttJge2
tion was always going to appear. ttJc6 10 0-0 "iVd7 1 1 Wd2 ttJas 12 .ib3
24 ttJxf3 ttJg4 25 .ixa 7 ttJxb3 13 axb3 .ib4 14 ttJg 3 0-0 l s lbe1
Losing quickly, but if 2 5 .ie2 ttJxf2 l:tad8 and Black h ad a clear advantage
26 <itt xf2 e4 or 2 5 .ie4 .ifs, in either in S.Ghane Gardeh-M.Mahjoob, Tehe­
case breakin g down the resistance ran 2002.
along the f-file. However, if White plays a solid
25 .. :iWxf3 26 <itt d 2 Wg2+ 2 7 .ie2 ttJf2 28 move, say 4 e3, we are left wondering
.txf2 l:txf2 29 'iVe3 .ig4 30 l:.he1 .l:.h8 why the bishop went to f4 rather th an
31 <ittd 1 .ixe2+ 32 lIxe2 :xe2 0-1 h4.

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Play t h e D u tch

gets in the way of the c4-c5 advance

that Kasparov arranged versus the con­
J.Demina-A.Muzychuk
sultants, and the knight on f3 gets in
St Petersburg 2009
the way of the f2-f3 move to support
e3-e4, which he played versus Illescas
1 d4 fs 2 .ltgs h6 3 .ltf4 ttJf6 4 e3 d6 S Cordoba, as we saw above.
h4 g61 A position that can't be strength­
ened with pawn moves is on the way
downhill. It's no wonder that the white
pieces flounder around helplessly until
they are caught by a crushing attack.
12 ttJb3 ttJd81

Preparing the fianchetto and al so

preventing an encroachment with 6 h 5 .
6 ttJd2 .ltg7 7 .ltC4 e 6 8 c3 "ike7 9 ttJgf3
ttJc6
Muzychuk follows the system of de­
velopment outlined above versus 3 A fine manoeuvre by the strong l ady
.lth4. White hasn't any counterplay player. The knight goes to f7 where it
along the h-file, as Black wasn't re­ can support pawn breaks with ... e6-e5
quired to play ... g 7-g 5 to drive away the or ... g6-g 5 . Black i s al so refraining from
bishop - it went to f4 of its own accord. castling as she wants to see what her
10 "ika4 .ltd7 11 "ika3 a6 opponent is going to do with her king .
Do you recall the Philidor comment 13 ttJC1 ttJf7 1 4 ttJ d 3 ttJe4 1 S o-o-o?
about how the pieces shouldn 't get in If White h ad castled king side, or
the way of the pawn s in the opening ? It kept her king in the centre - the most
expl ains what h as gone so wrong with sen sible thing to do - Black would h ave
White's position. began an attack with 15 ... g 5 . But now
The problem is that the white pieces the white king is too tempting a target
have been developed in a clumsy man­ on the queen side.
ner without any thought about pawn lS ... bSI 16 .ltb3 as 17 ttJd2 0-0 18 ttJxe4
breaks. For example, the bishop on c4 fxe4 19 ttJe1 :fb8

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 W h i te P l ays 2 .t g 5

Threatening m ate, s o keep your

h ands off the bishop.
4 ... lt.)f6
The best reply. Dubious is 4 ... .tg7 5
.tg3 f4 6 .txf4! gxf4 7 'ilfh S+ WfS S
'ilffS+ ! It.)f6 (or S ... <it>eS 9 .te2 ! It.)f6 10
es) 9 e S d6 10 'ilfxf4 and Bl ack is busted.
I've seen GM Chri s Ward win g ames
like this a couple of times in tourna­
ments.
5 e5 e6!
White has no counterplay at all to
offset the attack on her king . That's
what h appen s when you don't prepare
any pawn advances in the opening.
20 .te2 b4 21 exb4 axb4 22 'ilfb3 .te6 2 3
d5 .txd 5 24 ':xd 5 exd 5 2 5 'ilfxd 5 'iVf6 26
'ifb3 e5 0-1

The Bold 3 .th4 g5 4 e4

Only thus. If in stead S ... g xh4 6 exf6

V.Shishkin-V.Malaniuk
is abysmal for Black.
Mielno 2007
6 exf6
Or 6 .tg 3 f4 7 .txf4 gxf4 S exf6
1 d4 f5 2 .tg5 h6 3 .th4 g5 4 e4 'ilfxf6 9 It.)c3 It.)c6 10 It.)b s <it>dS 11 It.)f3
a6 12 lt.)C3 dS ! (a characteristic move by
Bl ack in this variation when his kin g is
on dS; he plays ... d7-dS to control the
e4-square and block the advance of the
white d-pawn) 13 'ifd2 .td6 (now the
bishop comes to a strong central
square where it guards f4 and control s
es) 14 0-0-0 b S ! , restraining any pawn
break with c2-c4 which White might
h ave arranged. Black is rock-solid in the
centre and his king is completely free

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Play t h e D u tc h

from danger. H e went o n t o win i n Alternatively 8 Si.d3 liJc6 9 c 3 (see

C.Bauer-M.5anto Roman, Toulouse below for 9 'iVh S+) 9 ... dS ! ? (highly sh arp
199 5 . is 9 ... e s ! ? 10 liJe2 dS 11 dxes liJxes 12
6 :i1i'xf61
•• 0-0 as in E. Postny-F.Grafl, Pardubice
Here we have to take the pawn to 2003, and now Postny recommends
stop mate on h S . But never mind: 12 ... Si.d6 13 Si.c2 Si.e6 'when Black is at
White's bishop won't escape the least not worse') 10 liJe2 h S ! ? (this
clutches of the black pawns. looks outrageous, but it achieves the
desired effect of provoking or panick­
ing White into a blunder) 11 h4? (11
'ii'c 2 lith 6 ! ? is unclear) 1 1 .. .fxg 3 12 liJxg 3
gxh4 1 3 liJxh s 'ii'g s and the double at­
tack on h S and g 2 left White in trouble
in T.Meynard-V.5ikula, Villeneuve
Tolosane 2006.
Instead after 8 Si.d3 liJc6 White can
give a check on h S after all :

7 Si.g3
If instead 7 'ifh S+ Black h as the
added option of exchanging queen s
with 7 .. :iif7, but I would suggest
7 ... 'iii' d 8 8 Si.g 3 f4, transposing back to
the mainline.
7 f4
.•.

9 'ifh S + 'iii'd 8 1 0 c3 dS 11 liJf3 fxg3

(he could delay this with 11 ...Si.d7, when
12 liJbd2 e s ! ? speculates in the style of
the Postny game as the white king is a
useful target for a check on e1; but if 12
0-0 I would recommend a transposition
with 12 .. .fxg 3 13 fxg 3 'iVg7) 12 fxg 3 'iVg 7
13 0-0 Si.d7 14 liJbd2 Si.d6. A characteris­
tic position for this line has emerged.
8 'iih S+ Black has the two bishops, an imposing

62
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 W h i te Plays 2 jt, g 5

wedge of centre pawns, and control havin g the king o n d 8 . For this reason
over the es-square. Positionally it is far Mal aniuk doesn't hurry to capture on
from perfect for White, but that won't g 3 , as he doesn't want to clear any lines
matter if he strikes a deadly blow for the white attack.
against the black king . In D.Orzech­ 9 liJc3 jt,b4 10 liJge2 fxg3 11 hxg3 b6
V.Malaniuk, Barlinek 2006, Black's king
managed to edge away to safety, after
which his more compact pawns became
the important factor: 15 litael a6 16
Wh l <ifo>c8 17 c4 jt,b4 18 l:.f2 <ifo>b8 19 liJes
tiJxes 20 dxes <ifo>a7 2 1 a3 jt,xd2 2 2 l:txd2
.ic6 and Black went on to win the posi­
tional battle.
8 'ifi1d8
•••

12 0-0-0
Gambiting the f2-pawn for a break­
through after 12 ... 'ilVxf2 13 dS.
12 ...jt,b7 13 f4?
This leads to weaknesses in White's
own king's defences. The forceful 13
dS ! jt,xdS ! ? 14 liJxds exds 1 5 f4! would
give White attacking chances, though
Black's king looks safe enough and can
The black king is usually safe on d8 run away to b7 if necessary.
in these variation s. The pawn s on d7 13 ... gxf4 14 liJxf4 .ltxC3 15 bxc3 jt,e4!
and e6 are a hard nut to crack, and re­
main solid even if Black chooses to ad­
vance ... d7-dS, as we saw in th e Bauer­
Santo Roman g ame above. Meanwhile,
after he captures on g3, Black will have
an unopposed dark-squared bishop.
So much for the good points in
Black's position . The question is
whether White can organize an attack
to take advantage of a l ack of coordina­
tion among the black pieces caused by

63
P l ay th e D u tch

Clearing the way for the king to go unleash against the exposed king.
to b7 and preventing White's methodi­ 26 tiJe7 tiJC4+ 2 7 'iii> d 3
cal development with i.d3 and l:.df1 T o hol d onto the c3-pawn.
save at the cost of exchanging bishops, 27 ...tiJe5+1
which lessen s the power of his on­
slaught.
16 i.d3 i.xd3 17 tiJxd3 tiJc6

28 'iii> d 2
After 2 8 dxe 5 dxe 5+ 29 'iii> e 2 'iix c3
the white pieces are too far away to
18 Itdf1 'ile7 19 1:If7 'ila3+ 20 'iii> d 2 'iii> c 8 defend their king : e.g., 30 tiJxc8 'ilXC2+
2 1 g4 tiJa 5 22 tiJe5 d6 23 tiJg6 1:Id8 24 31 'iii> e 3 1:Id3+ 32 'iii> e 4 'iVe2 m ate.
'it'xh6 'iii> b 7 2 5 'ifg7 lilac8 28 tiJxf7 29 tiJxc8 tiJe5 30 tiJe7 tiJC4+
•..

Black's king h as reached safety and 31 'iii> d 3 d5 32 g5 'ild6 3 3 1:Ih3 'ilf4 0-1
he is fully developed. White's passed The finish could be 34 'iii> e 2 (to stop
pawn isn't any compen sation for the mate on d2) 34 .. JU8 3 5 1:If3 'ild2+ 36
attack that Mal aniuk is about to 'iii>f1 tiJe3+ and m ate next move.

64
 Chapter F o u r

Wh ite Avoids a n ea rly g 2 - g 3

a g a i n st a Le n i n g ra d Set- u p

l d4 fS 3. He knows a l ot of sharp theory

and wants to destroy his opponent
with 2 c4 and 3 ttJC3.
In other words, you can 't take any­
thing for granted. In this ch apter we'll
h ave a l ook at the mixture of system s
and pawn structures th at might ari se
when White avoids g 2-g 3 and .i.g2, but
all ows Black a Leningrad set-up.
After 1 d4 fS we'll explore:
Part One - White plays e2-e3 and
.ie2 or .id3;
If White avoids putting the bishop Part Two - 2 c4 ttJf6 3 ttJC3;
on g 2 versus the Leningrad Dutch set­ Part Three - 2 ttJf3 ttJf6 3 .ig S;
up, it might mean one of three things: Part Four - White pl ays b2-b3.
1. He doesn't know much theory
and is h appy with simple, albeit pas­
Pa rt One:
sive, development in the opening.
White Plays e2-e3
2. He is a subtle position al m aster
who h as spent years developing a pet
system with .ie2 and b2-b4. At club level, games with .ie2 or

65
Play t h e D u tc h

.t d 3 are common. If White wants a Fortunately (or unfortunately) we

non-theoretical game that avoids put­ don 't get to play Kramnik th at often ; so
ting the bishop on g2 the best way is how can we create dynamic chances as
probably 1 d4 f5 2 liJf3 liJf6 3 c4 g 6 4 Black from the above position ?
liJC3 .tg7 5 e3 d6 6 .te2 0-0 7 0-0 ...
White's premat u re 6 b4
It's worth knowing th at after 1 d4 fS 2
liJf3 liJf6 3 c4 g6 4 liJC3 .tg7 S e3 d6, the
immediate 6 b4 is ineffective because
of 6 ... C 5 ! as played in N .5ulava­
V.Malaniuk, Montecatini Terme 1995 .

... after which White plan s to de­

velop queenside pressure with 8 b4.
Puttin g the bishop on e2 (or d3) cer­
tainly doesn't have the same bite as
deploying it to g2, where it stares men­
acingly down the long diagonal and
causes Black problem s in mobilizing his Th at g ame continued 7 a3 0-0 8
queen side pieces. Nor has White m ade .tb2 liJc6 9 d5? (Beim prefers 9 b 5 ! but
any saving in time, as g2-g3 and �g 2 Black is already doing well) 9 ... cxb4! 10
takes no longer than e2-e3 and �e2. liJb5 bxa3 1 1 �xf6 �xf6 12 dxc6 'iWa5+
On the other h an d, Black mustn't go 13 liJd2 .txal 14 cxb7 .txb7 1 5 'iVxal
thinking that .te2 is harmless, or that a2 and Black h ad good winning
he should be able to seize the initiative chances before blundering and losing.
after this 'inferior' move. White h asn't In stead White could try the 'impos­
made any mistake: he h as avoided the sible' move 7 dXC5, based on the trick
sh arpest line, that is all . In the diagram 7 ... liJe4 8 .tb2 liJxc3 9 'iVb3 when he
above White has more space on the regains his piece. H owever, the simple
queen side, and can try to exploit this. I 7 ... 0-0 looks good for Black after 8
expect that a Kramnik would be able to cxd6 ? ! liJe4.
grind down most top GMs as White More ch allenging is 7 b 5 ! . Then
from this position, or at least cause 7 . 0-0 is sensible, but I'd like to play
..

them some trouble. 7 ... 'illC 7 8 �b2 liJbd7 to put pressure on

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 W h i te A v o ids a n E a r ly g 2 - g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g ra d S e t - u p

c4 with ... tZJb6. For example, 9 Jte2 tZJb6 Jtg7 6 Jte2 0-0 7 0-0 a s
and n ow White h as a choice:

A very logical move. White's pieces

a) 10 'ii'b 3 cxd4 11 exd4 Jte6 12 ds and pawn s aren 't geared up for opera­
i..f7 and the c4-pawn i s a target. tions in the centre or on the kingside,
b) 10 ds e6 11 dxe6 Jtxe6 12 tZJg s ? so why not make it hard for him to ex­
(or 12 'iVb3 h 6 when Bl ack can aim for pand on the queen side?
... d6-ds, e.g. 13 a4? ! 'iff7 14 tZJd2 d s ! ) 8 a3
1 2. . .JtxC4 13 JtxC4 tZJxC4 1 4 tZJ e 6 'ife7 I f S b3 tZJa6 9 ..tb2 'ii'e S when after
15 tZJxg 7+ 'iVxg 7 and White's position is 10 tZJd2 es in M.5efeloge-R.Huss, Bad
falling apart. Homburg 2006, or 10 a3 ..td7 ! 11 'ifc2
c) A tricky move is 10 dxcs ! ? 'ii'x cs es in M.Tietze-G.Wiege, Alfeld 2005,
11 tZJds, threatening to trap the black Black h ad equalized. Note the impor­
queen with 12 Jtd4. However, Black h as tance of 10 ... ..td7 in this second varia­
11 ... e s ! ? and it appears that White has tion : the rook on as is defended so that
overreached him self. The tactical 12 White can't advance on the queen side,
i.a3 fails to 1 2 ... 'i!kxa3 13 tZJC7+ �dS 14 whereas after 10 ... es, 11 b4! is possible
tLlxaS b6 and the knight will be trapped due to the potential pin on the a-file.
by ... Jtb7. Meanwhile S 'ii'c 2 can be answered
by S ... tZJa6 9 l:td1 'ii'e S, intending
White plays 7 0-0 10 ... es, but the g ame move shows a
and Black stops b2-b4 desire to expand after S ... tZJa6? 9 b4! .
8 tZJ c6J?
...

With the idea of advancing 9 ... es

N. Wright-D.Sharma
and creating mobile pawn s in the cen­
Ca n berra 2010
tre.
Suppose White had played S b3
1 tLlf3 d6 2 d4 f5 3 C4 tZJf6 4 tZJ C3 g6 5 e3 rather than S a3. In that case S ...tZJc6

67
Play t h e D u tch

would be less effective as White could Black h as activity not dissimilar to that
fight again st the ... e7-eS advance with which he achieves in the 7 ltJC3 ltJc6 8
9 i.b2, or try to profit from it with i.a3. dS ltJas variation of Ch apter Seven .
Likewise if White h ad played 8 'ii'c 2, he 12 ltJdb5?
would be in a position to impede the A pointless decentralization . He
... e7-eS advance with 9 l:td1. That is shoul d play the consolidatin g 12 b3.
why a6 was the preferred square for 12 i.e6 13 'ii' b 3 ltJd7 14 'ii'c 2 ltJb6 15
..•

the knight in the variations given in the ltJa4 ltJe5 16 ltJd4 i.f7 17 ltJxb6 'ii'x b6
previous note: with C7 defended, the 18 b3 l:tfc8
black queen is free to go to e8 to sup­ So th at if 19 a4 d S ! conquers the c4-
port ... e7-eS without Black being both­ pawn .
ered by an attack on c7 by ltJbs or ltJdS. 19 'ii'd 2 a4
9 d 5 ltJe5

Now White's structure on the

10 ltJd4 queenside collapses and he soon loses
Black has his pawn centre after 10 material.
ltJxes dxe s. He could then attack dS 20 f4 ltJc6 21 i.b2 ltJa 5 22 bxa4 e5 2 3
with 11 ... e6, after which White would ltJ b 5 ltJ b 3 24 'ii'C 3 ltJxa1 2 5 i.Xa1 ':'xa4
really regret h aving his bishop on e2 26 lld1 :c6 27 l:txd6 :xd6 28 c5 :c6 29
rather than g2. cxb6 ':'xC3 30 i.xc3 exf4 3 1 i.d2 fxe3
10 ... c5 3 2 i.xe3 l:te4 3 3 �f2 f4 34 i.C5 l:txe2+
Now White is obliged to give up his 35 �xe2 i.C4+ 36 �f3 i.xb5 3 7 �xf4
pawn wedge on dS in order to keep his �f7 38 h4 h6 39 g4 �e6 0-1
knight in the centre.
11 dxc6 ltJxc6 White plays 7 b4
With the bishop on e2 rather than
g 2 , White is far less able to exploit the 1 d4 f5 2 ltJf3 ltJf6 3 c4 g6 4 ltJc3 i.g7 5
weakness of the ds-square. Meanwhile e3 d6 6 i.e2 0-0 7 b4

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 W h i t e A v o ids a n Ea rly g 2 - g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g r a d S e t - u p

Getting i n the b2-b4 advance before pawn-ram, but after his next move the
Black can play the restraining move white king is whisked away. Instead
7 ... aS. The drawback is th at the tactics Black could m ake a thematic exch ange
of the position permit Black to m ake sacrifice for a pawn with 12 ... ltJxd4 1 3
his own desired pawn advance without exd4 'iix d4 14 ltJds 'iix cs 1 5 iL a 3 'ii a s+
any preparation : 16 iLb4 'ii'd 8 17 iLxf8 (or 17 ndl)
7 e5! 8 dxe5 dxe5
... 17 ... 'ii'xf8 18 :cl. Black h as a fine dark­
squared bishop, but I think he is a bit
worse because getting rid of the knight
on dS with 18 ... ltJxds 19 cxdS grants
White a passed pawn and an open file
for his rook.
13 0-0-0!

Now White h as to avoid 9 'ii'x d8 (or

9 ltJxe s ? ? ltJe4!) 9 ... l:txd8 10 ltJxe s ? ?
liJe4! 1 1 ltJxe4 iLxes when he drops a
piece.
9 'ii'b 3!
A testing move. I only h ave five
games with this position in my data­ Slightly unexpected as White's
base, but remarkably five GMs and a queen side pawns are wrecked. But on
couple of other titled players were in­ the queenside the white king is sur­
volved in these games. rounded by defenders, whereas after
9 .e4 10 ltJd4 C511
.. 13 o-o?? he would be almost on his
We examine 10 ... ltJc6 ! below. own, and facing the prospect of a fur­
The g ame move is attractive as it ther advance of Black's Dutch pawn
breaks up the white pawn s, but it with .. .f4-f3.
seems we h ave to reject it as too risky, 13 ... ltJxd4
based on the g ame R.Kempinski­ Black wants to get his king side
F.Nijboer, European Championship, pawns rolling, but straightening out
Warsaw 200 5 : White's queenside pawn structure is a
1 1 bXC5 ltJc6 12 iL b 2 ! f4 high price to pay. On the other h and, he
Black trusts in the celebrated .. .fS-f4 can't go after the cs-pawn with

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P l ay t h e D u t c h

13 . . .'ii'e 7 a s 1 4 exf4 is a simple and It's understandable th at Black

good reply. should h ave misgivings about taking
14 exd4 �f5 15 f3 on doubled and isolated c-pawn s, but
the white b-pawn, which stands on an
open file, is just as much a target. For
example:
a) 1 1 liJxc6 bxc6 12 0-0 �e6 (other
moves such as 12 ... 'ii'e 7 are also inter­
esting), and Black can utilize his a­
pawn to attack b4: 1 3 �b2 as, or 13
�a3 liJd7 14 .l:Iadl 'ii'f6 1 5 liJa4 as 16
bxa S ? ! l:tfb8, or 13 liJa4 as 14 liJcS iL.f7
(14 ... 'ii'e 7 ! ?) 1 5 liJb7 a4! and in all cases
Black h as queenside pressure to com­
15 .:c8
..• pen sate for the fracturing of his c­
If lS ... e3 then 16 g4! is excellent for pawn s.
White. The e3-pawn is going nowhere b) Altern atively S.Grebennikov­
and meanwhile White can ... A.5ofieva, Leningrad 1990, went 11 cS+
16 liJb5 'iith 8 1 2 liJxc6 bxc6 1 3 �b2 'ii'e 7 14 0-0
... head for d6. Nijboer m an aged to a s ! 15 bS iL.e6 and White was already
save him self with some resourceful on the defensive due to the fragile
pl ay, but we h ave to conclude that queen side pawn s.
White's extra pawn - in the centre the
balance is 4-2 in White's favour - Wh ite plays .lid 3
mean s he has good winning ch ances. In the g ames with �e2 above, we saw
Returning to move 10, the most reliable that one of Bl ack's main ideas is to ad­
move is 10 ... liJc6!. vance ... e7-eS and create a mobile
pawn centre. By this reasonin g , the
plan of �d3, which encourages Black to
advance further with ... e S-e4, which
might fork the bishop and a knight on
f3, already feel s dubious.
The g ame N.Giffard-N.Legky,
Cannes 1992, is the long-established
model of how Black gets maximum
value out of the poor pl acement of the
bishop on d3:
1 liJf3 g6 2 c4 iL.g7 3 d4 f5 4 liJC3 liJf6 5

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 W h i te A v o ids a n Ea rly g 2 -g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g r a d S e t - u p

e3 d6 it becomes a target of the black knight,

Move order! Notice that i t i s impor­ which m akes the white king flee the
tant that Bl ack plays S ... d6 rather than centre to avoid a fork on d3. This in
S ... o-O as he needs to set up his next turn allows the black rook to infiltrate
move. along the d-file.
6 �d 3 e5!

13 �d2 liJd7 14 %:tC1 liJC5 15 0-0 liJe4 16

An excellent pawn sacrifice. �e1 0-0-0 17 b3 l:td3 18 liJf2 l:txe3 19
7 dxe5 dxe5 8 liJxe5 liJxe4 l:txe4 20 �c3 �xc3 21 l:[xc3 �f5
Any slower move th at stops the Black has regained his pawn with
8 ... e4 fork would admit the opening the better chances due to his superior
has gone wrong for White. minor piece. He managed to convert
8 ..liJe4!
. the win on move 63.
The point. If the white knight re­
treats from eS then c3 drops. Now 9 Perhaps White would have been
liJxe4 fxe4 loses a piece, as does 9 'iia4+ able to survive the endgame if he had
though in a more sophisticated man­ been the G M rather th an Black, but in
ner: 9 ... b S ! 10 'ii'xb S+ (or 10 liJxbS c6 1 1 any case this is hardly an advertise­
i.xe4 fxe4 when two white knights are ment for 6 �d3 .
hanging) 10 ... c6 11 liJxc6 liJxc3 12 It is curious that there are only two
liJxd8+ liJxb S 13 cxb S �xd8 and games on my database with 6 ... es. Both
White's extra pawns are no match for a are win s for Black (in the other g ame
piece. White pl ayed the sorry 8 �e2), and the
9 �xe4 'iix d1+ 10 liJxd1 fxe4 11 f4 exf3 computer al so likes it for Black. Perhaps
12 liJxf3 .i.e6 the plan of 6 �d3 is so rare that most
Black has a splendid initiative for pl ayers of the Dutch h ave never got
the pawn . First the c4-pawn is at­ around to studying it and so are un­
tacked, and the rook th at comes to help aware of 6 ... es.

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Play t h e D u tc h

lLlf6 2 c 4 g 6 3 lLl C 3 .tg7 4 e 4 d 6 5 f3

con structs a formidable skeleton of
Pa rt Two:
pawn s on the light squares. The draw­
2 c4 liJf6 3 liJC3
backs remain the same: White is left
somewhat loose on the dark squares
1 d4 f5 2 c4 lLlf6 3 lLlc3 and his knight is denied its n atural
square on f3 .
H ere I want to suggest 4 ... lLlbd71?

Don 't be fooled by White's unobtru­

sive-lookin g move order. If you play
3 ... g6, he is ready to hit you with 4 h4! An unusual but flexible move that
and 5 h5. This attacking line has done keeps the options of ... c7-c5, ... e7-e5 or
very well for White, so rather sadly I ... g 7-g6 according to circum stances.
have to recommend the altern ative 5 e4
3 ... d6. With no target on g6, White is H e might have tried 5 lLlh 3 as
obliged to change plans. Black's e6-square is undefended. Then
The g ame could easily tran spose to 5 ... e5 should be okay for Black, but
familiar territory; e.g. if White pl ays 4 5 ... c5 is critical :
lLlf3 then 4 ... g 6 5 g 3 .tg7 6 .tg2 reaches a) 6 d5 lLle 5 gives us a centre famil­
our standard Leningrad Main Line. iar from lLlh 3 lines in Chapter Five.
Here we'll look at two ways in which b) 6 e3 e 5 ! stops lLlf4 and fights for
White can exploit the move order to the centre. Black can resist an invasion
carry out a specific plan. by the white knights: e.g. 7 lLlg 5 "ife7 8
lLlb 5 lLlb6, followed by ... a7-a6 as
The Sam isch a pproach: 4 f3 needed, when he h as the better g ame
since White's centre is sh aky.
1 d4 f5 2 c4 lLlf6 3 lLlC3 d6 4 f3 c) 6 lLlg 5 cxd4 7 lLle6 "iVa5 8 "it'xd4
White tries to play in the style of the lLlC5 ! al so proves ineffective for White.
King's Indian Samisch, in which 1 d4 5 ...fxe4 6 fxe4 C5

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10 ... �es ? ? 11 �xes fxe s would be

plain ridiculous for Black. H e wants a
knight on the square, not a weak pawn .
So a more methodical rearrangement
of the black pieces is called for: first
... �g4, so that ... �de s can be pl ayed
without suffering doubled pawn s; then
... .i.d7 develops the bishop; and finally
... �f7 retreats the knight so th at
... �ges can be played. Black thus con ­
solidates his grip over the eS-square
7 dS and frees his bishop on c8.
White sticks to his pre-game plan of And Black h as to give thanks to l .. .fS
seizing the light squares. Maintaining that this plan is possible, as otherwise
the pawn on d4 doesn 't promise much : there wouldn 't be a base for the knight
for example, 7 �e3 'ii'a s 8 �d3 (or 8 on f7.
'i'd2 �g4) 8 ... cxd4 9 .i.xd4 �cS. Alter­ 10 ... �g4!
natively, 7 �f3 cxd4 8 �xd4 (Black h as
a solid centre after 8 'ii'x d4 e S 9 'ii'e 3
.te7) 8 ... �cS and then ... g 7-g6. In all
these lines Black h as active play in an
unclear and unusual position - exactly
what we are aiming for when we play
the Dutch .
7 ... g6 8 �f3 .i.g7
White has more space and can try
to exploit the hole on e6. Meanwhile
Black can try to utilize the es-square.
And who is most likely to benefit from In M.Dambacher-S.Van Blitterswijk,
the open f-file? That will depend on the Leeuwarden 2004, White was worn
skill of the players. down after a series of exchanges, some
9 .i.e2 0-0 10 0-0 of which he carelessly arranged him­
How is Black to unwind his game? self:
The knight on d7 is looking clum sy as it 11 .i.gS
blocks in the bishop on c8. For 11 �h 1, see the next g ame.
The es-square is a fine central post 11 ...�des 12 �h1 .i.d7 13 'i'd2 �f7
for a knight from which no white pawn Casting doubt on White's 11th
can drive it away. For that reason move, as the positional threat of

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Play t h e D u tch

14 ... lbxg 5, eliminating the 'good' white White completes his quartet of
bishop, mean s that Black gains time to bishop moves on the long diagonal :
carry out his thematic knight retreat. �g 5 , �f4, � e 3 and now �h 6. The
14 �f4 'ii'a 5 problem is that after the series of ex­
The queen probes the queen side changes White no longer h as enough
and makes way for the rook on a8 to be pieces to defend his queen side pawn s.
centralized. 24 ... �xh6
15 a 3 l:taeS 16 lbe1 lbge5 17 lbc2 a6 lS But not 24 ... lbxC4? 25 'iVf4+ when
�e3 White win s a piece.
Moving the bishop for a third time. 25 'iVxh6+ 'it>gS 26 lbe3
The only move con si stent with his pre­ The best ch ance to hold thing s to­
vious pl ay was the space-gaining 18 b4, gether was 26 11Yh4! 'ii'b 6 2 7 b4.
an swering 18 .. :iVC7 with 19 lbe3 to bol ­ 26 :iVb6
.•

ster the c4-pawn . The game would

then be bal anced.
lS .. JWc7 19 :f2 lbg4!

Now White is suddenly unable to

defend his b2-pawn .
2 7 lbxg4 'iVxb2 2S h 3 lbxg4 29 hxg4
Bl ack has two knights, but only one 'ii'x C3 30 'ii'f4 'ii'x a3 31 'itt h 2 'ii'C 3 0-1
brilliant central base on e5, so it's good Dambacher is an 1M but he couldn 't
to get rid of one of them . find a plan that suited the unusual
20 �xg4 �xg4 21 llaf1 lbe5 pawn structure.
The exchange on g4 h as al so left the
white pawn on c4 undefended.
P.Lagowski-M. Ba rtel
22 ':xfS+
Pol i s h Tea m
If White wants to attack on the
Cha m pionsh i p 2006
king side he shoul d speculate with 2 2
�h 6 ! lbxc4 (or 2 2 . . .l:txf2 ! ?) 2 3 'iVg 5 .
22 . . .l:txfS 2 3 IlxfS+ 'ittxfS 24 �h6? 1 d4 f5 2 C4 lbf6 3 lbC3 d6 4 f3 lbbd7 5

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 W h i t e A v o ids a n Ea rly g 2 - g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g r a d S e t - u p

e4 fxe4 6 fxe4 c5 7 d 5 g 6 8 lbf3 �g7 9 Intending 13 ... lbf7 and 14 ... lbge5,
�e2 0-0 10 0-0 lbg4 but White's next move forces Black to
change his plan .
13 h 3 1 ? lbxf3 14 gxf3 lbf6 15 f4 �xh 3

(In fact this g ame actually began

with the 3 lbC3 g 6 move order: n amely
1 d4 f5 2 c4 lbf6 3 lbc3 g6 4 f3 c5 5 d5 At the price of a pawn, White has
d6 6 e4 fxe4 7 fxe4 .ig7 S lbf3 lbbd7 9 much altered the centre structure: the
i.e2 0-0 10 0-0 lbg4.) black knight base on e 5 has vanished
11 <iit h 1 and White h as a mass of mobile pawn s.
Rather than 11 .ig 5 as in the g ame 16 :g1
above. Lagowski is preparing an inter­ If left in peace, Lagowski can build
esting plan of attack which requires a up an initiative with moves like 'ifh4
pawn sacrifice. and f4-f5, with �h 6 thrown in as ap­
11 lbde5
••• propriate, or 'iWg 3 and e4-e 5 .
16 ... e511
To play the Dutch successfully, Black
h as to master the art of tran sforming
the pawn structure. The fluid nature of
the opening means that there are usu­
ally interesting pawn thrusts available
to both players, and choosing the right
one and playing it at the right moment
is never easy.
The g ame move is excellent because
it:
12 'ife1 1. Prevents the advance e4-e 5;
The white queen heads for g3 or h4. 2. Doesn 't allow White time to pre­
12 ... �d7 pare f4-f5 in a favourable manner;

75
Play t h e D u tch

3 . Open s the f-fi1e for counterp1ay side attack. H e should have played the
from his rook on f8; and calm 2 1 b3. He is then a pawn down
4. Allows the black queen to become with no compensating dynamism after
an attacking or defen sive force. 2 1 ... l:taf8, but he still has well-placed
But what about the protected passed pieces and the strong pawn on dS.
pawn that White acquires on dS? It is a 21 ... exb4 22 eS 'ii'x es 2 3 l:txf6 l:txf61
factor, of course; but the game is going White was hoping for 2 3 ... �xf6? 24
to be decided in a dynamic fight, and so �xf6 when 24 ... bxC 3 ? allows 2 S l:txg 6+!
long-term endgame advantages are of �8 (or 2S ... hxg6 26 'iVh 8 mate) 26
less importance. 'iVh 6+ �e8 2 7 :g 8+ .l:tf8 2 8 �h S m ate.
17 fxes So here Black would h ave to bail out
Perhaps the best way to continue with a draw after 24 .. J:txf6 2 S 'ii'xf6
the attack is 17 fS gxfs 18 'ifg 3 �g4 19 bXc3 26 :xg 6+ hxg6 27 'ii'x g6+ �f8 28
exfs h S ! 20 �g s, though 20 ... �f7 looks 'iVf6+ �g8 etc, with perpetual, as
good for Black - it is the white king 28 ... �e8 ? allows 29 �h S m ate.
which will be in the most danger if ex­ 24 �xf6 bxe3
ch anges on g4 open the h -fi1e.
17 ... dxes 18 �gs 'ifb6!

2 S �g4
There's no way forward for the
The queen escapes the pin, clears white attack after 2 S �xg 7 �xg 7 26
the way for the rook on a8 to enter the 'ifg s 'ii'd 6. The attempt to complicate
g ame, and attacks b2. just speeds up the end.
19 'iVh4 �d7 20 l:taf1 .l:tf7 2S �xg4 26 �xg7
..•

If Black h adn't played 16 ... es the There's no hope either in 26 ':xg4

knight on f6 would be h anging now. c2.
21 b4 26 ... �f3+ 27 �h2 �xg7 28 'ii'g 3 .:tf8 29
White doesn't have enough power to 'ii'xes+ l:tf6 30 l:tf1 'it'e3 3 1 'iVe7+ 1:!f7 32
conclude the game with a violent king- 'ii'e s+ �h6 0-1

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Ra pid development: 4 i.g5 6 ...fxe4 7 ttJxe4 ..tg7 8 ttJf3 cSI

1 d4 fS 2 c4 ttJf6 3 ttJC3 d6 4 ..tgs

This i s an attempt to avoid the
usual variation s as 4 ... g 6 5 ..txf6 exf6 is
unfavourable for Bl ack (in the variation
1 d4 fs 2 ..tg s ttJf6 3 ..txf6 exf6 Black
would play ... d7-ds to equalize the
space in the centre, and m aybe ... ..td6;
whereas here he is committed to the
inferior moves ... d7-d6 and ... g 7-g6).
Therefore Black normally plays
4 ttJbd7 once ag ain.
.•• The most aggressive riposte. Black
strikes at the d4-point which h as been
weakened by both e2-e4 (because e2-
e3 can no l onger defend it) and "ii'C 2.
9 ttJC3
Castling queenside allows Black dy­
n amic chances after 9 0-0-0 "iVas. The
a2-pawn is hanging and if White de­
fends it with 10 'litbl then ideas of a pin
with ... ..tfs appear.

Now White has to choose between a

central break with "ii'C 2 and e2-e4, or
el se stabilize things with e2-e3, after
which he can castle king side or queen­
side according to preference.

J.Berkvens-D.Reinderma n
Dutch League 2006
For example, 10 ... cxd4 11 ttJxf6+
1 d4 fS 2 c4 ttJf6 3 ttJC3 d6 4 ..tgs ttJbd7 ttJxf6 12 .l:[xd4 0-0 13 ..td3 e s ! 14 l:!xd6
S 1i'c2 g6 6 e4 (White could stay in the game with 14
White decides on immediate action l::th 4! e4 15 ..txf6 exd3 16 "ii'( 3) 14 ... e4
in the centre. 15 l:txf6 (if 15 ..txe4 ttJxe4 16 1i'xe4 ..tfs

77
Play th e D u tc h

and wins) l S . . .�xf6 16 �xf6 exd3 17 After 1 d 4 fS 2 e 4 tiJf6 3 tiJe3 d 6 4

'iVc3 Vxc3 18 �xc3 �h 3 19 tiJe s �xg 2 �gs tiJbd7 S Ve2 g6, instead of 6 e4,
20 tiJg4 l:.f4 (but not 20 ... �xh l 2 1 tiJh 6 White can keep things solid with 6 e3
mate ! ) 2 1 tiJh 6+ c;i;>f8 2 2 �g l l:txf2 0-1 �g7 7 tiJf3 (another move order is 4
F. Ladron de Guevara-J . Lopez Martinez, tiJf3 g 6 S ..tg s tiJbd7 6 e3 ..tg 7 7 'iWc2).
Donostia 2008.
Alternatively, 9 tiJxf6+ tiJxf6 10 dS
(Black is comfortable after 10 dxcS
'iVas+ 1 1 �d2 'iVxcs 12 �d3 0-0)
10 ... 0-0 11 �d3 e6! (liquidating the
strong pawn on dS) 12 dxe6 ..txe6 13
0-0, as in D.5utkovic-B. Kovacevic, Zadar
2007, and now after 13 ... Vd7 14 l:tael
nae8 I can't see any advantage for
White. On the contrary, Black can try to
take the initiative by preparing ... d6-dS
or starting some action down the f-file. Here I like the idea of 7 e6!? Now 8
..•

g .. :i!Va s ii.e2 0-0 9 0-0-0 'ii'a s or 9 0-0 e S looks

Now White has to reckon with perfectly okay for Black.
10 ... cxd4, when 11 tiJxd4? would drop Instead after 8 0-0-0 'ii'a s Bl ack gen­
the bishop on g S . erates queen side counterplay without
10 d S bS! h avin g loosened his centre with ... e7-
eS. In the g ame A.Bitalzadeh-F.Nijboer,
Wijk aan Zee 2009, Black went on to
outplay his opponent:
9 h4 h6 10 �xf6 tiJxf6 11 hS gs 12 ..td3
0-0

Undermining the ds-pawn gives

Black good counterplay as 1 1 cxbS
tiJxdS leaves White clearly in trouble
due to his smashed pawn s.

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13 'iit b 1 stopped White from playing 9 0-0 c6 1 0

Or 1 3 ttJd2 ttJg4 14 %:.hfl e s - only g 4 ? in O. Poisson-C.Philippe, Noyon
now! - and Black was active in 2008. He was predictably crushed:
L. Polugaevsky-V.Mal aniuk, USSR 10 .. .fxg4 11 f4 (he should at least g et
Championship, Moscow 1983 the pawn back with 11 fxg4, though
13 .id7 14 cS llf7 1 5 e4
.•. that m ean s he h as n eedlessly weak­
Black has plenty of play for the ened his king side) 11 ... 'iVe8 12 fxe s
pawn after 1 5 .ixfs .ixfS 16 'iVxfs ttJds dxes 1 3 'iVc2 b6 1 4 ttJg 3 .ib7 1 5 .l:tf2
17 'iVc2 ttJxC3+ 18 bxc3 Itaf8 with ideas exd4 16 exd4 ttJh s ! (a nicely-calculated
of 19 ... g4. tactic allows the Dutch bishop to con ­
ls fxe4 16 ttJxe4 ttJxe4 17 .ixe4 .ie6
..• quer d4) 17 ttJxh s (the l ast ch ance to
18 a3 'ii' b s 19 ':d2 'ikb3 20 'ikxb3 .ixb3 hold thing s together was 17 l:txf8+)
21 l:te1 l%.f6 22 .l::[ e 3 iLf7 2 3 g4 lIf8 and 17 ... .ixd4! 18 ttJf4 'iVes ! 19 ttJe4 llxf4 20
White's position was wobbling due to .ixf4 'ii'xf4 2 1 �fl .ixf2 2 2 ttJxf2 ttJes
his loose pawns. 2 3 l:tel l:tf8 0-1. Two pawn s down and
facin g a big attack, White called it a
Another approach for White after 1 day.
d4 fS 2 c4 ttJf6 3 ttJC3 d6 4 .igs ttJbd7 is 6 es
•••

that of 5 e3 g6 Bl ack sets up the typical Dutch mo­

bile pawn centre.
7 'iVc2 .ig7
Now we'll follow the game S.Feller­
M.Bartel. European Team Champion­
ship, Novi Sad 2009:
8 0-0-0 0-0 9 h3

and then 6 ttJge2.

H ere White can al so castle kingside,
but Black h as little to fear after 6 .id3
.ig 7 7 ttJge2 es 8 f3 0-0 9 0-0 c6. After
all, Bl ack has an equal share of space in
the centre, and the plan of advancin g
with g 2-g4 is only appropriate if White White has taken on a rather defen ­
has castled queen side. Not that this sive stance in the centre. He is content

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i f things remain quiet there so th at he After 1 5 'ifb3 (with the threat of 16

can stab from the wing s with g 2 -g4, Ihd6 ! 'ili'xd6? 17 c5+ winning the black
etc. queen) 15 ... l::r. a eS ! White should m ake
9 ... exd4 do with 16 'irb4 ttJf7 17 �f2, with a de­
An interesting deci sion . Black con­ fen sible g ame, as 16 Vxb7 ttJfd7, plan­
cedes his pawn centre in order to gen­ ning 17 ... ttJC5, gives Bl ack a huge initia­
erate counterplay. Either he will get e5 tive for the pawn.
for his knight or an open e-file for his 15 fxg4 16 hxg4 ttJxf3 1 17 oltxf6
.•.

rook. If 17 i.xf3 then 17 ... 'ii'x e3+ regains

10 ttJxd4 the piece with an extra pawn or two.
After 10 exd4 c6 11 f3 l::r. e S 12 g4 17 ...�xf6 18 ttJe4 ttJg5
ttJfS 13 d5 (instead 13 ttJg 3 ttJe6 is awk­ Here lS ... i.e7 ! defends everything
ward for White, seeing that 14 �h4? whilst keeping an extra pawn .
loses to 14 ... g 5) 13 ... h 6 it is dynamically 19 ttJxd6 'ii'xe3+ 20 �b1 l:tad8?
balanced. A routine move. In stead 20 ... c 5 !
10 ... ttJe5 11 �h4 would deny White the attacking re­
Or 11 c5 d5 12 c6 'ii'd 6 ! ? source of i.C4+ and 'iVh 2.
1 1...c 6 1 2 f3 Ve81 21 c5 b6 2 2 cxb6 axb6 2 3 i.C4+ �g7 24
Breaking the pin and preparing the Vh2 h51
development of the bishop on e6.
13 �e2 �e6 14 ttJxe6 Vxe6

Realizing he h as misplayed things

Bartel is wise enough to force simplifi­
N ormally White would be h appy to cation to kill off the white attack.
h ave the bishop-pair and a possible 25 gxh 5 Ve5 26 hxg6 'ii'x h2 27 ':xh2
target on d6, but h ere the black pieces i.e7 Yz-Yz
are very compact in the centre and the After 2 S ':'hd2 ttJf3 29 ttJf5+ ':xf5 30
c4- and e3-pawns are both vulnerable. ':xdS �xdS 3 1 ':xdS ttJe5 Black will
15 g4?! pick up the g6-pawn .

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 W h it e A v o ids a n E a rly g 2 - g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g r a d S e t - u p

Even i f White establishes a winning centre, as 6 .. .fxe4 7 lDxe4 i s rather

position in the Dutch, there are often pleasant for White. Correct is 6 ... 0-0! 7
huge obstacles to be overcome. �d3 (if 7 e 5 �e7 White h as m ore
space, but Black h as the bishop-pair)
7 ... d5 8 exf5 exf5 9 0-0 lDc6 10 c3 'ii'd 6
Pa rt Three:
11 l:[e1 a6 (to rule out �b5 and �xc6
2 lDf3 lDf6 3 ..tgS
as an option in the fight for control of
the e 5 -square) 12 b4 g 5 ! and Black was
active in O. Kirsanov-N.McDonald, Lon­
M.Armstrong-T .Rendle
don 2001.
live rpool 2007
5 b6!?
•••

1 d4 f5 2 lDf3 lDf6 3 �g5

A natural but rather underesti­

m ated move.
A slightly irritating move for fan s of 6 e3
the Leningrad. Black was gearing up to Critical is 6 �xf6 �xf6 7 e4, but
push his g -pawn and suddenly finds Black can stand his ground in the cen ­
that 3 ... g 6 allows 4 �xf6 exf6. Not that tre with 7 ... 0-0 8 �d3 d5 9 exf5 exf5 .
this is so bad for him; but White i s a bit After 10 0-0 he can try to justify the
better and, besides, putting the bishop ... b7-b6 move with 10 ... c5 and then
on g7 ceases to be a good idea as the ... lDc6 with pressure again st d4. Black
f6-pawn would shut it in. Hence 3 �g 5 h as the best minor piece on the board
has ruled out the Leningrad. in the sh ape of the dark-squared
And so we h ave to play a Classical bishop.
Dutch style move: If this seem s too sh aky for Black, he
3 ... e6 4 lDbd2 �e7 5 (3 could avoid ... c7-c5 and consolidate
After 5 �xf6 �xf6 6 e4 it's impor­ with 10 ... 'iVd6, ... lDc6 and ... �d7. The
tant th at Black doesn't concede the ... b7-b6 move might not be relevant,

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Play t h e D u tc h

but Black is solid anyhow. Al so note influence over the dark squares.
that if White attacks f5 with 'ili'C2 at any 14 a4
point, ... g 7-g 6 100ks secure enough. The old game S. Dittmann -L.Alster,
6 ... .i.b7 7 .i.d3 ttJe4 Dresden 1957, saw instead 14 .l:tfdl
The exchange of bishops eases ttJc6 1 5 'ii'a4 "fie7 16 .i.a6 .i.xa6 17
Black's game. The question is whether 'ii'x a6 'iith B lB ttJb3 exd4 19 cxd4 d5 20
White will be able to claim any advan­ .l:tacl (or 20 exd5 ttJb4 21 'ili'C4 'ili'd6 and
tage once he evicts the knight from e4 22 ... ttJxd5 gets the knight on to a bril­
and advances e3-e4. liant square) 20 ... ttJb4 2 1 'ili'b7 l:tfcB 22
8 .i.xe7 'ii'x e7 9 0-0 0-0 10 'iVe2 ttJxd2 11 a3 l:tabB 2 3 'ili'xa7 J:taB %-Y2.
ttJxd2 'ili'gs 12 e4 f4! 14 a S 15 ttJe4 d6 16 l:tfd1 ttJd7
.•.

Bypassing the e4-pawn. A good 17 dxes

point of this is th at it prevents White The opening has gone well for Black,
g aining space himself with 15 f4. but now he becomes rather careless.
In stead your author once tried 17 dxes?
•..

1 2 .. .fxe4? 13 ttJxe4 'ili'h6, thinking he I assume that 1 M Thomas Rendle,

could do some attacking down the f­ the stronger pl ayer, was keen to avoid
file, but it was White's TOok that did the the variation 17 ... ttJxe 5 lB ttJxe 5 'ii'x e5
attacking after 14 l:tae l ! ttJc6 1 5 J:.e3 g 6 19 .i.C4+ 'iith B 20 .i.d5 when after the
16 :h 3 i n S.Conquest-N.McDonal d, exchang e of bishops he would have
British League 2000. few winning chances. And so he retook
13 f3 on e5 with the pawn, to keep two mi­
A good position al move is 13 e5, but nor pieces on the board. At first glance,
unfortunately for White it allows m ate thi s seem s a good idea as he h as
in one. lB ... ttJC5 next move. But White cTOssed
13 ... eS this plan with a devastating tactic:
Stopping 14 e5 and increasing his 18 ttJxa s ! .i.e8

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 W h i t e A v o i ds a n Ea rly g 2 - g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g ra d S e t - u p

White h a s won a clean pawn and piece down, and his rook i s h anging -
has a rook on the seventh rank to boot surely it must all end in disaster?
after 18 .. Jlxa5 19 .i.C4+ �h 8 20 litxd7. 27 h 3
The text at least keeps some tension . White is m ated in s i x moves after
19 .i.C4+ �hS 20 tDb3 tDf6 2 1 a s 27 tDxf8 ? 'ili'xh 2+ 28 �1 'iWh 1+ (actually
Black is utterly lost on the queen­ Black just n eeded to see 28 ... tDe3+
side, and the only open file in the cen­ when he can win the white queen with
tre is controlled by White. The only check) 29 �e2 'ili'xg 2+ 30 �e1 'iVg 1+ 3 1
hope of creatin g counterplay is the �e2 (or 3 1 .i.f1 ii'g 3+ 3 2 �d2 ii'e3
Dutch pawn on f4. mate) 3 1...ii'f2+ 3 2 'iti>d3 ii'e3 m ate.
21 bxa s 2 2 .l:r.xa s .i.b7 2 3 l:txaS .i.xaS
... 27 tDe3 2S 'ili'e2?
•••

24 tDcs ii'h s 2 S tDd7 ! A n atural reply as the exch ange of

queen s win s at once for White. There
was a cast-iron win, but it required a
bit of tactical calculation : 2 8 tDxf8 !
tDxc2 29 l:.d8 (threatening discovered
checkmate) 29 ... h6 30 tDg6+ 'iti>h 7 3 1
.i.f7 ! . The killer. Black can only stop
checkmate with 32 l:th 8 by giving up
his queen with 3 1...ii'xg6 when 3 2
.i.xg6+ 'iti>xg 6 leaves h i m with no hope
at all in the endgame.
2S f3!
...

In stead White could h ave played a

slow move such as 2 5 b4, keepin g all
his advantages, but the g ame move is
objectively best.
The exchange of knights would kill
off all Black's counterpl ay. Therefore he
tries his luck with a piece sacrifice to
mobilize the Dutch pawn :
2S .i.xe4!?
...

This should l ead to a quick defeat,

but as a practical try it can 't be bet­
tered. The Dutch pawn breaks through the
26 fxe4 tDg4 white defences.
Threatening h2 as well as a fork 29 ii'xe3??
with 27 ... tDe3. But Black is already a After 29 gxf3 l:txf3 intending

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Play t h e D u tc h

30 .. J::t g 3 + Black h a s a dangerous initia­ surprise you that the six highest-rated
tive, while if 29 l:r.f1 (pinning the pawn) Elo players on my database who h ave
29 ... liJxf1 30 'ii'xf1 l::t d S Black al so h as faced 2 b3 h ave all lost! I guess th at's
enough fight for a practical game. not so surprising when fan s of 2 b3
29 f2+ 30 'it>h2 'iVxd l 3 1 liJxf8
••. include Topalov and two other players
White had calculated this far, and rated over 2600.
saw that he remain s a piece and a
pawn up after 3 1 .. .f1'if 3 2 .ltxf1 'ii'xf1
3 3 'ii'f3 . But Black had seen further:
31 ...'ifgl+ 32 'it>g3 flliJ+1 0-1
The di scovered attack win s the
white queen after 3 3 .ltxf1 'ifxe3+.

Two paradoxes:
1. If Black hadn't blundered with
17 ... dxes ? he probably wouldn't have
won the g ame, as the correct 17 ... liJxes
would h ave led to a very drawish posi­ Well, Black can develop in norm al
tion. Leningrad style with 2 ...liJf6 3 .ltb2 g6
2. If White h adn 't played the incisive when White might tran spose to famil­
move 2S liJd7 ! he would probably have iar lines; the only thing that makes me
won the g ame. anxious is 4 e3 .ltg7 5 .lte2 1? d6 6 h4
Was this simply a lucky win for with a quick advance again st g 6 with 7
Black, with the opening having no h S . But we can respond to the wing
bearing on the result? No: Black's ag­ attack in classic style by seeking coun­
gressive play with 11 ... 'iVg S and 1 2 .. .f4 terplay in the centre:
showed his aggressive intent. H e then 6 ... liJe41?
proved tactically the stronger. If n ow 7 liJd2 cS! S liJxe4 fxe4 and
Black has more space as the e4-pawn
stops White developing with liJf3 .
Part Fou r:
Critical is 7 h S when 7 ... liJc6 ? ! S liJd2
An Early b2-b3
liJxd2 9 'ifxd2 eS 10 dS liJe7 11 f4!
looked good for White in A.Fier­
1 d4 fS 2 b3 lAlonso-Moyano, Sabadell 2009, due to
I think th at most players would un­ the awkward pin on eS.
derestimate this odd-lookin g move, In stead 7 ... C S ! appears the best way
which m akes it rather dangerous. Also, to get counterplay. Black can increase
there is h ardly any theory on it. It might the pressure on d4 with ... liJc6 and

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 W h i te A v o ids a n Ea rly g 2 - g 3 A g a i n s t a L e n i n g r a d S e t - u p

maybe try a disruptive . . :ii'as+. For ex­ 'ith8 9 'ii'e 2 ttJc6 10 l:tad1 'ii'e 7 11 l:tfe1
ample, 8 ttJh 3 (or 8 ttJd2 "as, while 8 An exceptionally solid development
hxg6 hxg6 9 l:txh 8+ .i.xh 8 doesn 't give by White, whose initial aim seem s to be
White anything) 8 ... ttJc6 9 ttJf4 'it'as+ 10 to restrain the tactical talent of his op­
'itfl cxd4 1 1 exd4 e s ! and Black takes ponent. Only once all his pieces are
the initiative in the centre. centralized does he try to edge for­
wards slowly on the queenside.
White might al so fianchetto with 1 11 ... .i.d7 12 a 3 l:tae8 13 b4 ttJhS!?
ttJf3 fS (more on this move order in Black is provoked by his opponent's
Chapter Eight) 2 b3 d6 3 d4. restrained play into a sharp attacking
bid on the king side.
On the other h and, after the cen­
tralization 1 3 ... ttJe4! it seem s to me
that Bl ack h as a good g ame with no
risk: for example, 14 b S ttJd8 1 5 .i.b3
(15 .i.d3 ttJcS, exploiting the pin on b2,
is a nuisance for White, due to ideas of
16 ... ttJxd3 or 16 ... ttJa4) l S ... ttJxd2 16
l:txd2 ttJf7 17 l:tddl eS, expanding in
the centre.
14 .i.b3 gs 15 ttJes l

J.Kraai-H.Naka m u ra
Foxwoods 2007

1 ttJf3 fS 2 b3 d6
Nakamura aim s to set up a mobile
centre with 3 ... eS, 4 ... ttJf6, S ... g 6 and
6 ... .i.g 7. So GM Jesse Kraai establishes a
foothold on d4.
3 d4 g6 4 .i.b2 .i.g7
Black plays Leningrad Dutch moves, Uncovering an attack on h S .
but White isn't interested in a tran spo­ 1 s ...ttJxes?
sition to familiar lines, which could be Critical was ls ... dxe s ! 16 'ii'xh s when
reached after, say, s g3 ttJf6 6 .i.g 2 0-0 Black gets blown away if he tries to grab
7 c4 c6 8 0-0 "as. a pawn in the centre: 16 ... exd4? ! 17
5 e3 ttJf6 6 .i.C4 e6 7 0-0 0-0 8 ttJbd2 exd4 ttJxd4? 18 ttJC4! (very powerful)

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18 . . .tt'lxb3 19 tt'les ! (the point - d 7 and 2 7 h 3 gxh3+ 2 8 ':xh 3 h 5 2 9 .l:.dhl .i.e8

20 tt'lg6+ are threatened) 19 ... .i.xes 20 30 <Ml .i.e7 31 tt'lf3 'ikg4 32 .i.C5 .i.xC5
.i.xes+ �g8 21 .:txd7 ! 'iVxd7 22 'iVxg S+ 33 bXc5 lU8 34 l:Ih4 'ifg6 3 5 g4 'ifh6 36
Wf7 23 'iVg7 mate! g5 'ti'g6 37 :gl 'iti>g8 38 tt'ld4 �f7
However, here 16 ... g4! is much In stead 38 ... c6 would secure the
stronger, so that if 17 dxes ? l:td8 ! queenside, but White could always tar­
threaten s to trap the white queen with get h S by puttin g his queen on dl,
18 ... .i.e8. Instead there are complica­ bishop on e2 and knight (via e2) on f4.
tion s after 17 h3 lU6 (again threaten ­ 39 c6!
ing to reap the queen, but this time N akamura probably allowed this
with 18 ... l::th 6) 18 'iVh4 gxh 3 19 dxe s move hoping to get at least a sem­
': g 6 20 'iVxh 3 tt'lxes. In this way Naka­ blance of counterplay, rather th an
mura might h ave justified his 1 3th . waiting for White to pile up on h S . But
16 dxe5 'ikf7 17 tt'lC4! Kraai kept his cool and eventually
A fine move. Black can't give away ground out the win :
the e s-square to a white piece, and
now that b2 i s defended, 18 exd6 is a
threat. Therefore Black has to m ake a
positional concession.
17 ... d5
After 17 ... bS 18 tt'las dxe s ? ! 19
.l::[ x d7 ! 'ii'x d7 20 'iVxh s White h as won
two pieces for a rook.
18 tt'ld2
Back ag ain. Now th at the e s-point
h as been secured by White, the black
knight finds itself paralysed on h S, un­ 3 9. .Jlb6 40 .i.xb5 �g8 4 1 f4 .i.f7 4 2 c4
able to advance to f4 or retreat to f6. dXc4 43 'ikxC4 l:r.d8 44 'iVxa4 .i.e8 45 <M2
18 b5 19 .:tfl g4 20 .i.d4 11g8 21 g3 !
..• 'ii'f7 46 ':Cl 'iVe7 47 11c3 ':d5 48 'iVC4 'ii'd 8
Not only stoppin g any pawn thrust 49 a4 .l:lb8 50 'iVb4 �h7 51 �g3 .i.g6 52
with 2 1...f4, but al so the first step in a l:th2 .i.e8 53 �h4 �g6 54 :d2 .i.f7 55
plan to seize the initiative with an at­ ':c4 ':a8 56 tt'lf3 .:tb8 57 ':cd4 'iVe8 58
tack down the h -file. l:r.xd5 exd5 59 tt'ld4 .i.e6 60 'ifC5 l:ta8 61
2 1 ... a 5 22 c3 a4 2 3 .i.c2 'ti'g6 24 .i.d 3 .:ta2 .i.f7 62 .i.d3 'iff8 63 'ti'xf8 ':'xf8 64 a5
':b8 2 5 �g2 .i.f8 26 l:thl tt'lg7 ];ta8 65 a6 i..e 6 66 11b2 .i.c8 67 l:tb7 1-0
Black has' evacuated his knight from An impressive g ame by White once
the dangerous h s-square, but can't pre­ his opponent had fallen into a bind.
vent a breakthrough there by White. H owever, Black al so h ad his chances.

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 Chapter F i ve

Side l i nes i n t h e Le n i n g ra d Va riation

1 d 4 f S 2 g 3 tZJf6 3 .tg2 g6 0-0 0-0 6 b4

In this ch apter we look at four ways The idea of a quick b2-b4 versus the
in which White avoids the main line of Leningrad became popul ar for White in
the Leningrad Variation, broadly speak­ tournaments of the early 2000s. It ini­
ing by going b2-b4, b2-b3, c2-c3 or opt­ tially caused Black some problems, and
ing for tZJh 3 rath er than tZJf3 . in many g ames he was squashed on
the queen side before he could generate
any counterplay el sewhere on the
Pa rt One:
board. This seem s to have got pl ayers
Wh ite plays b2-b4
questioning the value of trying to es­
tablish a d6- and eS-pawn centre
1 d4 fs 2 g3 tZJf6 3 JLg2 g6 4 tZJf3 .tg7 S against it.

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Play t h e D u tc h

T h e Stonewa l l System A sound space-gaining move, but it

comes to the rescue might help our understanding of
As a result of this soul searching, the Black's plan, and certainly our morale,
strongest Dutch experts such as Naka­ if we frame this move as a positional
mura and Bartel have been ch ampion­ mistake which leaves a g aping hole on
ing the Stonewall-style set-up - and the c4-square. After all, White h as al­
with con siderable success. The Stone­ ready removed two potential defenders
wall, in which Bl ack puts a pawn on dS, of c4 with 1 d4 and 3 iLg 2, so isn't the
is a clear and easy system to learn here. third 'desertion' with 6 b4 showing a
White is denied any space advantage in l ack of respect for a key central square?
the centre, and his control of territory 6 ... ttJc61
on the queen side i s challenged by the
active black pieces.
There are two distinct preludes to
playing ... d7-dS as Bl ack, depending on
whether White plays an early c2-c4:
a) 1 d4 fS 2 g3 ttJf6 3 iLg2 g6 4 ttJf3
iLg 7 S 0-0 0-0 6 b4 ttJc6 ! ; and
b) 1 d4 fS 2 g 3 ttJf6 3 iLg2 g 6 4 ttJf3
iLg7 S C4 0-0 6 b4 c6 ! .
In either case Black will soon play
... d7-dS.
One of the good thing s about the I like this energetic move that
Stonewall for Black is that it is com­ threaten s b4. It is the first step in get­
paratively easy to choose the right ting the knight in contact with c4.
squares for the pieces - you can't go 7 bS
too far wrong if you use them either to In the next g ame we examine 7 c3.
defend the hole on eS or to support the 7 ttJa s S Wd3
...

pawn on dS. With the position al threat of 9 c4,

getting rid of the hole on c4, to say
Scheme One: 5 0-0 0-0 6 b4 tDc6! nothing of 9 iLd2, hitting the black
knight.
S dSI
L.Fressinet-C.Renner
••.

This is a vital part of Black's strat­

Germ a n League 2008
egy. He l eaves him self with a hole on
eS, but in return he gets a grip on the
1 d4 fs 2 g3 ttJf6 3 iLg2 g6 4 ttJf3 iLg7 S light squares and an equal share of
0-0 0-0 6 b4 space in the centre.

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 S i d e l i n e s in t h e L e n i n g ra d Va ria t i o n

9 liJbd2 iLe6 White h as a loose position, but al so an

Reaffirming his hold over the con­ extra pawn .
tested c4-square. If Black h ad played 13 l:te8 14 bxa6
•.•

9 ... iLd7, the bishop could be hit by 10 After various delaying tactics White
liJe 5. On e6 the bishop will be attacked h as to concede the a6-square to the
by liJg 5, but it retreats to d7 - and then black rook.
what is the white knight doing on g 5 ? 14 J:txa6 15 C4
•.

10 iLa3 a6

Fressinet plays for complications

Continuing to undermine White's rather than risk being worn down on
queenside pawns. the light squares.
11 liJgs iLd7 12 'iie 3 iLh6?1 lS ... dxC4 16 iLb4 liJc6 17 iLc3 liJg4 18
Instead 12 ...liJe4 looks fine for Black. 'ii'f3 iLg7 19 �h1 h6 20 liJh3 bSI
The c4-square still m aintains its
magic. White can only regain his pawn
at the cost of letting the black knight
into e3.
21 'ii'd S+ �h7 22 'ii'x bs l:tb6 2 3 'iic s
In stead 2 3 'iix C4 liJe3 win s the ex-
change, or even better 2 3 ... liJxd4! 24
iLxd4 iLbS, intending 25 ... iLxd4. A
similar trick occurs in the g ame.
2 3 ... liJe3 24 liJxC4 liJxg2
The exchange of a knight for
13 f4 White's light-squared bishop is a
He should h ave tried 1 3 lLxe7 iLxg 5 strategical coup for Bl ack, which is
14 'ii'a 3 ! : for example, 14 ... 'ii'e 8 1 5 f4 immedi ately followed by a tactical one:
i.h 6 16 iLxf6 :xf6 17 'ii'x a5 when 2 5 �xg2 liJxd41

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Play th e D u tc h

play the Dutch . All the horrible defeats

fade from memory when we can scalp
one of the best players in the world. A
player rated 2422 doesn't often win,
especially with Bl ack, against a 2676-
rated opponent.

V.Anand-H.Naka m u ra
Wij k a a n Zee 2010

One o f the little known rules of 1 d4 f5 2 g3 liJf6 3 i.g2 g6 4 liJf3 i.g7 5

chess strategy is that when a player is 0-0 0-0 6 b4 liJc6 7 a 3
weak on a complex of squares of one World Champions know a thing or
colour, the winning tactical break­ two about strategy. In contrast to the 7
through often comes on a square of the bs liJas of the previous game, Anand
other colour. stands his ground on the queenside,
26 liJe5 rather than letting the bl ack knight
Black h as a decisive attack against come into contact with the hole on c4.
the white king after 26 liJxb6 cxb6 2 7 7 ... d5 8 i.b2 liJe4
'ilVb4 i.c6+ 2 8 ..t>f2 'ilVdS .
26 ... liJxe2
Now besides all his problem s with
his king, White is also a pawn down .
2 7 l:r.fd1 'ii'a 8+ 28 'iti>f2 liJxC3 29 'ii'x c3
i.e6 30 liJg1 'iWa7 31 ..t>f1 l:td6 32 liJe2
l:ted8 33 :dC1 �d2 34 �c2 �d1+ 3 5
:xd1 liIxd1+ 3 6 'iti>g2 i.d5+ 3 7 'iti>h3 'ii'f2
3 8 liJc1 i.g2+ 0-1
The final triumph of Black's light­
square strategy that began with
6 ... liJc6 (or was it with 1 .. .fS ?). More­ Black continues his light-square
over, it would h ave been unjust if the strategy. Formerly, the e4-square isn't
bishop which h as sat at g 7 since move an outpost square, as White can ch ase
four got all the glory after 39 'iti>h4 i.f6 the knight away with f2-f3. But how
m ate ! Though to be fair it was this difficult it is for White to arrange this!
bishop th at supported 2 S ... liJxd4. If the knight leaves f3 then Black would
It's for moments like this that we be able to seize space with ... e7-eS.

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 S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

g ltJbd2 i.e6 b4-b5 . The drawback from Black's point

The fin al link in Black's light-square of view is that he can no longer reply
opening strategy. Note that rather than ... ltJa5, the square being occupied by
support his pawn centre with ... c7-c6 his own pawn.
and ... e7-e6, as typically occurs in the 11 bs ltJa7 12 'iVe2
Stonewall, Black h as occupied these Anand decides he needs to bring his
squares with a knight and bishop. He pieces into action on the queenside as
therefore h as what might be called an quickly as possible: hence 'ii'e 2 and
ultra-dynamic Stonewal1. The draw­ .l:!.fc1. In stead he could have taken a
back is that if ch allenged by c2-c4, the time out for 1 2 a4, but Black h as
black pawn on d5 can't be supported enough counterplay with 12 ... c6 13
by another pawn . Therefore Black will bxc6 bxc6 when he can pl ay or further
be obliged to concede the centre. But prepare ... c6-C5 next move.
never mind: the bishop on e6 will then
have a rather nice square on d5.
10 e3
An and's plan is also starting to un ­
fold: ltJbd2, e2-e3, 'ii'e 2 and then c2-c4,
when he takes apart Black's centre in a
very precise m anner, without giving
him the ghost of counterplay.
A counterattacking plan on the king­
side with lo . .h 6 and 11 ... g5 would be
.

too slow; therefore Nakamura decides

to break things up on the queenside. 12 ... a4!
10 ... a s ! A very useful move. White is pre­
vented from consolidating on the
queenside with a3 -a4 and then c2-c4 -
therefore he can't cl aim a nice, neat
positional advantage on the queen side.
We sh all consider further the value of
12 ... a4 once we have seen how the bat­
tle unfolds.
13 :tfCl c61
So Black is able to support his pawn
on d5 with another pawn after all, de­
spite his ... ltJc6 and ... i.e6 moves - see
Finally White is obliged to advance the comment at move nine.

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Play th e D u tch

14 bxe6 bxe6 15 e4 lUe8! collapse, but N akamura i s ready to

counterattack.

The knight is to be recentralized via

d6. If White prevents it with 16 cs then 21 'ii'a s ! 22 .l:r.ae1
•..

he has forfeited any pressure along the Or 22 l::t x c6 'ii'd S+ 23 'iVf3 lUe4 24
c-file. :c2 'ii'x es with equality.
16 .i.e3 lUed6 17 exd s lUxe3! 22 'ii'x es 23 .l:r.xe6 'ii' b 2
••.

An important lesson in the art of Black's king side is slightly fragile

exchanging. Black exch anges before due to the move 1 .. .fS, but on the other
White can play .i.b4 when he h as solid han d, the black pieces are active and
domination of the queen side. Further­ the a3-pawn is a target. Anand is
more, N akamura wants the as-square obliged to simplify to a draw.
for his queen. 24 'ii'd 3 .l:r.fd8 25 .l:r.1e2 'iVbs 26 'iVxbs
18 .l:r.xe3 .i.xd S ! lUxbS 27 lUb1 :d 3 28 lUe3 lUxe3
The active choice. Besides, after Black's knight is trapped after
18 ... cxdS the reply 19 lUg s is awkward. 28 ... lUxa3? 29 .l:r.a2.
H aving m aintained the pawn on c6, 29 :2xe3
where it obstructs any action by the
white rooks along the c-file, N akamura
is ready to build up pressure of his own
with moves like ... 'iVas and .. J:tab8, ex­
ploiting the b-file.
19 lUes !
Anand, however, h as other ideas. He
won't give Bl ack the n ecessary tim e to
build up a queenside initiative.
19 .i.xg2 20 �xg2 .i.xes 21 dxes
..•

It looks as if Black's g ame is about to

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 S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

29 J:tdd8!
•• by an average player - but what an
If N akamura's 17th move was a les­ important move it i s !
son in the art of exch anging, thi s move
is a lesson in the art of not exchanging. Scheme Two: 5 c 4 0-0 6 b 4 c6!
After 29 ....:xc3 30 ':xc3 the bl ack
rook can be tied to the defence of the
M.Dziuba-M.Bartel
a4-pawn with 31 l:tC4 and then the
Wa rsaw (ra pid) 2009
white king can edge forwards. So N a­
kamura keeps a pair of rooks on the
board in order to g ain counterplay with 1 d4 fs 2 g3 ttJf6 3 -tg2 g6 4 ttJf3 -tg7 S
30 .. J::t db8 an d 3 1 .. J::tb 3. Anand prevents c4 0-0 6 b4
this, but the a3-pawn then becomes a White has already pl ayed c2-c4, so
target. 6 ... ttJc6? fails to 7 bS ttJas 8 'ii'd 3 when
30 J:[b6 �7 31 l:tb4 J:[d2 32 J:[cC4 J:[d 3 White keeps his queen side pawns ship­
33 .l:txa4 l::txa 3 Yz-Yz shape, because Black h asn't exerted
control over c4. So a different pl an is
Well, Black got a lot of exclamation required:
m arks in the g ame above, and he still 6 c6!
.••

had to play precisely to keep the bal­

ance. But then h an dling the black
pieces again st a pl ayer such as Anand
is no easy task, and N akamura
achieved a draw without too much
trouble. Note th at if White h ad played
less accurately, Black would h ave
achieved winning chances.
Note too the excellence of the move
12 ... a4. It fixed the a3-pawn as a target
and cleared the as-square for the
queen - both vital aspects of Black's The rule is:
queen side counterplay. It thus pre­ When Wh ite h as played b2-b4, bu t
vented White from con solidating with delayed c2-c4 - B lack plays ... ttJc6. How­
a3-a4, when the bishop on b2 could be ever, if Wh ite h as played c2-c4 and then
activated with -ta3 . When Anand tried b2-b4 - B lack plays ... C7-c6.
to bring the bishop into the g ame by But in both cases, Black is intent on
the route -to and -tb4, Bl ack was able a light-square strategy. His general de­
to lop it off with ... ttJxc3 . ployment of pieces and pawn s is al­
A move such as 1 2 ...a 4 easily passes most identical .

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Play th e D u tch

7 0-0 ttJe4 for Black.

The knight jumps into the centre as Don 't forget the ... as-a4 move in
a prelude to setting up the Stonewall this type of pawn centre - it almost
centre. always comes in h andy.
8 .i.b2 dS 9 ttJbd2 .i.e6 14 ttJe1 ttJxd2 15 1i'xd2 .i.f7 16 ttJd3
A familiar square for the bishop. 1i'b8 17 .ll a b1 l:[c81
10 1i'C2 a s l
A s i n the N akamura game, Black's a­
pawn is enlisted to undermine the
white queen side pawn s.
11 a 3 ttJd7

Bartel isn't attracted by 17 ... e s as it

leads to exch anges that would leave
him weak on the dark squares. And so
he overprotects his c6-pawn in prepa­
ration for his next move.
A key difference with the ... ttJc6 18 .i.a1 bS 19 cxb6
variation is that Black can 't put pres­ After 19 f4 .i.e6 (but not 19 ... ttJf6 20
sure on b4 to force a liquidation on the ttJes ttJe4 2 1 .i.xe4 fxe4 22 fs ! when
queen side. White h as a breakthrough ) the g ame
12 e3 h6 13 cS would probably be a draw as it's so
A committal move. White now in­ blocked up. But Dziuba is ambitious
tends 14 ttJb3 when after 14 ... axb4 15 and a very sharp struggle en sues.
axb4 he will profit the most from the 19 ...ttJxb6
opening of the a-file. Or 14 ... a4 1 5 ttJas The black knight finally h as its
and the a4-pawn is hanging. sights on the c4-square.
13 ...a41 20 ttJes iLxes
And so Bartel prevents ttJb3 and In giving up the 'Indi an' bishop,
blocks the queen side, temporarily at Bartel is putting absolute trust in his
least. Now in view of the fixed pawn Stonewall structure to shield his dark­
structure, the plan of advancin g b4-bs square weaknesses.
suggests itself for White, and ... e7-es 21 dxes ttJC4 22 'ii'd 4 .i.e61

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S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

It is essential to prevent 2 3 e6. 28 M

23 'it'h4 Here 2 8 e4? run s into 2 8 ... g 5 ! 29
White temporarily wins a pawn as 'ii'f3 1li'h 7 30 h 3 g4! exploiting the h -file
both e7 and h6 are h anging. to the maximum .
23 <iW7 24 'iWxh6 l:.h8
•.• 28. . .'iW h 7 29 e4
White is understandably keen to
stay active, but thi s leads to di saster.
He should play a waiting move with,
say, 29 1:1.fdi and leave it to Black to
start the next round of tactics.
29 ...dxe4 30 .YL.xe4 g51

When calculating and assessing this

position before playing i8 ... b5, Bartel
would have had to convince him self
that it is Black, not White, who profits
from the opening of the h -file. The
Dutch i s truly a complex opening.
25 'iff4 liJxa3 26 .l:.bC1 liJC4 27 �C3 3 1 "iff3
Bl ack won't be able to queen the Taking on g 5 loses the bishop or the
passed a-pawn as the ai-square is king, but now Black breaks through
guarded three times by the white along the g -file.
pieces. Meanwhile White is ready to 3 1 ...gxh4 32 g4 ::tag8 3 3 �h1 l:txg4 34
break open the centre with 28 e4, when .i.xc6 h3
after 28 ... dxe4 29 .YL.xe4 Black is collaps­ Missing the elegant win 34 ... 1:1.g 3 ! .
ing along the c-file: not only is the c6- Then 3 5 fxg 3 hxg3+ followed by mate
pawn directly h anging, but the knight on h2, or 35 'iYf4 Ilhg 8 36 �h 2 118g4,
on c4 can be targeted by retreating the trapping the queen : 37 fxg 3 hxg 3 + ! .
bishop from c3. Finally, 3 5 'iWe2 .l:lh 3+ 3 6 �g i (36 �g 2
27 ...'ifg81 f4! defends h 3 followed by a killer
Bartel therefore forgets about the check on the g -file) 3 6 .. J:tg8+ 37 �g 2
queen side and looks for counterplay "iVg 6 3 8 f3 Vi'g 3 and 39 ... 'ii'h 2+ topples
with threats again st the white kin g and g2.
queen . 3 5 11g1 lithg8 36 11g3 %:txg3 3 7 fxg3 "iWh6

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38 lIe1 a 3 39 �h2 'iVgs 40 bS 'ii'g4 41 shutting in the bishop o n g2) 8 . . . dxes 9

'ii'f2 .l:.d8 42 .l:.e4 'ili'gs 43 ':f4 l:1d3 44 tDxe s ? tDfd7 10 'ili'dS+ �h 8 loses mate­
�a1 l::td 2 rial for White, as does 9 'iVxd8 ':xd8 10
Winning the white queen. My score tDxes ? tDg4. Instead, after 9 �e3 'ii'x d1
of the game gives the gobbledegook 4S 10 l::t x d1 l::t e 8 11 tDC3 e4 12 tDd4 c6
�c3 l:td3 and then 0-1. Black h ad more space in M.Mie1czarski­
V.Malaniuk, Mielo 200S.
That was a really h ard fight that Thi s mean s that White can't g et an
shows the dynamic ch ances available effective b2-b3 and �b2 formation
to Black in the Dutch . White was a very with c2-c4 al so played, unless he first
highly-rated player, but he seemed a enters the m ain line, say, with 7 tDc3 c6
bit bemused by the uncompromising or 7 ... tDc6, and even then b2-b3 isn't
play of his opponent. very special for White. So if White
The conclusion is clear: the Stone­ wants to avoid the main line, but get in
wall gives Black excellent counter­ b2-b3 and �b2, he needs to delay c2-
chances again st White's b2-b4 system. c4. (Lest there's any confusion, I'm talk­
ing about b2-b3 and �b2 ideas in the
Leningrad structure after four or five
Part Two:
moves, not sidelines such as 1 d4 fS 2
b2-b3 without c2-c4
b3.)
The main position under con sidera­
First of all, after 1 d4 fs 2 g3 tDf6 3 �g2 tion here is:
g6 4 tDf3 �g7 S 0-0 0-0 6 c4 d6 7 b3 1 d4 fS 2 g3 tDf6 3 �g2 g6 4 tDf3 �g7 S
Black can equalize or more with 7 ... esl 0-0 0-0 6 b3
due to White's weakness along the a1-
h 8 diagonal .

If White h ad pl ayed c2-c4 I could di­

rect you to the relevant coverage in our
For example, 8 dxe s (or 8 i..b 2 e4, next two chapters. H ere, however, the

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c-pawn stays resolutely at home. If now For example, imagine th at the g ame
6 ... d6 7 .1l.b2 and we are in a dilemma, h as started as above with 1 d4 fS 2 g3
especially if we wanted to play the 7 c4 ttJf6 3 .1l.g 2 g 6 4 ttJf3 .1l.g7 S 0-0 0-0 6 b3.
ttJc6 variation, as there's no pawn on c4 Now 6 ... ttJe4! i s the recommended
to attack. move ...
Returning to the position after 6 b3,
I h ave checked out all the ideas for
Black that h ave been played here in
international chess, including 6 ... d6
and the interesting move 6 ... c S ! ? How­
ever, there's no escaping the fact th at
Black scores best when h e adopts a
Stonewall set-up:
6 ttJe4 7 .1l.b2
.••

... so th at 7 .1l.b2 dS sets up the

Stonewall.
White could in stead play 7 .1l.f4? ! ,
but i t is a h armless and bad idea. Black
could respond with 7 ... cS trying to ex­
ploit White's looseness on the a1-h 8
diagonal, or 7 ... d6 and then arrange
...e7-es to drive away the white bishop.
What Black shouldn 't do is play 7 ... dS?
7 dS
••• as the white bishop on f4 suddenly be­
Before we go any further, I think I comes securely placed and puts pres­
will save you at least one n asty loss if I sure on c7 and eS.
remind you th at: Here's an even worse scenario for
After Wh ite's b2-b3 you shou ld never Black. Imagine th at after 6 b3 Black
set up a Stonewall with ... d7-dS and plays 6 ... dS? 7 c4 c6. All is well for him if
... C7-c6 if Wh ite can still play h is b ishop White plays 8 .1l.b2, but much stronger
tof4. is 8 ttJC3 �h 8 9 cxdS cxdS 10 .1l.f4! .1l.e6
That means that when ... d7-dS is 11 'it'd3 tDbd7 12 ttJbS and Black is un­
played the white bishop must either der great pressure along the c-file, with
already be on b2 or on c1 but ob­ 13 tDC7 already looming.
structed from going to f4, as is the case Returning to the position after 6 b3
if ttJbd2 has been pl ayed. and Black's correct 6 ... ttJe4, White can

97
Play t h e D u tch

delay putting the bishop on b2 with 7 that normally arises after 6 ... d6 7 tDc3
c4. In that case Black should play 7 ... c6. c6 as given in Chapter Six. Only here
Then B i.b2 ds is fine, while B i.f4 is did White swerve from the m ainline
still no good as Black has kept the op­ with 7 b3, giving us the Stonewall after
tion of renouncing the Stonewall with 7 ... tDe4 B i.b2 ds. But I've changed the
B ... d6, when the bishop on f4 is badly move order for the sake of our di scus­
pl aced - a target for ... e7-es or even sion of a delayed c2-c4 by White.
... g 6-g s or ... tDh s. 9 tDbd2
Or 9 tDC3 i.e6 10 'iVc2 tDd7 11 .l:ladl
a6 ! ? 12 tDxe4 fxe4 13 tDe s when
A.Nechaev-N.Firman
13 ... 'iVb6 ? ! didn 't h ave the intended
Khmel n itsky 2008
effect as White was able to ignore the
pressure on d4 and get some edge with
1 d4 fS 2 g3 tDf6 3 i.g2 g6 4 tDf3 i.g7 5 14 tDxd7 i.xd7 15 i.a3 ! �f7 (ls ... i.xd4?
0-0 0-0 6 b3 tDe4 7 i.b2 16 cs wins) 16 i.cs 'ilt'dB 17 f3 in
Th e bishop has gone to b2, which R. Lubczyn ski-M.Bartel, Illes Medes
mean s no more i.f4 and so ... 2006. In stead 13 ... tDxes 14 dxe s 'iWas ! ?
7 dS
••• looks at least equal for Black: 1 5 i.c3
... we can safely set up the Stonewall. 'iWC7, attacking es, or 15 a3 l:tacB .
Both of White's bishops now find 9 i.e6
...

them selves on blocked diagonals. One of the good features of Black's

8 c4 c6 structure is th at the light-squared
bishop finds a useful role in bol stering
ds and putting pressure on c4.
10 ':'C1
After 10 'ilt'c2 as 11 l:tadl a4 12
tDxe4 fxe4 13 tDes tDd7 14 tDxd7 axb3
1 5 axb3 'iVxd7 16 cs i.h 3 Black was
striving for the win in L.Guidarelli­
M.Bartel, Illes Medes 2006.
10 tDd7 11 e3
•••

Upon 1 1 cxds the recapture

l1...cxds hands the c-file over to the
This g ame actually started 1 d4 fs 2 white rook, whereas 1 1 ... i.xds ! keeps it
g 3 tDf6 3 i.g2 g 6 4 tDf3 i.g7 5 0-0 0-0 6 closed and activates the bishop.
c4 c6 ! ? which is a respectable move 11 h6
•..

order for Black against 6 c4, assuming Probably better than 11 ...�h B. Both
that he is h appy to pl ay the variation moves neutralize ideas of White playing

98
 S i d e l i n e s in t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

liJxe4 followed by liJg s to harass the rule out the pawn-ram 13 . . .a4) 13 . . .'ii'e 8
bishop on e6 (after 1 1 .. .'.th8 because the (the queen heads for an active post on
retreat ... �g8 is possible). But 11 ...h 6 f7) 14 .:tfdl ':c8 (at first glance thi s
also gives Black the option o f . . .g 6-g S to might seem something of an irrele­
generate kingside counterplay. And vance, as Black is in principle always
since he wants to put his queen on f7 in going to an swer c4xdS with ... �xdS,
some lines it is good to have the g s­ keeping the c-file closed; but as we
square actually guarded against liJg S. shall see, the rook comes in h andy on
c8 to support ... c6-cS) 15 liJel 'iff7 and
now 16 f3 ? ! liJxd2 17 l:txd2 c S ! is a fine
example of a favourable dissolution of
the Stonewall pawn structure by Black.
So White should play 16 liJd3, when
16 ... g S ! gives Black good kingside coun ­
terpl ay. I borrowed these moves from a
similar position (11 ... �h 8 h ad been
pl ayed instead of 11 ... h6) in the game
A. Kharitonov-E.Bareev, Sochi 1987.
12 a S !
••.

12 'ife2
White's long-term plan is to ad­
vance in the centre with f2-f3 and e3-
e4. For this purpose he puts his queen
on e2 and manoeuvres his knight from
f3 to d3. It is extremely difficult to carry
out this strategic task without m aking
a tactical or positional slip: Black's

pieces are active and ready to pounce if

White weakens any point or allows his
pieces to become uncoordinated. For
example, if 12 liJel, preparing f2-f3, 13 liJel?
Black h as 12 ... 'ii'a s ! , hitting a2 and d2, Objectively speaking, White isn't
when 13 liJxe4 fxe4 is an unfavourable necessarily worse after he lets Black
exchange for White. open lines on the queenside. On the
One question is whether the white other h an d, any smooth advantage he
queen should go to e2 or c2, where she might have gained from preparing the
helps defend the queenside. After 12 f2-f3 and e3-e4 advance has vanished.
'i'c2 pl ay might go 12 ... aS 13 a4! (to Instead he has to act on the defen sive.

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Best was 13 a4 as in the above ex­ pacity to calculate variations, White

tract, when Black could have carried on comes off worse in the complications.
with the plan of .. .'jlVeS and ... 'iff7, or After 19 fxe4! the recapture
else tried to benefit from the absence 19 .. .fxe4 is just good for White follow­
of the white queen from c2 with ing 20 l:.xfS+ lLlxfS 2 1 lLlxe4, so Black
13 ... 'ifb6. should try the exchange sacrifice
13 a4 14 lLld3 axb3 i s axb3 "iYb6!
..• 19 ... l:txb2 20 l:tf2 ! l:txd2 (otherwise dS
Here there is no doubt that the drops to lLlf4, etc) 21 'ii'x d2 dxe4, but
bl ack queen belon g s on b6, where she then 2 2 lLlf4 looks rather good for
can combine her pressure with that of White.
the rook along the a-file. 19 ... bxcS
16 cS "iYbs 17 b4 b6 After the sequence 19 ... l:txb2 20
"iYxb2 "iYxd3 2 1 litfel, the threat to trap
the queen with 22 ..tfl is awkward for
Black.
20 fxe4
He might h ave tried to hold on with
20 "iYdl cxb4 2 1 'ifb3 .
20. . .dxe4 21 lLlc3 exd 3 22 "ii'f2 ':xb2! 2 3
"iYxb2 'ii' b 8
Black's strong bishop-pair, queen­
side pressure and passed pawn are
worth more than the exchange. White
Trying to whittle away the white soon crumbles:
pawns. 24 dxcS lLlxcs 2 S 'ifa 3 lLlb31 26 l:tbl
18 f3 l:[a2? lLld2 2 7 lLla4 lLlxbl 28 l:txbl "iYa 7 0-1
Black makes a blunder ... and ends
up winning the game. Objectively
Pa rt Three:
speaking he should make do with
4 c3 or 4 tiJd2
ls ... lLlxd2 19 'ii'x d2, with approximate
equality.
19 lLlbl? 1 d4 fs 2 g3 lLlf6 3 ..tg2 g6 4 c3
To be successful in the Dutch you As Black is going to fianchetto on
don't h ave to understand everything g 7, White h asten s to reinforce the d4-
th at's going on - you just h ave to be pawn . His motto seem s to be 'no
less confused than the opponent. Due weaknesses at all ! ' However, there
to an inability to handle the ten sion of springs to mind the contradictory
the situation, or a less-developed ca- motto about not being able to m ake an

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 S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g ra d Va ria t i o n

omelette without breaking any eggs.

With his safety-first approach White
forfeits, for at least the time being, the
moves c2-c4 and liJc3, which are re­
garded in most other system s as the
best way to put pressure on the black
centre.

I f White is going t o justify h i s re­

strained play this is surely the moment.
The queen prevents Black from castling
and attacks the b7-pawn .
s ... liJc6 6 liJh3
The opportunities for the knight on
bi h ave been restricted by c2-c3, so
On the other h and, Black mustn 't be White reserves the f3-square for it. This
complacent as after 4 ... .i.g7 5 'i¥b3 he is a good decision, as in the Stonewall
has been prevented from castling. Once set-up the king's knight has the excel ­
again I'm going to recommend the lent f4-square.
Stonewall approach . It secures the right 6 dS 7 liJf4
...

to castle and takes a con siderable Attacking the ds-pawn for a third
amount of central space. And if our time.
opponent decides after all to attack us 7 e6 8 liJd2 0-0 9 0-0 b6
•..

with c3-c4, he will be a tempo down on

most lines where White plays c2-c4 in
one go. The drawback, of course, is the
hole on eS, which will h ave to be care­
fully watched.

S.Brom berger-M.Bartel
Wa rsaw (ra pid) 2007

1 d4 fs 2 g3 liJf6 3 .i.g2 g6 4 c3 .i.g7 5

'i¥b 3 Black is deployi ng his pieces in me-

1 01
P l ay t h e D u tch

thodical style. He only needs two or liantly placed on e4 in thi s structure. It

three more moves - 10 ... 'iVe8 to guard isn't technically speaking an outpost
e6 and then 11 ... �a6; or maybe 10 ... as ! ? square, but arranging the move f2-f3 is
to begin with, to seize space, and then difficult for White - or rather we
... 'iVe8 and ... �a6 - and he will have should say White can't play f2-f3 with­
solved the eternal problem of how to out spendin g a lot of energy, both in
effectively develop his queen's bishop. time and in the reduced cohesion of his
If White plays 10 tLlf3, intending to pawn structure.
exert his control over es with 11 tLld3
and 12 �f4, Black could respond
10 ... 'iVe8, but as White intends 11 tLld3
in any case, when the attack on e6 van­
ishes, Black might as well reply
10 ... tLle4! and after 11 tLld3 go 11 ... �a6.
10 'ilVa4
White tries to throw a spanner in
the works by attacking c6 and prevent­
ing ... �a6. Nonetheless, he should h ave
played 10 tLlf3 with tLld3, �f4, etc.
10 ... 'ii'e 8 In contrast, the e s -square, which
really is a hole in the bl ack centre, is
contested by the black bishop on g 7, as
well as the knight on c6; therefore it is
currently a less stable outpost for a
white knight than e4 is for the black
knight.
14 b3??
This is completely against the spirit
of the 'safety-first' 4 c3. White weaken s
himself along the c-file when Black has
made it clear with ... l:[c8 th at he in­
11 l:[e1 �d7 12 'ii'c 2 ':c81 tends to arrange ... c7-cs. It still wasn 't
Nimzowitsch would have loved this too l ate for 14 tLld3.
mysterious rook move. The black rook 14 ... tLla 5 1 15 tLle5 c5 16 f3
moves to a hopelessly-blocked file. The So White achieves his aim of driving
reason why soon becomes clear. the black knight away from e4, but un ­
13 tLlf3 tLle4 fortun ately for him it can go forwards
The black knight is usually bril- as well as backwards ...

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 S i d e l i n es in t h e L e n i n g ra d Va ria t i o n

16 ttJxC3! 17 'ii'x c3 cxd4 18 'ii'x d4 ttJc6

•.. immediate advance i n the centre with
19 ttJxc6 l:.xc61 S e4. However, it is ineffective as long
White would h ave one or two swin­ as Black is aware that he should g ambit
dling chances after 19 ... ii.xd4+ 20 the ds-pawn for the initiative with
ttJxd4 e S 21 ttJxfS ii.xfs 2 2 ttJxdS thanks s .. .fxe4 6 ttJxe4 ttJxe4 7 ii.xe4 dS 8 ii.g2
to his dark-squared bishop. ttJc6 9 c3 (in stead 9 ttJe2 ii.g4 10 c3 e S
11 dxes ttJxes 12 f4 ttJc6 tran sposes)
9 ... e s !

20 'iVd 3 ii.xa1 21 ii.a3 ii.g7

After this Bartel still has to fight to
subdue his opponent, whereas imme­ 1 0 dxe s ttJxe s 1 1 f4 ii.g4! 12 ttJe2
diately decisive was 2 1 ... ii.c3 ! as 22 :c1 (too risky for White is 12 'iVxds 'ii'x ds 13
fails to 2 2 ... 'ii'c 8! 2 3 ii.xf8 ii.d4+ 24 ii.xds ttJd3+ 14 �1 0-0-0 or 12 'ii'a4+
'ii'xd4 l:[xC1+ 2S �2 'ii'xf8. 'ii'd 7 13 'ii'x d7+ ttJxd7 14 ii.xds 0-0-0; in
22 ii.xf8 "xf8 23 e4 l:[c3 24 'ii'd 1 'ii'C 5+ 25 both cases Black h as huge activity for
�h1 fxe4 26 fxe4 d4 27 e5 ii.c6 28 'iVg4 the pawn) 12 ... ttJc6 13 h3 (still too dan­
i.xg2+ 29 �xg2 'ii'c6+ 30 �h3 1:[c2 31 g erous for White is 13 'ii'x ds 'ii'x ds 14
'iVxe6+ 'ii'xe6+ 32 ttJxe6 d3 33 ttJd4 l:[xa2 ii.xds 0-0-0 when the black rook come
34 e6 �8 3 5 ':'f1+ �e8 36 ttJb5 ii.e5! into the g ame far too quickly) 13 ... ii.e6,
The black pieces have stalemated intending 14 ... 'ii'd 7 and lS ... 0-0-0 with
the white knight. a full mobilization for Black.
37 :e1 d 2 38 l:[xe5 d1'ii' 39 ttJC7+ �e7
0-1
I.Khenkin-M.Bartel
E u ropea n Tea m
A closely-related approach to that
Cha m pion s h i p, Novi Sad 2009
employed by Bromberger is 1 d4 f5 2 g3
liJf6 3 ii.g2 g6 4 ttJd2 ii.g7 5 c3. Before
we come on to th at, we should note 1 d4 f5 2 g3 ttJf6 3 ii.g2 g6 4 ttJd2 ii.g7 5
that here White can also play for an c3

1 03
Play t h e D u tc h

Bartel keeps things flexible: already

he threatens to create a centre with
8 ... es and leave the knight on h 3 in
limbo by denying it the f4-square.
8 d s liJes

A more reliable choice than 5 e4.

s liJc6 6 liJh3
...

Instead 6 e4 fxe4 7 liJxe4 liJxe4 8

i.. x e4 dS 9 .i.g 2 e S transposes to our
an alysis, above, of 5 e4.
6 0-0
••• 9 liJd4
So White has avoided 'ifb3 and l et White h as stopped ... e7-eS (or so he
Black castle. I s he feeling generous? No, thinks) and imposed a grip on the cen­
he is hoping to lure Black into a posi­ tre. If Black plays passively, say with
tional trap. 9 ... .i.d7, then 10 liJf4 and 11 liJfe6 fol­
7 liJf3 lows. In that case White's strategy
If Black merrily sets up a Stonewall would be a complete triumph, and
pawn structure with 7 ... dS, White can Black would h ave failed the first test in
respond vigorously with 8 liJf4 liJe4 9 the Leningrad Dutch : don 't let White
h4 when there are ideas of 10 h S to post an unchallenged knight on e6.
undermine g 6 and begin an attack. It's 9 cS!
.••

not the end of the world, and some Thi s g ame features an intriguing
players would relish defending the battle between statics and dynamics.
bl ack side; but I think most of us want White is trying to impose solid control
to take the initiative ourselves when on the position with his schematic plan
we pl ay the Dutch . of exploiting the hole on e6, whereas
The reason we pl ay ... d7-dS is to Black is seeking to disrupt the pawn
block out the white queen on b3 and structure, even if it involves a sacrifice.
secure the right to castle. It isn't auto­ You might recall Bartel 's similar pawn
matically the best move in thi s pawn sacrifice versus Elsness in the 2 liJc3
structure. ch apter. Black is required to be adven­
7 d6!
••. turous in the Dutch .

1 04
 S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g ra d Va ria t i o n

10 dxc6 �xc6 11 �xc6 bxc6 12 Jtxc6 mean s the rook o n al also remains
.l:r.b8 13 �f4 shut in.
Khenkin gets the knight into the 15 'ii'xf6 16 0-0 Jth3 17 Jtg2 Jtxg2 18
•••

centre before it is shut out by 13 ... e s . 'iitxg2 'ii'e 6!

13 . . .e5 1 4 �d 5 f4!

Seizing control of the light squares

Our good friend, the Dutch pawn­ before White can play 'ii'd s. Black's
ram . Black must continue to play vig ­ mobile centre and active rooks give
orously, a s otherwise White will con­ him full compen sation or more for the
solidate his extra pawn . pawn . In contrast, White's rooks are
15 �xf6+ passive and his bishop rem ain s con­
Not surpri singly, Khenkin's priority fined to c1. Still, Black has to keep
is to get castled, and he avoids break­ pressing forwards or Khen kin will un­
ing up the residence with g 3 xf4. Taking wind his position, when the extra
on f6 first allows ... Jth 3 to be an swered pawn might have the l ast l augh .
by Jtg2, as occurs in the g ame. 19 f3 e41
Computers like to grab pawn s, but
15 gxf4 �xds 16 'ii'x ds+ (or 16 Jtxds+
'iith 8 17 fxe s Jtxe s) 16 ... 'iith 8 gives Black
good practical chances. If White allows
... esxf4 then another pawn-ram ap­
pears, and besides he only h as one ex­
tra pawn . Moreover, after 17 fxe s Jtxe s
the f2-square is exposed and can be
attacked further by ... 'irh4. As well as
his un safe king, White is hampered by
the pressure on b2 which prevents him
developing his bishop from cl, which 20 'ii'C 2

1 05
Play t h e D u tc h

The bishop's control o f f4 i s illusory The bishop i s better here than on cl,
as 20 .txf4 l:txb2 is bad for White, in as it defends g3, is out of the way of the
view of 2 1...exf3+ exposing e2 to at­ rook on al, and can be freed with c3-c4.
tack. If in stead 20 gxf4 then 20 ... e3 2S g4 26 fxg4?
.••

keeps the bishop entombed on cl, after A blunder, although even after 26
which Black can regain the pawn on f4. 'iVe4 g xf3+ 27 exf3 l:tes Black h as a
strong passed pawn to add to his ini­
tiative.

20 ... fxg3 21 hxg3 l:tbS I l

An excellent way t o add energy to
the black attack, as after 22 'iVxe4 l:tes ! 26 l:txfl?
•..

the e2-pawn drops. Secondly, the rook On the Chess Publishing.com web­
supports Black's next move which adds site Glenn Flear points out that
another pawn to the onslaught. And, 26 .. :ii'xg4! shoul d be winnin g : for ex­
fin ally, as we shall see in the critical ample, 27 l:txf8+ (or 27 'iVb3+ �h8 28
variation at move 26, the ch ance to l::t xf8+ .txf8 29 'iVb8 'ii'x e2+ 30 �gl
play ... l:th S might h ave won for Black. l::tfS) 2 7 ... .txf8 2 8 l:tdl l:th S 29 l:td4
'ii'h 3 + 30 �f3 'ii'h l+ and Black win s the
bishop, as 3 1 �g4 l:tes intending
32 ... 'ii'h S + is m ate in two.
After the text move White m an aged
to escape, with the game concluding in
perpetual check:
27 �xfl hS 28 c4 :gs 29 'ii'd 3 'ii'xg4 30
'it'xe3 h4 3 1 .tc3 .txC3 3 2 bxC3 l:tes 33
'ii'd 3 'ii' h 3+ 34 �el 'ii' h l+ 3S �d2 'ii'x al
36 'it'g6+ �f8 3 7 'iVxd6+ l:te7 38 'iVd8+
�f7 39 'iVd S+ �6 40 'it'd6+ l:te6 41
22 .tf4 gs 23 a4 l:ta s 24 .td2 e3 2S .tel 'iVf8+ �g6 42 'ii'g 8+ �f6 Yz-Yz

106
 S i d e l i n e s in t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

A fine example of how the dyna­ h ad in sufficient compen sation for the
mism of the Dutch can ruffle even the exch ange in N .5ulava-V.Mal aniuk,
strongest players of White. Montecatini Terme 1994.

Pa rt Fou r:
White Plays ltJh3

There are two m ain ideas in this

section. Firstly, an aggressive approach
with a quick tDh 3 and tDf4 th at does
without an early c2-c4: 1 d4 fS 2 g3 tDf6
3 .i.g 2 g 6 4 tDh 3 .i.g7 5 tDf4.

Instead White should try 7 e s ! when

Beim gives the variation 7 ... 0-0 8 .i.f3
"iVe8 9 .i.xh S gxh s 10 tDh 3 d6 11 tDf4
dxe s 1 2 tDxh s 'ii'c 6 as 'unclear'. In fact
13 dS then looks awkward for Black, as
there is the idea of tDxg 7 and .i.h 6+. 50
m aybe 1 2 ... .i.h 8 ! ? should be preferred
when 13 �h 6 'ili'c6 is indeed unclear,
perh aps good for Black. This time after
14 dS 'ili'xds the white rook won't get to
And, secondly, a positional ap­ h7 after the exchanges on dS and f8. Or
proach in which White delays tDh 3 if 14 ':h4 .l:.d8 15 .i.g s :xd4 and Black
with a sequence such as 1 d4 fS 2 g 3 is doing well.
tDf6 3 .i.g 2 g 6 4 c 4 .i.g 7 5 tDc3 0-0 6 If after 4 ... .i.g7 White settles for the
tDh 3. solid 5 tDh 3, then S ... d6 6 c3 (after 6
Before we examine those, here is a tDf4 eS the h 2-h4 move is looking ir­
sharp line that may involve tDh 3 : 1 d4 relevant) 6 ... c6 7 tDd2 (if 7 "iVb3 then
fS 2 g 3 tDf6 3 .i.g 2 g 6 4 h4. After 7 ... eS followed by .. :ike7 and ... .i.e6)
4... .i.g7 5 hS tDxh s 6 e4 e6! 7 ... e S 8 tDC4 .i.e6! 9 dxe s .i.xc4 10 exf6
.i.xf6 with equality or more for Black in
(see following diagra m) R. Kn aak-A. lllner, German League 1993.
Finally, after the ultra-early 1 d4 fS
7 exfs ? exfs 8 ':xh S 'ii'e 7+ 9 .i.e3 2 tDh 3 we can pl ay as we do again st 2
gxh s 10 tDc3 c6 1 1 'ii'xh S+ "iVf7 White tDf3 and 3 .i.g s, with 2 ... tDf6 3 .i.g s e6.

107
Play th e D u tc h

Answering ttJf4 with ... ttJc6 has be­

come an important motif in Black's
handling of various lines with a quick
ttJh 3 . Ideally he would like to drive the
knight back from f4, but in the real
world he has to accept the opportunity
of getting his queen's knight to a
square which is almost as good as f4.
And this isn't so bad either: after all,
Black often has difficulty developing
his queen side pieces in the Dutch, so
After 4 e3 h 6 ! ? S .txf6 'ii'xf6 6 ttJf4 l anding the knight on es is nothing to
g s 7 ttJd3 .tg 7 8 h4 g4 9 g 3 d6 10 .tg2 be sneezed at.
eS 11 c3 c6 12 a4 .te6 13 b4 ttJd7 14 bS 6 h4
':c8 Black had achieved a powerful cen­ White threatens 7 h S to smash up
tralization in V. Korchnoi-A.Muzychuk, the black king side, when 7 ... g S is an­
Marianske Lazne 2009. swered by 8 h 6 ! .
Instead 6 dS ttJ e s 7 ttJc3 takes some
The aggressive a pproach: territory, but without the support of a
a q u ick tD h 3 -f4 pawn on c4 the white centre can be
dissolved with 7 ... c6 ! : for example, 8 e4
d6 (note how Black takes action in the
O.Rod riguez Va rgas-G.Danner
centre before castling) 9 0-0 0-0 10 exfs
Dresde n 2010
.txfS 11 ttJce2 'ifb6 12 ttJd4 .tg4 13 f3
.td7 and the pawn couldn 't be main­
1 d4 fs 2 g3 ttJf6 3 .tg2 g6 4 ttJh3 .tg7 5 tained on dS in T.Vasilevich­
ttJf4 ttJc6! V.Mal aniuk, Odessa 2007.
Similarly after 6 dS ttJes 7 h4, the
white centre can be removed at once
with 7 ... c6 ! when 8 ttJC3 cxdS 9 ttJcxdS
ttJxdS 10 'ii'x ds e6 was already fully
equal for Bl ack in K.5tupak-M.Bartel,
Warsaw 2008.
6 ... es!
This is the idea: the black knight will
now become well centralized and in­
volved in the defence of g6.
7 dxes ttJxes 8 h S c6

1 08
 S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

Black achieves his famous pawn­

ram . On the other h and, his kingside is
full of holes. A real Dutch melee is in
progress.
is gxf4 gxf4

Calmly played. Black builds a big

centre which will take control of the
light squares, shuttin g out the white
bishop on g 2 . Now White g ains nothing
from 9 hxg6 hxg6 10 ':'xh 8+ �xh 8. His
rook on al i s just as far from the h-file 16 ttJd S?
as the bl ack rook on a8. Al so fruitless is We've seen it all before: White buck­
9 h 6 as after 9 ... �f8 the king side is les under the pressure of playing
blocked and the pawn on h 6 is a liabil­ again st the Dutch. H e fails to tread the
ity for White. We might say that in this n arrow path between being too ag­
type of position the pawn should only gressive and too passive, which the
advance to h6 if h aving to retreat the complication s of the opening obscure
bishop to f8 causes a significant prob­ from him.
lem to Black's development. Obviously The position remains absolutely un­
that isn't the case here. clear after, say, 16 �d4 f3 17 �h l fxe2
9 C4 18 'fiC2 (or 18 'i!Vxe2 d6 19 �xe5 �xe 5
The poisonous 9 ttJd2 i s examined 20 �e4 'ii'g 7 2 1 �h 7+ �f7) 18 ... ttJf3+ 19
in the next game. �xf3 �xd4, etc.
9 ... 0-0 16 ... 'ii'e 81
Safer seems to be the alternative After this calm retreat White has a
9 ... d6 10 ttJC3 (if 10 ttJd2 'fie7 11 ttJf3 knight, bishop and rook all hanging .
ttJfg4) 10 ... 'ife7 1 1 h6 �f8 12 b3 �d7, The wild fight continues, but Bl ack is
albeit still with quite double-edged playing with an extra piece.
play. But the Austrian Georg Danner is 17 l:lhl fxe3 18 'ili'C2 exf2+ 19 �d2 cxd S
a real fighter. 20 'fih7+ �7 21 i-xd S+ �e7 22 'ii'x g7+
10 hxg6 hxg6 11 ttJC3 "iWe7 12 �e3 gs �d8 23 cS 'ife7 24 'ifg3 d6 2S l:r.afl �d7
13 ttJhS ttJxh S 14 l:txh S f4 26 l:thS l:tc8 27 b4 'ii'f6 28 e3 0-1

1 09
Play t h e D u tch

al so has to reckon with ..txe s and tiJxg6

at some point
A.Vaisser-M.Bartel
E u ropea n C h a m pions h i p,
Ista n bu l 2003

1 d4 fs 2 g3 tiJf6 3 ..tg2 g6 4 tiJh3 ..tg7 S

tiJf4 tiJc6 6 h4 eS 7 dxes tiJxes 8 h s c6 9
tiJd21?

1s ...Va s+??
A horrible check - the queen moves
away from the defence of the kingside
and centre.
16 c3 �f7 17 'iWb3 b6 18 0-0-0 ..te6 19
.l:th1 ..tg7 20 l:.h7 1-0
White's plan of seizing the dark
White begin s a plan of development squares h as been a complete triumph.
which h as caused Black a lot of prob­ One of e6, e S or g 7 is going to drop off.
lems. We h ave said that Bl ack intends
to fortify his light squares with ... d7-dS. H avin g seen this g ame, with the
White's knight move aim s to put pres­ two question marks appended to
sure on the dark squares with tiJf3, ..te3 15 ... 'iWas, you h ave probably m ade the
and ..td4. If he succeeds in exchanging mental note that 'the one thing Black
off the bishop on g 7, Black's position must n ever, ever do in this variation is
will be full of holes. give a check with the queen on as'. In­
9 ... d S 10 tiJf3 cidentally, that is how our intuition
Ch allenging the guardian of the g6- about what is a good or bad move or
pawn. Black h as to reinforce it with the idea in an opening line or a pawn
other knight. structure develops. A valuable asset,
10 ... tiJfg4 11 tiJxes tiJxes 12 ..te3 1 ..tf611 but sometimes intuition becomes
He shoul d play 12 . . 'iWd6 ! - see be­
. prejudice - when it m akes us reject a
low. good move just because it doesn't look
13 hxg6 hxg6 14 .l:txh8+ ..txh8 1S ..td41 right.
The pin on f6 is very annoying. Black Some month s after Bartel's debacle

110
 S i d e l i n e s i n t h e L e n i n g ra d Va ria t i o n

in the g ame above, Black's play was

strengthened by the centralizing
A.Ka rpov-V.Malaniuk
12 ...'ii'd 6 (rather th an 12 ... .tf6). Pl ay
Ta l l i n n (ra pid) 2005
went 13 .td4 .tf6 (the immediate
13 ... g 5 ? 14 h 6 ! .tf6 15 lLlh 5 would be
bad for Black, but putting the bishop 1 d4 f5 2 g3 lLlf6 3 .1i.g2 g6 4 c4 .tg7 5
on f6 threatens 14 ... g 5, driving away lLlc3 0-0
the white knight, as the riposte h 5-h 6 is Black m akes all the norm al Lenin­
no longer available; the upshot is that grad Dutch moves. H e doesn't commit
White is obliged to take on g6, which him self to ... d7-d6 until White reveal s
eases the pressure on the bl ack king­ more about his intended opening
side) 14 hxg6 hxg6 scheme.
6 lLlh3
Thi s is why we h ave waited for
White to reveal his cards. If 6 lLlf3 we
would have continued 6 ... d6, but now
we respond with our anti-lLlh 3 move.
6 ... lLlc61 7 0-0 d6

1 5 l:txh 8+ .txh 8 16 c3 (Black looks to

be okay too after 16 'ifd2 lLlC4 17 'ifc3
i.xd4 18 'ili'xd4 'ili'e5 19 0-0-0 'ii'x d4 20
l:txd4 lLle5) 16 ... .td7 and Bl ack held the
draw in G .Murawski-M. Kuzio1a, Krakow
2003.
The move ... d7-d6 is part of Black's
The positional tD h 3 method standard plan of development, but it
with c2 -C4 does allow the white knight control
If White delays the lLlh 3 move by play­ over the hole on e6.
ing c2-c4, it probably indicates th at he a d 5 lLle5 9 b3 c5
isn't looking for a quick attack on the Black grabs some space on the
king side or a violent fight in the centre. queenside. Objectively White is per­
Instead he wants to establish the famil­ h aps a bit better, but I find this varia­
iar cramping pawn centre with d4-d5. tion quite attractive for Black. It feel s

111
Play t h e D u tc h

good t o know what you are doing, and Black has the open b-fi1e and the c4-
here Black has a clear plan of preparing pawn h as been undermined. On the
the ... b7-bS pawn break. other h and, immediate measures have
10 tt'lf4 tt'leSJ? to be taken before White steam rollers
The knight heads for c7 where it through the centre with 19 e s .
protects the e6-square and adds its 19 ... e51
weight to a ... b7-bS advance. White also
has to watch out for a 11...tt'lxc4
cheapo.
11 'iVC2 tt'lC7 12 �d2 a6 13 a4
Now it wouldn 't be a good idea to
let the positional maestro obtain a
clamp on the b6-square with 14 as and
so:
13 ... b61

A great defen sive but al so counter­

attacking move. If now 20 dxe6 tt'lxe6
and the black knight heads for d4.
20 a5 i.d7 21 fxe5 i.xe5 22 �hl tt'leSI
Yz-Yz
Mission accomplished on the
queenside, the knight heads back to f6
where it is involved in the struggle for
the e4-square. Bl ack is at least equal
Now there is nothing to stop Black here but chose to call it a draw.
achieving the ... b6-bS pawn break. A rather short g ame, but it reveals
Therefore Karpov gives up on preven­ the ideas available to both pl ayers in
tive chess and focuses on his own pawn the position al tt'lh 3 system.
advance in the centre.
14 tt'ld3
S.KlimoY-E.Berg
Clearing the way for f2-f4 and al so
Maastricht 2009
planning to eliminate the knight on es
before the pressure on the c4-pawn is
increased by ... b6-b S . 1 d4 f5 2 g3 tt'lf6 3 �g2 g6 4 tt'lh3 �g7 5
1 4.. J:tbS 15 l:[ael b5 1 6 tt'lxe5 �xe5 1 7 tt'lf4 tt'lc6
f4 �g7 is e 4 bxC4 1 9 bxC4 The g ame begins with the moves of

112
 S i d e l i n es in t h e L e n i n g r a d Va ria t i o n

the aggressive tDh 3 system . .. ahead i n the central battle because

6 c4 White h as played 6 h4. In contrast, af­
... but then White shows his willing ­ ter 6 c4 White h asn't 'wasted' a move
n e s s t o enter into the position al line. putting the pawn on h4. And if there is
What should Black do? no threat of h4-h S, why should Black
6 d61
••• still insist on 6 ... es, compromising his
pawns?
H ence the strongest players tend to
prefer 6 ... d6.
7 d S tDes S 'ili'C2
White is going to avoid tDC3 in fa­
vour of tDd2. Al so, in contrast to the
Karpov game, he puts his bishop on b2
where it has more central scope but
less influence over events on the
queen side.
S cS 9 tDd2 'ii'a s
..•

An important moment as Berg had The black queen takes an immedi­

to choose which pawn structure to ate interest in the queen side action.
adopt in the middlegame. Incidentally it Already White h as to reckon with
shows the danger of a 'one size fits all' lo ... bS, so he covers the bs-square a
approach to opening strategy. As Black second time.
plays s ...tDc6 and then 6 ... e s ! versus 6 10 a4 0-0 11 0-0 l::t b S 12 l::t a 3 'ili'C7
h4, and gets awarded with an exclama­
tion mark, it's easy to simplify matters
to 'Black always plays ... tDc6 and ... e7-eS
against tDh 3 and tDf4'. The human brain
likes to find rules and precepts, and they
come in very handy in chess. But we
shouldn't rely on them so much that we
become blind to the needs of the spe­
cific position in front of us.
After 6 h4 Black is threatened with 7
hS, so 6 ... e s makes sense. It negates the
potential attack on g 6 and bring s the And now the l ady retreats, happy to
knight to an active square. On the have persuaded the white rook to go to
other hand, Bl ack has weakened his a bad square.
pawn structure - but we are a tempo 13 b3 b6 14 .i.b2 a6 lS tDf3

113
P l ay th e D u tc h

White is willing t o compromise h i s Klimov's attack has come to a halt

pawns in order t o open the e-file and as he doesn 't h ave enough power to
increase his pressure on e6. conquer e7. He looks around for a way
15 .. .lbxf3+ 16 exf3 b5 17 cxb5 axb5 18 to strengthen his attack and comes up
axb5 l:txb5 19 l:[e1 l:tb7 20 i.f1 with a weakening move:
Shut in on g2, the bishop seeks a 26 g41
post on c4 where it at least defends a Either White played this because he
couple of important pawn s. was feeling overly optimistic: 'I have
20 J:ta7 21 .l:!.xa 7 'iVxa7 22 i.C4
.• Black tied up, it's time to attack with
If Black does nothing then White my pawn s ! ' or overly pessimistic: 'If I
can gradually improve his position just sit tight then I'm going to be
with moves like 23 �g 2 and 24 h4, fol­ gradually outplayed!'
lowed by a well prepared h4-h S . Mean­ Overaggressive actions are often a
while Black can't move his bishop from sign of an inherent l ack of confidence.
c8 without dropping the e7-pawn . So In fact there was no good reason why
doing nothing isn't in Black's interest. White should lose if he just sits tight.
Berg found a way to cajole White into For example, after 26 'iti'g 2 Black could
exchanging off his knight for the pas­ offer another favourable exch ange:
sive black bishop on c8. 26 ... lDh S 2 7 i.xg 7 lDxg 7 when after 28
22 ... i.h6! l:[e3 f4 29 l:te4 fxg 3 30 hxg 3 lDfS the
Threatening to triple the white black knight aim s for the excellent d4-
pawn s. outpost square. H owever, even here
2 3 lDe6 i.xe6 24 :xe6 i.g7 after 3 1 f4 Black is far from having a
The bishop returns, having helped 'real advantage'.
to reduce White's pressure. 26 :fi'n 2 7 i.xf6 'ilkxe2 28 l:[xe2 i.xf6
..

25 'ii'e 2 IIf7 29 �g2 i.e5 30 lita2 �g7 3 1 lita8 i.d4

32 g5 i.e5 33 h4 h6 34 gxh6+ 'it>xh6 3 5
i. b 5 g5 3 6 �h31
White should survive without too
m any difficulties after 36 hxg s+ 'iti'xg s
3 7 :g8+ �f4 3 8 i.d7, but psychologi­
cally it feel s like h e is losing ground in
letting the black king come to f4.
36 i.d4 3 7 :g8 gxh4 38 :g2 i.f6 39
•..

i.e8 1:f8 40 1:g6+ 'iti'h7 0-1

114
 Chapter S i x

The Ma i n Li n e Le n i n g ra d : 7 CDC3 c6

Here w e sh all examine the key varia­ structure th at results is enormous, an d

tion 1 d4 fS 2 g3 ttJf6 3 .i.g2 g6 4 ttJf3 the two moves h ave unique pl an s.
i.g7 5 c4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 ttJC3 c6.

Pa rt One: White Plays

liJbd 2 not liJC3

First of all, we'll take a step back­

wards and look at lines in which White
avoids ttJC3 in favour of ttJbd2. This im­
plies th at White won't be advan cing
d4-dS to g ain space, as the knight
would be poorly placed on d2 to sup­
port a big centre. Therefore Black's
This move is very flexible. As we see, fundamental plan is to arrange the
it enables Black to use his queen on the moves ... d7-d6 and ... e7-eS to mobilize
as-, b6- and a-squares, which are op­ his own centre pawn s.
tion s un available to him after the
popular altern ative 7 .. :�e8. It also rules
S.Felier-H.Naka m u ra
out any ttJdS system s by White.
Ca p d'Agde (ra pid) 2008
Against 7 ... c6 White can either seize
space with 8 dS or play the less com ­
mittal 8 b3. The difference in the pawn 1 d4 fs 2 g3 g6 3 i.g2 lLlf6 4 b3 i.g7 5

115
P l ay t h e D u tch

�b2 0-0 6 tiJf3 d6 after 1 5 'ii'x a4 tiJxa4 16 �xe s ? fxe4

Against this move order a Stonewa11 White drops material, so he has to
approach was recommended in Chap­ grovel with 15 'ii'd l 'ii'x dl 16 l:taxdl
ter Five with 6 ... tiJe4, and if 7 c4 then tiJd3 which looks exce11ent for Black.
7 ... c6 and 8 ... dS. However, if like N aka­ Black al so h as strong dynamic
mura you are happy to play ... c7-c6 sys­ chances after 14 �xe s fxe4 15 �c3
tem s, then the text is fine as we11. 'ii'd 8 or 14 tiJxes fxe4.
7 c4 c6 8 0-0 'ii'a s ! 14 b4 'ii'd 8

No messing around: N akamura 15 tiJxe4

prepares ... e7-eS in direct fashion. White could h ave kept the edge
9 tiJbd2 :e8 10 'ii'c 2 eS 11 dxes dxes 12 with 15 tiJfg s, intending lS ... 'ii'd 3 16
e4 tiJa6 13 a3 �xe4! , so h ere N akamura might h ave
tried the fo11owin g sharp line: lS ... e3 16
tiJde4! ? exf2+ 17 'ifxf2 �fS 18 l:tadl
'it'e7 19 tiJd6 tiJg4 20 'ii'd 2 and White
h as a lot of pressure for the pawn, but
Black remains alive with tactical
chances of his own .
ls ... tiJxe4 16 'ii'xe4 �fS 17 'ili'e3 'ifd3 !
A very fi n e move. The exchange of
queen s a110ws Bl ack to advance ... e S -e4
without exposing his king to tactical
threats, or a110wing White to con soli­
13 fxe4
•.• date his hold on the d4-square as
Here I think Black missed a good would be the case after 17 ... e4 18 tiJd4
ch ance with 13 ... tiJcS ! as the b3-b4 fork 'it'd7 19 %:tadl. It might sound para­
isn't to be feared: 14 b4? 'ii'a4 when doxical, but the energy of the black po-

116
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 lLl C 3 c6

sition is increased by the exchange of the black b-pawn can't be subjected to

queens - or it might be said that the frontal pressure by the rook on bl.
exchange of queens diminishes the 2s lLlxcs
•.•

cohesion of the white position . The knight finds an ideal post on a

18 l:tfel blockade square.
White might h ave tried 18 .l:tadl 26 l:txa7 l:.d6 27 %la s b6 28 .:tabs .:tee6
'it'xe3 (if 18 ...'it'xC4 19 lLlxes) 19 fxe3 so 29 lISb2 'i£;>g7 30 lIa2 'i£;>g6
that after 19 ... e4 20 lLld4 his knight is One of the advantages of the Dutch
well fortified on d4 - compare this with king side structure for Black is that his
the g ame. king usually finds it easier to amble up
18 ...'it'xe3 the board in an endgame. The carapace
Not 18 ... 'it'xC4 19 lLlxes when the of pawns on f2, g3 and h2 might give
white knight finds a stable central the white king added protection in the
square where it can be further bol ­ middlegame, but in the endgame it
stered by 20 f4. becomes a straight-j acket.
19 l:lxe3 e41 20 lLld4 %:tad8 2 1 lLlxfS 3 1 l:ta8?
i.xb2 22 l:tbl i.xa 3 23 l:txa3 gxfs 24 Feller loses patience. If White h ad
i.fl cSI waited with 3 1 lIab2, Nakamura might
h ave increased th e pressure: 31 ... .:f6
3 2 lIa2 f4 3 3 gxf4 'i£;>fS ! and 34 ... 'i£;>xf4.
3 1 ...l:td21

An important move. In the long run

Black would have to give back the extra
pawn, so he return s it at once to fix the
white pawn on c4. This en sures that N akamura doesn't miss the chance
the white bishop remains shut in on fl. to seize the seventh rank.
25 bxcS 32 :g8+ 'i£;>f7 33 l%.h8 'i£;>g7 34 l:tb8 lLld71
After 2 S b S lLlb4 2 6 lIxa7 lIe7 the Refuting White's try for counter­
black knight isn't quite as well placed play. The b6-pawn is defended and the
as in the g ame, but on the other hand knight is ready to leap to eS and f3 .

117
P l ay th e D u tch

3 5 J::t b 7? Ehlvest to be deprived of 7 ... ttJc6 when

He should slow down Black's attack he has the chance to expand with a
with 3 S l:1.d8 ! . rapid ... e7-e S .
3 5 ... 'it'f6 36 .:ta7 h 5 3 7 .:ta8 ttJe5 38 7 .'fWe8 8 b 3
.•

l:!.bal ttJf3+ 39 'it'g2 e3 40 l:1.8a2 ttJel+ Instead 8 dS c6 ! ? would give Black a

0-1 pleasant variant of the 7 ... c6 m ain line
- after all, White is going to h ave to
reroute the knight with ttJb3 at some
P.Harikrishna-J.Ehlvest
point, which amounts to a lost tempo
Merida 2008
as it is no better placed there than after
7 ttJc3.
1 d4 d6 2 c4 f5 3 ttJf3 ttJf6 4 g3 g6 5 i.g2 H owever, perhaps the best respon se
i.g7 6 0-0 0-0 7 ttJbd2 to 8 dS is 8 ... e s ! 9 dxe6 ttJc6 ! (there's no
need to hurry to recapture on e6, so
let's block a possible attack on b7 first),
and then 10 ... i.xe6 when Black h as a
good version of the 7 ttJc3 ttJc6 line.
8 e5 9 dxe5 dxe5
•..

Now Bl ack h as the typical mobile

centre that is ready to spring forwards.
10 e4 ttJc6 11 i.a3 l:1f7 12 ];tel f4!

Nimzowitsch described such moves

as 'decentralizing' even though for­
m ally speaking the knight is moved to
a central square. The point is that by
avoiding its natural post on c3, the
knight has lost its ch ance to exert in­
fluence over the crucial ds-square, or
indeed support a pawn on that square.
Perh aps H arikri shna wanted to avoid Our characteristic move. Of course
the 7 ttJC3 ttJc6 line, as after 7 ttJbd2 Black has to be careful now as his centre
going 7 ... ttJc6 8 dS ttJas is much less and queenside are shaky. But in how
attractive for Bl ack with the c4-pawn many other openings does Black get
defended. good development, a space advantage
However, it is hardly upsetting for and an attack after only 12 moves?

118
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ttJ c3 c 6

13 b4 a6 14 iLb2 fxg3 15 hxg3 goal of getting h i s queen t o the h 5 -

In this type of centre White often square, where i n partnership with the
faces a dilemma when recapturin g the knight on g4 she can create threats
pawn on g 3 . Capturing 'away from the again st the white king .
centre' is in principle wrong and, in­
deed, 1 5 fxg 3 would weaken his dark
squares along the a7-g 1 diagon al, in
particular e3. On the other h an d, after
the text...
1S ... ttJg41
... the absence of an h-pawn to kick
back the black knight with h 2-h 3 i s
keenly felt. Even i f White achieves a
great position in the centre or on the
queen side, he can never feel com­
pletely comfortable with the enemy 20 cS
horse rearing itself at his king . With the positional threat of 2 1 ttJC4
In similar situations, Bl ack might followed by 22 ttJd6 when suddenly it is
pin the f3 -knight with ... iLg4, again the white knight that is star of the
profiting from the fact th at there is no show.
h 2-h 3 to drive it away. In this in stance, 20 ... iLf8!
however, the knight move is undoubt­ Ehlvest knows there's more to
edly strong er. Black's strategy in the Dutch than at­
16 bS ttJd4 17 a4 cS! tacking crazily in the hope th at a mate
A fine move that obliges White to appears before the queenside caves in.
break up his queen side pawn phalanx. Though m any other players (including,
18 bxc6 I h ave to admit, your author) some­
Of course it's bad enough with one times forget this. The retreat of the
black knight on g4; White can't tolerate bishop not only prevents the immedi­
the other one permanently fixed on d4. ate 21 ttJC4 as 21 ... iLxC5 follows, but it
18 ttJxc6
•.. al so makes the knight manoeuvre hard
Observe how the positional maestro to arrange in the long term : even after
Jaan Ehlvest h as man aged to restore a preparatory move like 'iVc2 or :tCl,
his knight to the excellent c6 post from White still can't pl ay ttJC4 as it would
which it can never again be driven by a cut off the defence of c5.
b4-b5 advance. H arikri shna therefore gives up a
19 1:.f1 h6! pawn to achieve counterplay:
The first move in Black's long-term 21 ttJC4 iLxcs 22 'iVds b6 23 ttJd6

119
Play t h e D u tch

In stead 2 3 liJcxe 5 liJxe5 24 liJxe 5 black on slaught - how can this be

�e6 ! leaves White in great trouble as done?
f2 is attacked three times. 29 a 5 1 1
•..

23 ...�xd6 24 'ifxd6 .:tf6 2 5 'ifd2 A brilliant move. Most pl ayers get

White hopes to take possession of myopic once they start an attack, and
the open d- and c-files, and then, aided can't see beyond combination s in the
by his dark-squared bishop which h as vicinity of the king. In contrast, Ehlvest
no rival, subject Black to long-term h as seen a way to get his queenside
pressure. minor pieces involved in the attack. The
2 5 ... g5! threat i s 30 ... �a6: once the bishop is
aiming at fl there will be no escape
square for the white king.
30 ':b3 liJb4! 3 1 l1bc3
White flounders around for a de­
cent defence, but there is none avail­
able.
3 1 ... �a6
If now 3 2 "iVdl .l:r.xf3 when recaptur­
ing on f3 allows 3 3 ... 'ifh 2 mate.
3 2 ':C4

At l ast everything is ready for the

black queen to go to h 5 (it took the
moves ... h6, ... g 5 and ... .l:.f6 to prepare
the way).
26 l:[acl �b7 27 l:tfdl 'ifh 5 28 'ife2 lIaf8
29 lId3
The position is now very tense.
The black pieces crowded on the
kingside are wonderfully placed for an
attack, but horribly misplaced when it
comes to defending again st an inva­ 3 2 ... liJh2
sion of the white pieces along the open Quite sufficient to win as the pin on
central files. Therefore, if Ehlvest's f3 costs White a piece. However, more
build-up proves merely symbolic, be­ elegant was 32 ... liJd3 ! after which all
cause no breakthrough is possible, he the black pieces would be directly in­
faces defeat. volved in the attack - a model of har­
Power needs to be added to the mony. After 3 3 'ii'x d3 l:.xf3 White is

120
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 tLl C3 c 6

mated on f2 if he takes the rook, while by the ch ance t o attack i n the Dutch .
the threat is 34 ... 'iVh 2+ then 3S ... l:.xf2+.
H e can only give some del aying checks
Z.Kozul-A.Volokitin
with 34 'ii'd S+ l:t8f7 3S ':c8+ �h 7.
E u ropea n Tea m
3 3 tLld4
C h a m pion s h i p, Novi Sad 2009
If 33 .i.xe s then 33 ... tLlxf3+ 34 tLlxf3
'ii'xf3 wins a piece for Black.
33 .. :ifxe2 34 tLlxe2 .i.xe4 3 5 ':xe4 :xf2 1 d4 f5 2 g3 tLlf6 3 .i.g2 g6 4 tLlf3 .i.g7 5
0-1 0-0 0-0 6 C4 d6 7 tLle3 e6 8 Ve2
After 8 �e1 tLla6 9 e4 (or 9 b3 'iliC7
with a familiar plan after 10 .i.b2 of
Pa rt Two: 7 �C3 c6
takin g space with 10 ... eS 11 dxe s dxe s)
without 8 d S
9 .. .fxe4 10 tLlxe4 tLlxe4 11 l:[xe4 e S 12
dxes dxe s 13 'ili'xd8 ':xd8 14 .i.g s �e8,
1 d 4 f5 2 g 3 tLlf6 3 .i.g2 g6 4 tLlf3 .i.g7 5 intending ...il.fs or ... tLlcS, Black h as
c4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 tLle3 e6 more than enough dyn amic play to
offset the weakness on eS.
An important alternative is 8 llb1
which Kramnik used to beat Nakamura
in a g ame at Wijk aan Zee 2010, that
went 8 ... tLle4 9 'ii'c 2 tLlxC3 10 bXc3 ! . This
game was far from clear, but I prefer a
different treatment for Bl ack, namely
8 ... �h 8.

H ere, before we turn our attention

to White's main move, 8 dS, the alter­
n atives 8 Vc2, 8 :e1, 8 l:Ib1 and 8 b3
'iVas followed by 9 .i.b2 or 9 .i.d2 will
be examined.
As in the examples above, White's
avoidance of d4-dS enables Black in
many cases to prepare the freeing ... e7-
eS advance. The Kozul-Volokitin g ame, If now 9 b3 Bl ack can try 9 ... .i.e6 ! ?
below, is al so a useful warning about 1 0 .i.b2 tLlbd7, a s the bishop can i f nec­
the dangers of being too carried away essary retreat to g8. If given the chance,

121
P l ay t h e D u tc h

such as by 1 1 l:[ e l o r 1 1 'ii'C 2, pl anning the pawn with control of the ds-square
12 e4, Black can switch to a Stonewall as 13 .1i.f4? liJfds is bad for White.
next move with 11 ... dS ! with equal S ...liJa6 9 a 3
space and a safe g ame. So that mean s After 9 .1i.g s 'tie8 1 0 l:tfel Black can
that 11 dS i s the critical move. After set up his mobile pawn centre with
11 ... cxdS 12 liJxds (the pawn on dS 10 ... e S : for example, 11 dxe s dxes 12
could become a target after 12 cxdS e4 liJcs 13 exfs .1i.xfs with great activity
.1i.g8) 12 .. liJxds 13 cxdS .i.g8 14 .1i.xg 7+ to compensate for the i solated queen's
'iit x g7 Black can play moves like ... 'ifb6 pawn .
and ... liJf6 when he is solid on the dark 9 .. :ilfeS
squares.
Instead 9 b4 continues in ' Kramnik'
style, when 9 . .liJbd7 plan s to put pres­
.

sure on the c4-pawn with ...liJb6 and

... .1i.e6. In V.Tarasova-V.Cmilyte, Rijeka
2010, Black was soon better after 10
liJg S ? ! liJb6 11 cS (or 11 bS .1i.d7)
1 1 ... liJbdS.

lo b4
In stead 10 dS i.d7 bring s us into 8
dS territory where I don 't think the
queen is well placed on c2.
Or if 10 e4 fxe4 1 1 liJxe4 .i.fs 12
liJxf6+ and here Beim analyses
12 ... exf6 ! ? 13 'tWb3 'tif7 14 .1i.f4 (the sim­
ple 14 lIel should be preferred)
The knight was well placed on dS 14 ... l:tad8 i s l:r.fel g s 16 i.e3 h 6 with
and giving up the light-squared bishop an edge to Black.
with 1 2 liJxds liJxds 13 .i.xds cxdS 10 ... e5 11 dxe5 dxe5
didn't help White at all . White's slow play on the queen side
Perh aps the immediate 10 cS is has allowed Volokitin to seize space in
best, when 10 ... e S ! ? is an intriguing the centre. H e h as achieved the ' King's
reply, since after 1 1 bS e4 12 liJg s liJb8 ! Indian ' pawn centre, e S and fS, without
the white centre i s breaking up, o r i f 1 1 any resistance.
cxd6 e 4 12 liJg s liJb6 and Black regains 12 e4 f4

122
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g r a d : 7 tiJ c3 c 6

Everything h as gone so swimmingly that the correct plan was 16 . . .tiJe6 !

for Black that he feel s justified in be­ aiming at the outpost square on d4.
ginning an onslaught on the king side Then 17 .i.xe 5 ? is a blunder as
with his pawn s. 17 ... tiJg 5 ! leaves two white bishops
13 .i.b2 .i.g4 14 c5 tiJC7 15 tiJb1! h anging, while after 17 tiJd2 tiJd4 18
.i.xd4 exd4 19 tiJC4 tiJd7 ! (stabilizing his
control of the e 5 -square) 20 tiJd6 'iVe6
Black h as a strong position, and 2 1
tiJxb7 tiJe 5 would b e very bad for
White.
17 tiJd2 g4 18 .i.e2 f3
Contrary to wh at it says in books on
tactics, h aving a pawn on f3 doesn't
always mean that a combination will
appear. In fact the pawn might well
block a favourable tactical operation by
Another slow move, but with the its pieces.
excellent idea of m anoeuvring the 19 .i.C4+ �h8 20 :fe1 'iWh 5 2 1 .i.f1 tiJe6
knight to c4 via d2, where it attacks e 5 22 tiJC4
and can invade o n d 6 in some cases.
15 .i.xf3 16 .i.xf3
..•

22 ... tiJg5
The lure of the h 3 -square proves too
16 g51
..• strong for the knight. It wasn't too late
Volokitin begin s a plan of decen­ to revert to a centralizing strategy with
tralization . If there is a m ate, it's fine: 22 ... tiJd4 23 ..txd4 exd4 24 tiJd6 ? ! (this
the game i s over. But if there isn't a knight is probably in too much of a
mate, then Black has over-committed hurry) 24 ... tiJe8 ! 2 5 tiJxb7 d3 26 'ii'x d3
himself. With hindsight it turn s out .i.xal 27 lIxal 'ii'e 5 28 :dl tiJf6 with a

123
Play t h e D u tch

defensible position for Black. strongest players can become intoxi­

23 .ixe5 lDh3+ 24 'ith1 cated by the attacking options offered
Black has a very aggressive set up - by the Dutch . The moral is: if you don 't
but where is the mate? see a mate, remember to keep your
24 ..J:tae8 25 .ixf6 ':xf6 26 .:tad1 ':'h6 pieces centralized and flexible.
27 lDd6
Let's turn after 1 d4 f5 2 g3 lDf6 3
.ig2 g6 4 lDf3 .ig7 5 e4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7
lDe3 e6 to 8 b3 when after 8 ...Va 5 ...

2 7 ... lDg5
He could have tried for a l ast swin­
dle with 2 7 ... .if6 28 lDxc8 ? ? lDf4 29 h4
.ixh4!, but 28 .ic4! l::tf8 29 lDfS would ... White can reply 9 .ib2 or 9 .id2.
prevent a breakthrough on the king­
side and win easily. Equally if 2 7 ... lDf4
T .Kaliszewski-T. Wa ra komski
2 8 h4 .if6 29 lDfS win s for White.
Wa rsaw (ra pid) 2009

1 d4 g6 2 lDf3 .ig7 3 g3 d6 4 .ig2 f5 5

0-0 lDf6 6 e4 0-0 7 lDe3 e6 8 b3 Va s
Our basic idea: the queen jumps to
as where she attacks the white knight
and win s time for ... e7-e S . We wouldn 't
h ave thi s option after 7 ... 'iWe8 8 b3.
9 .ib2 e5 10 dxe5
We examined the inferior 10 'iWc2?
in the Introduction - see the g ame
28 h4! 1-0 Buehl-Reifurth .
After 2 8 ... gxh 3 the rook on c8 can be 10 ... dxe5 11 Ve2?
taken. A game th at shows that even the Thi s is still a poor idea. The usual

124
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ttJ c 3 c 6

move is 11 e4, preventing Black's n ext ground i n the centre with 1 1 a 3 ! , al­
move, for which see the n ext g ame. though after 13 ... c5 14 b4 'ifd8 Black is
11 e41
•.. at least equal.
13 C5 14 ttJC2 �e6 15 f3
•••

White needs some space - he can't

just wait for something like ... ttJc6,
... l:tad8 and ...ttJd4 to h appen .
15 ... exf3 16 exf3 ttJc6 17 .l::te 1 J..f7 18 a 3
�C7

If there is no immediate punish ­

ment, Black will always b e at least
equal whenever he carries out this type
of pawn advance. He seizes space in
the centre, dislodges the white knight
from f3 and shuts in the white bishop
on g 2 . Black's potentially weak square on
12 ttJd4 d5 is guarded by a bishop and a knight,
Well, perh aps Kaliszewski was whereas White's hole on d3 h as no pro­
happy hereabouts: after all, it isn't ob­ tection - and imagine what chaos
vious how Black is to complete his de­ would be caused if a bl ack knight
velopment. If 12 ... ttJbd7? then 13 ttJe6 l anded there, hitting the white queen,
will deprive him of the vital bishop on rook on e1 and bishop on b2. Further­
g7. And 1 2 ... c5 would be a position al more, the black pawn on c5 supports a
blunder as after 13 ttJdb5 the white possible knight invasion on d4.
knight is poised to invade on d6. As a Kaliszewski tries to bolster the de­
matter of fact Black has a simple move fence of the vulnerable d3- and d4-
that confounds White's strategy: squares whil st al so solving the strate­
12 a6!
.•. gic problem of his queen blocking in
Denying the white knight the b5- the rook on a1. Unfortunately for him,
square and actually threatening to trap Black's f-pawn is waiting in ambush :
it mid-board with 13 ... C 5 1 . 19 �e3 f4! 20 �xc5?
13 'ii'C 1 In stead 20 gxf4 ttJh 5 is good for
A feeble reply. H e should stand his Black as getting the knight to a formi-

125
Play t h e D u tc h

dable post o n f4 is worth more than a for Warakomski.

pawn . For example, 2 1 "ilxcs b6 2 2 'iff2 24 "ilC4 ttJb6 2 5 "ilcs i.xb2 26 .l:.ab1 lUS
ttJxf4 2 3 l:tad1 l:tad8 24 i.f1 (to stop 27 ttJe3 i.d4 28 'iVc2 i.xe3 29 dxc6 i.f4
24 ... ttJd3) 24 ... ttJas and Black will regain 30 i.h3 l:.f6 3 1 i.e6+ �g7 3 2 'ii' b 2 bxc6
his pawn with a strong initiative. 33 l:te4 l:taf8 34 l:tbe1 �h6 3 5 'iVg2 l:te8
Nonetheless, that is how White should 36 a4 as 37 'ifh3+ �g7 38 i.g8 l:[xe4 39
have pl ayed, as his king side now disin­ l!txe4 �xg8 40 :e8+ �g7 0-1
tegrates.
20 ...fxg3 21 ttJdS
DJa kovenko-M.Gurevich
After 21 hxg3 'ii'x g 3 22 �f2 Black
Odessa (ra pid) 2010
can simply exchange queens and go
after White's weak queenside pawn s
with 2 2 ... 'ii'xf2+ 2 3 �xf2 ttJas ! when 1 d4 fs 2 g3 d6 3 ttJf3 ttJf6 4 i.g2 g6 5
there is no good way to hold on to both 0-0 i.g7 6 c4 0-0 7 ttJc3 c6 8 b3 'ifa s 9
b3 and c4. i.b2 eS 10 dxes dxes 11 e4
It's all too easy to become obsessed
with an attack on the enemy king and
try to maintain the ten sion with a
move like 22 ... 'iIi'g S rather th an ex­
change queen s. You should remember
that it's not all crash-bang -wallop in
the Dutch - sometimes it is the simple
positional solution th at is best.
21 ... i.xd s 22 cxd S gxh2+ 2 3 �h1 ttJd7 1

Blocking the ... e S -e4 advance that

proved so strong in the previous game.
11 ...f41
A critical moment. Does Black's po­
sition contain enough energy to sup­
port the pawn-ram ? After all, his
queen side pieces are still asleep and
the central situation isn't stable. So
won't the es-square fall into White's
Refutin g White's bid for counter­ hands?
pl ay as both his queen and bishop on Let's see how Dutch maestro Mik­
b2 are h anging. The rest isn't too h ard h ail Gurevich answers these question s.

126
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 liJ C3 c6

12 gxf4 liJh5! H ere Black missed the interesting

Vitality at all costs. Instead after alternative l s ... exf4!. In contrast to the
12 ... exf4? Black's attack on the kingside situation after 1 2 ... exf4, above, White
is stymied, and White can conquer can 't do anything sharp and tactical in
space with 13 e s ! liJg4 14 l:tel. If then the centre. I think Bl ack might even
14 ... liJxes White's attack will arrive first have the edge after 16 i.. x g7 liJxg 7. He
thanks to the following combinative can exert control over the dark squares,
sequence: 15 liJxes i.. x es 16 i.. d S+! in particular eS, which could become a
cxdS 17 ':xes (the exch ange of his strong base for a knight (contrast this
dark-squared bishop is fatal for Black) with White's 13 es! breakthrough after
17 ... liJc6 18 :xdS "ikC7 (or 18 ... 'ifb4 19 12 ... exf4) .
.l:.d6, intending 20 'iid S+) 19 liJbS "iVe7 16 liJxf4 l:.xf4 17 i.. g4!
20 'ilid2, intending 2 1 l:tel then 2 2 'iliC3, The bishop finds an active post.
etc, with decisive pressure. 17 ... liJa6 18 'i¥d6 l:taf8?
13 liJe2 Here I believe Black lost his chance
If 13 fxe s i.. g 4 14 h3 i.. xf3 15 i.. xf3 to equalize with 18 ... liJcs ! bringing his
liJf4 with excellent pressure for the knight into the battle.
pawns.
13 ...i.. g4

Then a sh arp tactical sequence

leads to perpetual check: 19 i.. x es llxe4
14 h 3 20 f4 (Bl ack can play for the advantage
Now according t o m y database after 20 i.. x g 7 �xg 7; a typical turn ­
Black played 14 ... liJxf4?? and White around in the assessment of a Dutch
replied 15 liJxf4?? which i s a strange position) 20 ... i.. x es 21 fxe s 'ii'C 3 22
double blunder as 1 5 hxg4 is a safe win 'ilixcs 'i!Vg 3+ 2 3 �h l :xg4 24 hxg4
of a piece. So the g ame no doubt actu­ Vh 3+ 25 �g l 'iVg 3+ with a draw.
ally went: 19 l:tad1
14 ... i.. xf3 15 i..xf3 liJxf4?! Now White's kingside is secure and

127
Play t h e D u tc h

he went o n t o grind out a win due to ..td2

his bishop-pair and pressure on the Rather th an 9 iLb2, as in the previ­
queen side. The remaining moves were: ous g ames.
19 ... 'ith8 20 a 3 'ife5 21 b4 'ifxd6 22 9 ...'ii'e 7
lIxd6 tDe7 23 .l:td7 l:t4f7 24 l:1fd1 h 5 2 5 The bl ack queen retreats from the
l:txf7 l:txf7 26 iLe8 tDa6 27 l:td7 l:txd7 28 line of the bishop's fire and is ready to
iLxd7 tDe7 29 e5 'itg8 30 iLe8 b6 3 1 support l1...eS, but White clamps
exb6 axb6 3 2 a4 'itf7 3 3 a 5 bxa 5 34 down upon the ds-square.
bxa 5 'ite7 35 a6 tDb5 36 iLa3+ 'itd8 37 10 d 5 tDa6
iLe6 'ite7 38 iLe5 g5 39 iLf7 h4 40 'itg2
tDd4 41 iLxd4 exd4 42 iLe4 iLf8 43 'itf3
iLe5 44 'itg4 d3 45 iLxd3 iLxf2 46 'itxg5
'itd6 47 'itf5 iLd4 48 e5+ 'ite7 49 iLe4
'itd7 50 'itf6 'ite7 51 'ite6 iLe3 52 'itf5
iLd4 53 'itf6 'itd7 54 iLf3 'ite7 55 'itf5
'itd7 56 'ite4 iLb6 57 iLe2 iLe5 58 iLe4
iLb6 59 'itf5 iLd4 60 'itg5 'ite7 61 e6
iLf2 62 'itf6 1-0
I don 't wish to claim that the hole
on e6 th at often appears in Black's
pawn structure is a virtue rather th an a The knight heads for the cs-square
defect of the l...fS move. Such m arvel­ th at h as been weakened by White's l ast
lously twisted logic is beyond me. On move.
the other h and, the Dutch is about l1 l1e1 tDe5
provocation - White is cajoled into After 1 2 iLe3 the black knight con­
pushing his pieces and pawns for­ tinues its onward journey: 12 ... tDce4 1 3
wards, and what could be better bait tDxe4 tDxe4 1 4 iLd4 e S (breakin g
th an waving the e6 outpost for a White's grip o n the centre, though
knight before his eyes? Who knows, he compared to the games above Black
might forget all about the dark doesn't get a solid structure) 15 dxe6
squares, as in the followin g g ame. iLxe6 16 iLxg 7 'ifxg 7 17 tDd4 lIae8 18
tDxe6 l1xe6 19 iLxe4 fxe4 and Y2-Y2 was
O.Cvitan- E.Agrest, Oberwart 1994.
R.Damaso-K.Spraggett
There's still plenty of play in the posi­
Andorra 2007
tion, though, and I rather like Black's
space advantage.
1 g3 g6 2 iLg2 iLg7 3 e4 f5 4 d4 tDf6 5 In stead Damaso was too eager to
tDf3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 tDe3 e6 8 b3 'ii'a 5 9 get his h ands on the e6-square:

128
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 liJ c 3 c6

12 b47! open lines with 16 c5 or 16 dxc6 bxc6

Entirely unnecessary. White i sn 't 17 b5. The situation therefore stabilizes
properly organized to punch through in the centre, with Bl ack well en­
the queen side with a subsequent b4-b5 trenched on the dark squares, and
or c4-c5, nor is h e restricting the black White trying to prove something on the
knight - it simply hops into the e4- light squares.
square. (Things would be different,
though, if the black knight were back
on a6, and White had played ':bl and
b2-b4, stopping it going to C5.)
All that i s achieved by the g ame
move is a loosening of White's own
queenside pawn s, for which he will pay
dearly.
12 ... liJce4 13 liJxe4 liJxe4

16 bXc57!
It was better to block lines with 16
b5. Then 16 ... a6 17 a4 axb5 18 axb 5
leaves Black in control of the a-file (see
how convenient it is that the bishop on
g7 controls the ai-square). Still, the
white pawn on c4 wouldn 't be subject
to frontal attack by the black rooks and
queen, as occurs in the game. Further­
14 liJg57! more, White could answer 16 ... a6 with
He could save his bishop from ex­ 17 l::tb l ! ? when 17 ... axb 5 18 l::t xb5
change with 14 i.. e 3, though 14 ... c5 i s leaves him with a weak pawn on a2,
an annoying reply. However, Damaso but b7 i s also weak.
has his attention focused on the hole So it seem s that White's position
on e6. could withstand the imprecisions 12 b4
14 liJxd2!
.•. and 14 liJg 5 and still be okay - they
The right exchange. After 14 ... liJxg 5 turned a slight edge into a slightly
1 5 i.. x g 5 White is in ch arge again as he worse position. However, after the
can press forwards on the queen side. third mistake, 16 bxc 5 ? ! , thing s start to
15 'iix d2 C51 become very awkward for him.
White is prevented from breaking 16 ... 'ii'x c5 17 e3 b6 18 l::t c 2 i..f6 19 liJe6

1 29
Play t h e D u tch

.ltxe6 20 dxe6 :ac8 21 :b1 'ii'a 3 22 :b3 :c2 l::t b 1+ 49 'it>e2 h 5 50 f4 :gl 51 'it>f3
'iVa4 2 3 'iVd3 1:[c7 24 .ltd 5 :fc8 2 5 h4 .l:.d1 5 2 We4 a4 0-1
'it>g7

Part Three:
7 �C3 c6 8 d S

1 d 4 f5 2 g 3 lLlf6 3 .ltg2 g6 4 lLlf3 .ltg7 5

0-0 0-0 6 C4 d6 7 lLlc3 c6 8 d 5

White does his best to drum up

counterplay on the king side. Nonethe­
less, the black mon arch is very secure.
His pawn s and bishop fortify the light
and dark squares respectively without
getting in each other's way, whereas
White's pawn on e6 shuts out his own In the ultimate m ain line o f the
bishop from the attack. 7 .. c6 Leningrad with d4-dS White es­
.

26 h5 ]::t c 5 27 ]::te 2 b5 28 l:txb5 �xb5 29 tablishes a space advantage in the cen ­

cxb5 :c3 30 'ifd2 'ifxb5 tre. He begin s with the 'trademark'
Threatening 31 ... 11d3 . Under pres­ white pawn s on c4 and dS, and tries to
sure Damaso now miscalcul ates: edge up the b-pawn as well .
3 1 h6+? 'it>xh6 3 2 e4+ 'it>g7 3 3 'it>g2 An imposing pawn structure isn't
Perhaps when he played 31 h6+ normally a killer in itself - only rarely
Damaso missed that after 3 3 eS, cut­ does it succeed in suffocating the en­
tin g off the defence of the rook on c3, emy army. Paradoxically, an advanced
Black can simply pl ay 3 3 ... dxes, as if 34 pawn ph al anx becomes a fearsome
'ivxc3 'iVxe2. Therefore he remain s a weapon at the point of its death - it
pawn down . collapses and so open s up lines of
3 3 ... :d 3 34 'ii'C 2 fxe4 3 5 .ltxe4 1:[c3 36 power for the pieces waiting behind it.
'ii'd 1 'ifC4 3 7 .ltf3 a s 38 'ii'd 5 'ii'xd 5 39 Of course, th at is the ideal for the at­
.ltxd 5 ':d3 40 .ltf3 i.d4 41 i.e4 l:.d1 42 tacker; but if the pieces haven 't been
.ltC2 .i:1c1 43 .ltb3 .uc3 44 ]::te 4 .ltf6 45 positioned on good squares in antici­
:C4 :d3 46 'iitf1 lid2 47 We1 lIb2 48 pation of this dissolution, they will lack

130
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 lLl C3 c 6

energy. In such a scenario it will be the 9 l:.b1

opponent's pieces that profit from the The moves 9 lLld4, 9 e4 and some
opening of lines. The fragments of the others are discussed in later g ames.
broken centre will be weaknesses, and 9 ... lLla6 10 b3
avenues of counterattack will emerge The alternative 10 b4 i s the subject
for the hitherto pent-up pieces of the of the next g ame.
defender. 10 1i'e8
..•

The above m ay sound abstract, but

again and again in Leningrad Dutch
games we see the white centre dissolv­
ing, whereupon the crucial question is:
will the white pieces be able to batter
the black centre now that it is open to
attack? Or will they be able to force
forwards a passed pawn on bs that h as
emerged from the exploding white
centre? Or are the white pieces too
meek, too powerless, and will h ave to
simply watch as a bl ack counterattack Fin ally Black commits the queen to
stream s through the open lines? a king side deployment. She heads for
f7 to put pressure on ds and bol ster the
black defences.
H.Zoebisch-D.Semcesen
11 SLb2 h6
Schwa rzach 2008
A useful move. Black wants to play
.. :iff7 without being bothered by lLlg s
1 d4 f5 2 g3 lLlf6 3 �g2 g6 4 lLlf3 SLg7 5 and al so prepares ... g 6-g s to utilize his
c4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 lLlC3 king side pawn s - see his 14th move.
If 7 ds at once, 7 ... c6 should tran s­ 12 lLld2
pose to our m ain game after 8 lLlc3 White's l ast three moves have been
SLd7. However, players who intend to rather passive: he has quietly devel­
play the 7 lLlc3 lLlc6 variation should oped his pieces without any thought of
al so examine wh at follows. putting pressure on the black queen­
7 ... c6 8 d 5 �d7 side.
Black develops his bishop, overpro­ 12 ... 'iIi'f7
tects the c6-square as a prelude to One of the fruits of 1 .. .fs : the bl ack
playing ... lLla6, and for the moment queen has found an excellent niche in
keeps the option of the queen going to her pawn structure.
a square on the d8-as diagonal. 13 a3 .l:1.ac8 14 e3 g5 15 f4

131
P l ay th e D u tch

After 1 5 b4 the 'safe' move would be .. .fS-f4 without the drawback of h and­
l s ... liJC7, but the aggressive l s .. .f4! ing over the e4-square to the white
looks promising, even though it gives pieces.
away the e4-square. Black can then The position remain s tense after 19
attack with 16 ... liJg4, etc. dxc6 bxc6 (19 ... �xc6 leaves fs hanging)
After the game move, it appears 20 liJf3. Now 20 ....l:.ceS is the gradual
that White has stymied any attempt by build-up approach, but Bl ack can go all
Black to attack on the kingside. But in with 20 ... liJh s 21 'it>h 2 f4! .
semcesen finds a way to add some dy­ 19 liJhsl
••.

namism to his set-up:

1S liJg41
•..

A key move to add vital power to the

king side attack.
16 'ife2 esl 20 .l:.f3 f4 21 g4
Now all four of Black's king side Or 2 1 liJfl g4! and the pawns keep
pawn s are working. The immediate rolling.
threat is 17 ... exf4 and, after either 21 ...liJg3 22 'ii'f2 h S I
pawn recapture on f4, lS ... .:ceS will Relentless pressure from the king­
exert strong pressure along the e-file. side pawn s.
White can't allow this rearrangement 2 3 l:[xg3 fxg3 24 'ii'x g3 hxg4 2 S hxg4
of the pawn structure. 'ili'f4 26 'ili'xf4 ':'xf4 2 7 liJe2 ':xg4 2S liJf1
17 h3 liJcs 29 liJe3 l:th4 30 liJg3 l:teS 3 1 �C3
After 17 dxe6 'ili'xe6! the e3-pawn is liJd3 32 l:.d1 liJf4 33 �e1 l:.fS 34 liJgfs
a target and can be attacked further liJxg2 0-1
with lS ... .l:.ceS.
17 ... liJf6 is fxes dxes 19 e4? That was a very nice g ame by Black,
A colossal mistake that removes a but let's not forget that White g ave
vital restraining force from the f4- him a helping h and with his passive
square. Black i s now able to advance middlegame moves, in particular 12

132
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 It'! C3 c 6

It'!d2. Most of the time in this variation 1 4 �b2 ! ? lIb8 - w e might even con­
Black h as to m ake do with con solidat­ template the ri sky-looking 14 ... lt'!xb5 as
ing moves such as ... It'!C7. Or if he does White has nothing clear in reply - 1 5
attack, it is more of a touch and go a 4 a 6 16 It'!d4 axb5 17 lt'!cxb5 It'!xb5 1 8
thing as to whether he has enough It'!xb 5 'iVf7, intending . . .�e6 o r . . .It'!e4,
power to carry it out to a finish. and Black has enough counterplay to
offset the passed pawn) 14 ... lt'!e4 1 5
It'!xe4 fxe4 16 lt'!h4 d5 17 �e3 .
U.Andersson-A.Beliavsky
Bazna 2008

1 d4 fS 2 g3 It'!f6 3 �g2 g6 4 It'!f3 �g7 S

c4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 It'!c3 c6 8 d S �d7 9
l:.b1 lt'!a6 10 b4
Sh arper than 10 b 3 : White pl an s an
immediate pawn advance on the
queenside.
10 ...'iVe8

The g ame continued 17 . . .� e 6 when

Black was struggling, but because it is
the Dutch you won't be surprised to
learn that he won after bamboozling
White in the tactics: 18 :cl fid7 19
�xe4 lt'!xb5 20 �xd5 �xd5 2 1 axb5 e6
2 2 �d4 �h 6 2 3 l:tal l:tf7 24 'iVd3 g5 2 5
It'!g 2 ? ( 2 5 �e3 ! avoids losing a piece)
25 ... �xg 2 26 �xg 2 l:td8 ! (pinning and
winning) 27 l:ta4 (altern atively, 2 8 �e2
ll a 3 "'7+ or 2 8 e3 e5) 2 7 ... 'iVb7+ 2 8 'iith 3 e5
White stabilizes his queen side 29 l:txa7 g4+ (he prefers to finish in
pawn s. He could play more sharply style rather th an grab a TOok with
with 11 dxc6 bxc6 12 b5 cxb5 13 cxb5 29 ... 'ii'c 8+ and 30 ... .:xa7) 30 'iith 4 'ii'g 2
when he has a mobile queen side pawn 3 1 'iitx g4 .l:tf4+ 0-1. It's mate next move.
majority. The usual respon se is H ere 17 ... 'iVd8 ! ? looks like an im­
13 ... lt'!C5, but I quite like 1 3 ...lt'!C7 as provement. Then White can't do any­
played in T.Rahman-M. Dzhumaev, thing fast because of the latent threat
Dh aka 2003, which went 14 a4 (after of ... g 6-g 5 winning his knight if the

133
Play t h e D u tc h

bishop leaves e3. For example, 18 b 6 allows 2 3 ... lLlxf4!, winning a pawn due
(intending t o pin the knight o n C7) to a discovered attack on b3. Instead
18 ... axb6 19 �xb6 ':xa4 20 :cl �e5 ! after 2 3 lLld4 the white centre soon
2 1 �xC7 �xC7 2 2 'ii'x d5+ e 6 2 3 'ji'd2 crumbled away: 23 ... lLlxd4 24 .1Lxd4
�a5 when Black is very dynamic and �xd4 2 5 exd4 �a4 26 ':cl 'ilkd5 27 �fl
White has to watch out for ... g 6-g 5 . Al­ ':'c6 2 8 'iW2 'ii'xd4+ 29 'ilkxd4 ':xd4 30
ternatively, if 18 ':Cl e6 19 b6 (or 19 l::t x c6 bxc6 31 'iit e 3 l:.d7 32 Ji.e2 'iitf7 3 3
'ji'd2 lLle8 20 .l:tfdl a6) 19 ... lLle8 when 20 ': c l 'iite 6 34 ':' C 5 �b5 3 5 �xb5 cxb5 3 6
bxa7 again allows 20 ... g 5 . 'iit e 2 a 6 3 7 g4 fxg4 3 8 'iite 3 ':' d 5 39 lIc8
1 1... lLlc7 1 2 �b2 l1cS 13 'iVd2 l:r.h 5 40 .l:tc6+ 'iit d 5 41 l1C5+ 'iit d 6 42 .l:tc2
Andersson discourages the idea of .l:[h 3+ 43 'iit x e4 .l:[xa3 44 :d2+ 'iit e 6 0-1.
... e7-e5, as after 13 lLld4 e5 14 dxe6 13 ... lLlaSI
lLlxe6 15 lLlb3 "ife7 16 "ifd2 lIfd8 17
.:tbdl �e8 Black was solidly placed in
M. Konopka-V. Beim, Asch ach 2001.
Upon 18 liIfel "iff7 White decided to
rule out a space-gaining ... g 6-g 5 move
with 19 f4? but this left a hole on e4.
Black was able to break out from his
cramped position with 19 ... d 5 ! 20 cxd5
cxd5.

An unusual and pretty move. The

knight m akes use of the corner square
to reach b6, where it will attack the c4-
pawn . Moreover, the white queen looks
misplaced on d2, as it is a knight's
move away from c4.
14 dxc6!
Andersson finds the best solution.
14 �xc6
.••

The tactical justification is that He takes back with the bishop to

White loses two pieces for a rook and keep up the pressure on c4.
pawn after 2 1 lLlxd5 lLlxd5 2 2 �xd5 ls lLld S
':xd5 23 'ilxd5 �xb2. In the game After 1 5 b5 there i s a long forcing
White tried 2 1 h 3 , but after 2 1 ...lLle4 2 2 variation that proves Black is okay:
lLlxe4 dxe4 moving the queen t o safety 1 5 ... �e4! 16 lLlxe4 lLlxe4 17 'ilkd5+ e6 18

134
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ttJ C3 c 6

Wxb7 .i.xb2 19 ':xb2 .:tf7 20 'ii'a 6 ttJb6 c 4 0-0 6 ttJC3 d6 7 d 4 c 6 8 d s .i.d7 9 ttJd4
2 1 l:[c2 l:[xc4 22 l:[xC4 ttJxC4. White is now exertin g pressure
ls ... ttJe4!? against the c6-pawn with the knight on
Al as. there is a problem with the d4. bishop on g2 and pawn on dS. This
simple l S ... .i.xds 16 cxdS (forced) means that the move Black wants to
16 ... ttJb6. as the white knight can aim play. the developing 9 ... ttJa6 ?? simply
at the hole on e6 with 17 ttJd4 1 . drops the pawn to 10 dxc6 bxc6 11
1 6 'iVd3 .i.xb2 17 1bb2 e 6 1 8 ttJe3 bS! ttJxc6. A n atural way to overprotect the
c6-pawn as a preliminary to ... ttJa6 is
9 ... We8 ? ! . but then 10 'iWh 3 ! is an awk­
ward reply. The b7-pawn has to be de­
fended. and after 10 ..... c8. to defend
b7. White has the strong breakthrough
11 c S I .

Breaking up the white queen side

before White can g ain control with 19
ttJd4.
19 1:[c2 bXc4 20 .l:i!.xC4 ttJb6 21 ':c2 .i.a4
The position is now about equal and
ended as a draw after a h ard fight:
22 :xc8 'iVxc8 2 3 ttJd2 d S 24 ttJxe4 dxe4 The threat is 12 dxc6+ winning a
2S 'ii'd 2 l:1d8 26 'ii' b 2 'i!i'd7 27 Wf6 l::t c 8 piece by a discovered attack. Now after
28 f3 exf3 29 i..xf3 'iVf7 30 Wes ttJd7 3 1 11 ... �h 8 12 cxd6 exd6 13 ktd1 cS (it's
'tWa s ttJ b 6 3 2 'iVes "d7 3 3 g 4 .i. b 3 34 better to submit to a weak pawn on d6
l:1b1 ttJC4 3S ttJxC4 i.. xC4 36 gxfS exfs 37 after 13 ... ttJa6 14 dxc6 bxc6) 14 ttJe6
':C1 i..f7 38 l:!xc8+ 'iVxc8 39 a4 'iVd7 40 Black's strategy h as clearly suffered a
as .i.C4 41 'ii'c s i.. b s 42 i.. d S+ �g7 Vz-Vz fiasco.
Black has a much better way to de­
fend again st White's idea of 10 Wh 3 :
T.Ka nta ns-D.Semcesen
9 ...Wb6!
Stockhol m 2008/09
An excellent post for the black
queen . Now in some lines White has to
1 ttJf3 fs 2 g3 ttJf6 3 i.. g2 g6 4 0-0 .i.g7 S reckon with a discovered attack on the

135
Play t h e D u t c h

knight o n d 4 with . . .ltJxd5, and he can't

develop the bi shop from cl without
dropping the b2-pawn. Furthermore,
the black queen can expand her power
on the queenside by attacking the c4-
pawn - perhaps with the restraining
... a7-a5 combined with ...'iVa6, or the
more direct ... 'ilVb4 as in the g ame.

Note that Black's aggressive moves

with his queen, 9 ... 'ilVb6 and 11 ... 'ilVb4,
al so h ad a defen sive function, namely
they dealt with the positional threats
10 'ifb3 and 12 c5. Th at is one of the
hallmarks of the Dutch - defence
through counterattack.
12 'iVd3
Note that the natural reply 10 b3? The pawn-ram misses the mark
would be met by 10 ...ltJe4! when the thanks to the tactical sequence 12 c5
pressure along the long diagonal costs d5 ( Black wants to keep his pawns
White a piece. compact in the centre) 13 ltJxd5? cxd5
10 dxc6 bxc6 11 1tJb3 14 �xd5+ ltJxd5 15 'iWxd5+ c;t;>h 8 16
Now routine play would do Black no 'iWxa8 ltJc6 and the white queen is
g ood at all, as White is threatening the trapped.
pawn-ram 12 C 5 ! dxc5 13 �e3 followed 12 ltJa6
.•.

by 14 ltJa4 if necessary to win the c5-

pawn, when Black is left with weak
pawn s on the queen side. And 11...ltJa6
doesn 't stop the threat, as 12 C 5 ! fol­
lows anyway - 12 ... ltJxC5 13 �e3, and
then ltJxC5 and ltJa4 will regain the
pawn as above.
Black must never forget about the
ramming potential of the move c4-c5
in the Dutch .
11 .. :iWb41

136
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 li'l C3 c 6

Only now does Black develop his plan s, then the exchange d5xc6 can be
knight. adjudged a position al concession to
13 �d2 'ii' b 7 Black.
14 ... :ad8 15 :fd1
The weakness on f2 created with
thi s move will be exploited to the maxi­
mum . Instead 15 .l:.adl is more solid,
but Bl ack already has a good g ame.

15 li'lC7
•••

The knight heads for a fine centre

post on e6 where it will attack the
white bishop.
16 'ii'd 2 li'le6 17 �h6 �xh6 18 'iVxh6
14 �f4 'iVb4!
Semcesen h as successfu11y neutral­
ized the threat of c4-c5. White there­
fore switches to the plan of preparing
an exch ange of dark-squared bishops
with 'iVd2 and �h 6. This cannot hurt
Black.
We might conclude that if White
exchanges with d5xc6, conceding a
broad centre to Black, he needs one of
the fo11owing as compensation :
1. A strong tactical blow available
along the h l-a8 diagonal and/or a2-g8 Back again, and this time the attack
diagonal - see the comment to his 9th on c4 is awkward to meet.
move, above. 19 'ii'e 3 f41
2. A pawn-ram again st the black Our familiar Dutch pawn-ram . If
centre with C4-c5 (or more rarely an e4- now 20 gxf4 'ivxc4 and f4 is h anging.
e5 advance) at a moment when Black 20 'ii'd 3 li'lg4 21 'ii'e4
can't keep his pawns intact with ... d6- Rather desperately trying to stop
d5. the attack by pinning the f4-pawn .
3 . The opportunity to create a 21 .'ii' b 6 22 e3 li'lf6 2 3 'ii'f3 fxe3 24
.•

passed pawn on the queen side with a 'ii'x e3 'iVxe3 25 fxe3

rapid b4-b5 advance. It might seem that White has es­
If White can carry out none of these caped the worst through exch anging

137
Play t h e D u tc h

queens, but the black rooks and ..td4? is a mistake after 11 ... ..th 6 ! when
knights combine to produce a rapid 12 e 3 ? c5 10ses the bishop.
attack along the undefended f-file. b) After 9 'ifb3 I wi sh that 9 ... ttJa6?
2 S ... ttJg4 26 l:e1 ttJgs 27 ttJd2 l:tf2 28 were possible, but it seem s that White
l:tad1 lidf8 29 b3 can get away with 10 'i/j'xb7 ttJC5 11
"ilVb4. However, shielding b7 with
9 .. :i!Vb6! is perfectly okay for Black.

29 ...l:txg2+1 0-1
A sudden finish. White doesn't wish
to see 30 'iil> x g 2 .l:.f2+ 31 'iil>h l (or 31 'iil> g l For example:
ttJh 3+ and mate on h 2 ) 3 1 .. Jbh 2+ 3 2 bl) 10 iLe3 'iVxb3 1 1 axb3 cxd5 12
'iil> g l ttJh 3+ 3 3 'iil>fl l:tf2 mate. ttJg 5 (or 1 2 cxd5 ttJa6) 12 ... h 6 1 3 ttJh 3
g 5 14 cxd5 ttJa6 1 5 ..td4 Ilfc8 and Bl ack
had the more active pieces in B.Tiller­
Z.Koz ul-M.G run berg
R.Akesson, Oslo 1981, as the white
Bizovac 2006
knight on h3 and bishop on g2 were
both out of the g ame.
1 d4 fS 2 g3 ttJf6 3 ..tg2 g6 4 ttJf3 ..tg7 S b2) 10 1I¥xb6 axb6 11 ..te3 cxd5 12
0-0 0-0 6 c4 c6 7 ttJC3 d6 8 d S ..td7 9 cxd5 b 5 1 3 a3 ttJa6 14 l:i.fdl b4 1 5 axb4
e4!? ttJxb4 and in P.5tigar-C.Niklasson, Co­
A vigorous attempt to seize the ini­ penhagen 1983, h aving exchanged off
tiative in the centre. The opening of the his doubled pawn, Black had the better
e-file will expose the e6-square to fron ­ of it - again the white bishop on g2
tal attack by a white rook from e l . was passively placed.
Other altern atives not already b3) 10 ttJg 5 (the knight is tempted by
looked at are 9 ..te3 and 9 'iWh 3 : the hole on e6, but the white pawn that
a ) I f 9 ..t e 3 ttJa6 1 0 1Vd2, with ideas results on e6 is weak) 10 ... h6! 11 ttJe6
of 11 ..th 6, then 10 ... ttJg4! 11 iLf4 ttJC5 iLxe6 12 dxe6 ttJa6 13 "iVa ttJc5 14 e4
looks comfortable for Black, while 1 1 (White has to rush through this centre

138
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ltJ C 3 c 6

advance before e6 drops) 14.. .fXe4 (in­ 16 ltJgS

stead 14...ltJxe6 is i.. e 3 ltJd4 16 .1txd4 After 16 'tWxb7 l:ifb8 17 'tWc6 'tWxc6 18
'iVxd4 17 exfs gxfs 18 ltJe2 'ii'e s 19 ltJf4, dxc6 i.. x b2 19 l:r.bl i.. x cl 20 .l:.excl .:tb6 !
eyeing the e6- and g6-squares, gives Black would try to prove that the pawn
White sufficient play on the light squares on c6 is a weakness.
for the pawn) is .1te3 ltJg4 16 i.. x cs 'ii'x cs 16 ltJbs 17 ltJe6 ltJd4 18 ltJxd4 i.. x d4
..•

and %-% was I.Farago-S.Kindermann, 19 i.. e 3 i..f6!

Austrian League 1996. After 18 h 3 ltJf6 19 It's important to avoid exchanging
J:lael the white knight gets to e6 upon bishops as after 19 ... i.. x e3 20 'iVxe3
19 .. :ii'xe6? 20 ltJcs 'iVf7 21 ltJe6, so Black Black h as no queen side pressure to off­
would prefer a solid alternative like set the structural weakness on e7.
19 ...:ae8, with equality. 20 i..f1 :fe8 21 i.. b s 'iVd8 22 i.. d 3
9 fxe4 10 ltJgs ltJa6!
•.• In stead the position looks fairly
equal after, say, 22 J:lacl. The attempt
by White to breakthrough along the b­
file leads to him overpressing - a com ­
mon danger for both players in the
Dutch . In his g ame above with Volo­
kitin, Kozul was the beneficiary,
whereas here he becomes the victim of
this psychological malaise.
Here are the remaining moves, with
the black pieces gradually taking con­
trol :
The black knight heads for c7 in or­ 22 ... i..xd3 23 'ifxd3 �xb2 24 l:tab1 �e3
der to cover the hole on e6 and put 25 %lee1 i..f6 26 ::'xb7 ':'xe1+ 27 i..xe1
pressure on the ds-pawn . 'iVe8 28 'iVb1 'iVc4 29 i..e 3 as 30 l:tbS a4 31
11 ltJexe4 ltJxe4 12 ltJxe4 a3 'iW7 32 h4 hS 33 'iti>g2 Ile8 34 'iti>h2 'iVe2
If 12 i.. x e4 the bl ack knight can go 3 5 l:tb4 l:tC4 36 lIb8 1:[c2 37 :ta8 i.. b2 38
to c S : 12 ... ltJcS 13 i.. g 2 as or 13 .. .'iWb6, l:[xa4 'ifd3 39 l:tf4+ 'iti>g7 40 'iti>h3 'iVxds 41
and Black has a queen side initiative. 'tWe1 :e2 42 'iWf1 i..e 3 43 'iti>h2 l:[a2
12 ...ltJe7 13 .:1e1 exd s 14 exd s i..fS ! H ere the g ame score finishes in my
Black frees d7 for his queen . database with the laconic '0-1'. White
15 'tWb3 'tWd7! is under pressure, but he can fight on
'The best an swer to a threat is to ig­ with 44 a4 as 44 ... l:tal 4S 'iVg 2 is noth ­
nore it: Bl ack refuses to be side-tracked ing special for Black. Instead Black
from his methodical centralization by could keep up the pressure with, for
the attack on the b7-pawn . example, 44 ... i.. e s.

139
 Chapter Seven

The Ma i n Li ne Le n i n g ra d : 7 ttJC3 ttJc6

1 d 4 f 5 2 g3 lDf6 3 .i.g2 g6 4 lDf3 .i.g7 5 advantages: more space and a badly­

0-0 0-0 6 c4 d6 7 lDC3 lDc6 pl aced enemy piece.

Bl ack develops his knight to its best Bl ack h as a different version of the
square and intends to grab space with tale. H e feel s he has provoked White
8 ... es. Then he will have active pieces into loosening his pawn centre with 8
supporting a mobile centre - and what dS, and th at after 8 ... lDaS ! the knight is
more can we ask from an opening ? by no mean s isolated and badly placed
For this reason the usual reply is 8 on as: it is at the forefront of Black's
dS, to cripple the bl ack pawn s before strategy of undermining the c4-pawn,
8 ... es can be played. After 8 ... lDas the which is a vital supporting pillar of the
bl ack knight is offside and vulnerable white centre.
to attack. So White claim s to h ave two Both White and Bl ack are to some

140
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ttJ C3 ttJ c 6

extent right i n their assessment of 8 d S and 8 b3, the move featured i n the Rad­
ttJas. I t is this ten sion between i deas j abov-Ivanchuk g ame, below, deserve
that leads to a double-edged and excit­ much attention .
ing struggle. If 8 .tlbl Black can get a promising
Note that after 1 d4 f5 2 g3 ttJf6 3 King's Indian style scenario with 8 ... e 5
i.g2 g 6 4 ttJf3 i.g7 5 0-0 0-0 6 c4 d6 the 9 d5 ttJe7.
immediate 7 dS is comparatively rare.
H owever, it is slightly annoying th at we
can be deprived of our ... ttJc6 move in
this cavalier fashion. I recommend th at
you play 7 ... c6, tran sposing to the m ain
line in Chapter Six after 8 ttJC3 i.d7. I 'm
not sure how h appy th at makes a
7 ... ttJc6 player feel, but at least it's only
one line of the 7 ... c6 variation you h ave
to have ready!

H e will follow up with moves like

Pa rt One: White
... h 7-h 6, ... g 6-g 5 and ... ttJg6, aiming for
Avoids 8 d S
a direct attack within the pawn s.
Against most other moves Black can
One of the g ood things about play ... ttJe4 to put pressure on the d4-
7 ... ttJc6 is that White is more or less pawn and clear the way for the space
compelled to play 8 d5 if he wants to g aining ... e7-e5. For example:
try for an advantage, in contrast to a) 8 i.f4 ttJe4, intendin g ... e7-e S .
7 ... c6 and 7 ...'i!Ve8 against which White b ) 8 'iVb3 ttJe4, intending 9 . . .ttJxc3
has the choice of some interesting side­ and then 10 ... e S .
lines. So choosing 7 ... ttJc6 simplifies the c ) 8 ttJ d S ttJe4, intending t o evict the
amount of preparation you n eed to do. white knight with 9 ... e6.
The lack of a decent altern ative al so d) 8 i.g S ttJe4 9 ttJxe4 fxe4 10 ttJd2
makes things rather unpleasant for a ttJxd4 11 ttJxe4 i.f5 with equality.
player of White who dislikes in general e) 8 liel ttJe4, blocking the e2-e4
the pawn structure after the advance advance.
d4-dS. This brings us to White's trickiest al­
There are various alternatives to 8 ternative, 8 'iVa !?, which prevents
dS to con sider after 1 d4 fS 2 c4 ttJf6 3 8 ... ttJe4 and clears the way for .l:.dl to
ttJc3 d6 4 ttJf3 g 6 S g 3 i.g 7 6 i.g 2 0-0 7 exploit the opening of the d-file:
0-0 ttJc6. However, only really 8 'iVc2 ! ? 8 e5 9 dxe5 dxe5 10 .l:.d1
...

141
Play t h e D u t c h

tional queen sacrifice with i s .i.a3 !

.i.g 7 19 'ili'xfS+! .i.xfS 20 l:tdS 'it>g7 21
.1i.xfS+ �f6 2 2 .i.a3 when Black faces a
very unpleasant defence indeed.
So returning to 10 :dl, I think we
should prefer lo .1i.d71 and then 11
...

.i.e3 e4.

Some strong pl ayers have tried

10 ... 'iIi'eS ? ! here, but after l 1 ltJds White
has the edge.

Now there are two interesting

knight moves:
a) After 12 ltJd4 ltJg4! Black has ex­
cellent play in the case of the queen
sacrifice 13 ltJe6 ltJxe3 14 fxe3 .i.xe6!
1 5 ':xdS 1:axdS. H e h as a solid struc­
ture and a great bishop on g 7, whereas
Th at's because the only active move, White's own bishop on g2 is entombed
11 ... e4, seem s inadequate after 12 and the e3-pawn is horribly weak. So
ltJxC7 'iff7 13 ltJxaS exf3 14 .i.xf3 .i.e6 White should prefer 13 ltJxc6 ltJxe3 14
15 b3 and now 15 ... l:txaS leaves White 'ili'Cl (to avoid the doubled pawns)
with a rook and two pawn s for two mi­ 14 ... 'ii'e S 15 'ii'x e3 .1i.xc6, although
nor pieces. I assume this gives him the again Black h as a promising g ame due
advantage after 16 .i.b2 - not th at it is to his kingside space and powerful
an easy position to pl ay. In stead Black dark-squared bishop.
specul ated in V. Prokopisin- L.Seres, b) More ch allenging is 12 ltJg s. Now
Hungarian League 1996, with l s ... ltJb4 in R. Kempin ski-A. Hnydiuk, Krynica
16 'ii'd 2 ltJe4 17 'i!i'xb4 .i.xal and got a 1995, Bl ack dealt with the threat of 13
good g ame after is .i.h 6 ? .1i.g7 19 ltJe6, winning the exch ange, with
.i.xg 7 �xg 7, but White missed a posi- 12 ... 'ii'e S? only to lose the exch ange

142
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ltJ C3 ltJ c 6

instead t o 13 i.cs ! . However, 1 2 . . .'ii'c 8 ! ? 9 dxes dxes 10 i.a3 lieS

13 ltJds lie8 looks safe enough for With the plan of 11 ... e4.
Black, as 14 'ii'd 2 can be met by 11 e4
14 ... ltJes, defending d7 again and pl an­ Black has no problem s after the
ning l s ... c6 to oust the white knight. simplifying 1 1 'ii'x d8 ':xd8 12 .l:tad1
':xd1 13 ILxd1 e4, as in A.Mirzoev­
Fin ally there is 8 b3, which was tried K.Movsziszian, Ba1 aguer 2005. Still,
in a game between two Super Grand­ perhaps White should h ave used this as
masters. an escape route from an awkward po­
sition .
11 ... ltJd4
T.Radja bov-V.lva nch u k
Making full use of the outpost
Odessa (ra pid) 2008
square.
12 :e1 c6!
1 d4 fs 2 c4 ltJf6 3 ltJc3 d6 4 ltJf3 g6 S g3 A scenario well known to King's In­
i.g7 6 .i.g2 0-0 7 0-0 ltJc6 S b3 dian players. White's knight won't en­
This was a rapidp1ay g ame and, joy an outpost on ds to balance the
perhaps surprised by an opening varia­ black knight's possession of d4.
tion he h ad never studied in detail, 13 exfs i.xfs l
Radjabov decides to play solidly. This is
a common -sense approach, but unfor­
tunately for him, it is when White tries
to avoid a fight that the Dutch most
often shows its teeth .
S es
•••

The correct recapture. Black's minor

pieces are now excellently placed.
14 ltJh4?
This is a serious mistake th at should
lose at once, and failing th at is going to
lose in the long term as the knight will
Already Black is striving for the ini­ get trapped on h4. But White was al­
tiative by seizing space in the centre. ready in a bad way, since, for example,

143
Play t h e D u tc h

exchanging o n d 4 leads t o disaster: 14 jabov.

liJxd4 exd4 l s 1:[xe8+ 'iVxe8 16 liJe2 20 ... gS
(or 16 'ii'x d4 liJe4) 16 ... liJe4! when 17 Trappin g the knight. Because it is a
liJxd4 loses a piece to 17 ... liJc3 18 'iVd2 rapidplay g ame, White permits him self
�xd4 because of the fork on e2, and 17 to play on a long time in the hope of a
g4 allows Black a deci sive attack with swindle.
17 ... liJxf2 ! 18 'it>xf2 'iVe3+ 19 'it>el d3 20 2 1 liJd s liJxd S 22 exd s gxh4 2 3 h 3 hxg3
g xfs l:!.e8 2 1 ':'cl dxe2 when his threats 24 fxg3 l:!.xd S 25 g4 'ii'g 6 26 l:te1 :ed8
include 22 ... 'iVg 1+. 27 'iVf2 ':f8 28 'iVd2 �h6 29 'ii' b4 �xe1
14 �e2?
..• 30 �xd4 �d2 31 'iVxd2 llxd4 32 'iVe3
He could win the exchange with .l:.d7 33 Wxa7 l:.df7 34 'iVe3 'ii'f6 3 5 b4
14 ... liJc2 15 liJxfS 'iVxd1! 16 llaxdl gxfS 'iVf4 36 'iVes ':'g7 37 a4 Wf2 38 l:!.e3 �f1
when White can't save both the rook 39 ii.xe4 'it>h8 40 as �e4 41 �g2 �g8
on el and the bishop on a3. 42 'ii'e 3 'iVf6 43 We1 �d S 44 �xd S exd s
15 We1 e4 16 �b2 �d3 17 .l:td1 'iVa s 18 45 'it>gl l:tgf7 0-1
Wd2 l:.ad8
Ivanchuk has achieved a superb In how many openings would a
centralization of his pieces. player rated 2 7 3 5 be so summarily
19 ltae1 Wh S beaten as White because he played a
bit too passively? Th at's the great thing
about the Leningrad Dutch. It forces
White into taking on the commitment
of defendin g an extended pawn struc­
ture in the centre, whether this type of
chess appeal s to him or not.

Part Two:
8 d s ltJa s 9 ii'd 3

It turns out th at despite the missed 1 d 4 f s 2 g 3 liJf6 3 �g2 g 6 4 liJf3 �g7 5

opportunity on move 14 Bl ack is win­ 0-0 0-0 6 e4 d6 7 liJe3 liJe6 8 d s liJa s 9
ning anyway because the knight on h4 'iVd3 (see following diagra m)
can't escape. White threatens to trap the black
20 'it>h1 knight with 10 b4, so the usual reply is
In stead the hari-kari line 20 �h l g s 9 ... cS, but Black might prefer to get
2 1 liJg 2 liJf3 m ate would b e highly m aximum value out of the pawn on fS
amusing for everyone apart from Rad- with 9 ... e s ! ?

144
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 liJ C3 liJ c 6

the white queenside when w e played

8 ... liJas, with our pawns getting in­
volved in the battle. That h asn 't hap­
pened, and the black queenside pawn s
are static. Furthermore, although the
crampin g white pawn has gone from
dS, White still has control of thi s key
square, and given time he can try to
establi sh a knight there.

V.Babula-M.Ba rtel
Prievidza 2009

1 d4 fS 2 g3 liJf6 3 .ig2 g6 4 liJf3 .ig7 5

0-0 0-0 6 c4 d6 7 liJC3 liJc6 8 d S liJa s 9
'it'd3 est?
There is the immediate threat of a
fork on e4. If now 10 e4 fxe4 1 1 liJxe4 As thi s is the Dutch, Black should
liJxe4 12 'it'xe4 .ifs 13 'it'e2 (to defend look to the pawn on fS to spearhead
c4) 13 ... .ig4 (threatening 14 ... 'ii'f 6) 14 some king side counterplay. But first
'ii'e 4 .ixf3 (we could repeat with some patient manoeuvring is needed.
14 ... .ifs which shows the whole line 12 l:tb1
isn't ideal for White) 1 5 .ixf3 liJxC4 16 Instead 12 .ib2 liJe4! is an awkward
.ig4 liJb6 and White doesn 't have pin : for example, 13 .l:tabl liJb4 when
enough for the pawn . White has nothing better th an to agree
10 dxe6 .ixe6 11 b3 liJc6 to a repetition with 14 'it'e3 liJc2 1 5
This is by no means an ignominious 'it'd3 liJb4, etc; o r 13 liJxe4 .ixb2 14
retreat. Bartel 's efforts h ave restored liJeg s .ic8 15 liadl .if6 when Black
the knight to an excellent post from con solidates and then enjoys the
which it can't easily be driven again by bishop-pair.
a white pawn . It's no small matter to 12 h6
..•

have all the black minor pieces well Black prevents liJg s, not only to
centralized. maintain the bishop on e6 but also as
On the other hand, we might have preparation for putting his queen on f7.
wished to strike a telling blow again st 13 .ia3

145
Play t h e D u tc h

The solid move was 13 ..ib2, but Ba­ black queen takes over the pin : 2 3 f3 (if
bula is dreaming of a crushing on­ 23 J:tfel fxg 3 24 fxg 3 'ilf2+ 25 'iith l
slaught ag ain st the black queen side :xe4 26 'ii'x e4 'ii'x a2 2 7 ..i c l 'iixb3 and
involving moves like c4-cS. Black is a pawn up) 23 .. .fxg 3 24 hxg3
13 ...'iIi'e8 14 e3 'ikf7 15 tLld4 l:[xe4 2 5 'iix e4 'ii'x e4 26 fxe4 ..ixd4+ 27
White continues with his plan of 'iitg 2 l:txfl 2 8 'iit xfl 'iitf7, and White has
putting pressure on the queen side, but a difficult endgame due to the weak
he has forgotten about the unique e4-pawn and Black's king side pawn
power of Black's advancing f-pawn in majority.
the Dutch . More circum spect was 1 5 18 tLlh7
..•

.l:tbdl when the f4-square remains de­ The knight uncovers an attack on d4
fended by the e3-pawn . and prepares to spring forwards to g S .
1S ... tLlxd4 16 exd4 f41 19 ..ids
In stead 19 l:r.adl tLlg s 20 'ifc6 ..ih 3
puts the white king in terrible danger,
so Babul a return s the pawn to try to
organize his pieces.
19 ..ixd4 20 'ili'e4 ..ixd s
••.

Bartel seizes his chance to carry out

the traditional Dutch pawn-ram . The
way is cleared for ... ..ifs to skewer the
white queen again st the TOok on bl,
but Babula underestim ates this.
17 ..ixb7 2 1 'ii'x d4
This is the culmination of White's He would prefer to eliminate the
strategy: he win s a queenside pawn . other bishop, but 21 tLlxds tLlg S ! 22
Unfortunately for Babula, he h as mis­ 'ifd3 fxg 3 23 h xg 3 'ife6 ! , intending
judged the power of Black's initiative. .. :iVh 3 and ... tLlf3+ is leth al .
17 ... l:tab8 18 'ilf3 21. . ...ic6 22 h4 'ii'fs 2 3 ..i b 2 tLlf6 24
Alternatively, 18 ..ig2 ..ifs 19 tLle4 Itbe1 'it'h3 0-1
l:tbe8 20 .l:tbel tLlxe4 21 ..ixe4 ..ixe4 2 2 White is m ated on g2 after 25 tLlds
J:txe4 'ilfS ! is awkward for White, a s the ..ixds 26 cxdS f3.

146
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 liJ c3 ttJ c 6

Your win s i n the Dutch won't al­ - he responds to White's decentralizing

ways be as dramatic as that! queen move with a counterattack in
the centre that gets full value out of
1 .. .f5 . However, we can't always play
Pa rt Three:
the moves we want, even in the Dutch
8 d s ltJa s 9 'iVa4
- so can Black get away with it?
The question is whether the result­
ing dynamism will compen sate for the
D.lzquierdo-L. Trista n
weak pawn that appears on e4 and
Ma r del Plata 2009
Black's generally reduced control of the
lig ht squares.
1 d4 d6 2 liJf3 f5 3 g3 liJf6 4 ..tg2 g6 5 12 liJxe4
0-0 ..tg7 6 c4 0-0 7 liJC3 liJc6 8 d 5 liJa 5 9 In the next g ame the radical 1 2
'iVa4 liJg 5 ! ? is examined.
A modern idea. By attacking the 12 fxe4 13 liJg5 liJd4
.•.

knight White wants to force Black to Now the other black knight jumps
compromise his pawn structure. into the centre. The e2-pawn is h ang­
9 c5 10 dxc6 liJxc6
... ing and White really has little choice
but to put his rook on d2 or el to de­
fend it, crucially vacating the square on
dl for his queen. For example, 14 ..ttl ?
i.d7 and White will lose at least the
exchange after 1 5 'ifb4 or 1 5 'iVa3 to a
fork on c2.
14 l:td2 ..tg4

The best recapture. Experience has

shown that Black has a h ard time of it
after lo ... bxc6 11 C 5 1 .
11 l:td1
White's persists with the idea of giv­
ing Black a pawn weakness on d6 with
12 c5.
11 ... liJe41? And now the bishop joins in the at­
This is the move Bl ack wants to play tack.

147
Play t h e D u t c h

15 'ifd1 'ifb6 1 6 tiJxe4 passive rook on al, h e may yet emerge

A good time to recapture the pawn with the better g ame. That is why accu­
as the knight now rules out possible racy is required of Black.
combination s from the black queen 17 h 3
and rook on f8 against f2. For example,
if 16 h 3 ? then 16 .. Jlxf2 ! ? is already on
the cards, intending 17 �xf2 ? tiJxe2+
18 �el Wg 1+ 19 .Jtfl Wxg 3 m ate, or 17
hxg4 tiJxe2+ 18 lIxe2 (if 18 �h 2 'ife3 ,
attackin g g 3 , when 19 tiJxe4? 'ii'h 6 is
mate ! ) 18 .. Jlxe2+ 19 �h 2 'iWf2 and
luckily for White he can bail out with
20 'ili'dS+ �h 8 21 tiJf7+ �g 8 22 tiJh 6+
�h 8, etc, with perpetual check.

1 7 ... .Jte6!
Covering dS. Instead after 17 ... .JtfS ?
18 tiJc3 ! in J.Parker-T.Rendle, British
League 2008, the threat of 19 tiJds
obliged Black to waste a move with
18 ... .Jte6 when 19 e3 tiJc6 20 tiJds was
horrible for him. In a position where one
player is trying to unravel his game, and
the other to preserve the dynamism of
his pieces, the loss of a single tempo
16 l:.ac8
•.. often changes the assessment.
All the black pieces are superbly ac­ 18 e3
tive, and White won't be able to hol d
o n t o the c4-pawn . So Black regains his
pawn with a good g ame, right? Well,
things aren 't th at easy. Black h as light­
square weaknesses along the a2-g8
diagonal, especially on dS. Moreover,
the black bishop on g4 and the knight
can be driven back with the moves h 2 -
h 3 and then e2-e3. So i f White m an­
ages to solve his strategic problems,
the blocked-in bishop on Cl and the

148
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 ttJ C3 ttJ c 6

18 .lLlfS?
•. ];txgs 3 6 1i'd3+ 1:Ig6 3 7 1i'd s 'it'g4 3 8 l:te4
The knight shoul d go to the queen­ 'ilfh3 39 'it'g2 'ii'e 6 40 l::t d S �h6 41 bxes
side with lS ... ttJc6 ! when the b7-pawn bxes 42 ];texes l:txes 43 ':xes h4 44 'it'd s
is shielded. After 19 c5 (White can 't hxg3 45 1i'xe6 VI-VI
hol d on to his pawn, so he gives it up to
weaken the bl ack centre) 19 ... dxC5 20 In the following game White intro­
ttJg 5 �C4! 21 1i'a4 'ii'b 4! Black has duced a sharp improvement on move
rather the better of it due to his queen ­ 12.
side pressure.
19 eS dxes 20 ttJgs <ifo>h8 21 ttJxe6 1i'xe6
E.Gasanov-M.Zelic
22 l:te2?
E u ropea n Cha m pion s h i p,
White is understandably reluctant
Rijeka 2010
to grab a pawn with 22 �xb7! as it
looks like Black might sacrifice a knight
on e3 or g 3 . In fact both 22 ... ttJxe3 23 1 ttJf3 fs 2 g3 ttJf6 3 �g2 d6 4 d4 g6 5
�xcS and 2 2 .. ttJxg 3 2 3 �xcS 'ii'x cs 24 0-0 �g7 6 e4 0-0 7 ttJe3 ttJe6 8 d s ttJas 9
fxg 3 1i'xh 3 2 5 l:tg 2 are entirely hopeless 'it'a4 eS 10 dxe6 ttJxe6 11 l:td1 ttJe4 12
for Bl ack, so he would h ave to remain a ttJgs l ?
pawn down after 2 2 ... l:tbS 2 3 �d5.
22 ...ttJd6

Rather than 12 ttJxe4, White offers a

g ambit ...
Now Black is okay again and even 12 ttJxe3?
..•

gets some chances before a draw is ... and Black takes the bait. He win s a
eventually agreed. pawn, but ends up in an unpleasant
23 �d2 ttJe4 24 �e1 hS 25 l:tae1 b6 26 bind.
'ii'd 3 ttJgs 27 h4 ttJf3+ 28 �xf3 lIxf3 29 More in the spirit of the Dutch i s
b4 lIfS 30 1i'a 3 ':e7 3 1 'it'a6 'it'e4 32 a3 12 . . .ttJC5 ! 1 3 'it'C2 (13 'iVa3 ttJd4 threat­
<ifo>h7 33 'ii'e 4 1i'f3 34 l:.d2 gs 35 hxgs ens a fork on (2) 13 ... h6 14 �e3 (other-

149
 Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com
Play t h e D u tc h

wise, 1 4 ttJh 3 g 5 ! shuts out the knight, the move shouldn 't trouble a well­
while 14 ttJf3 ttJb4 - or even 14 ... g 5 ! ? - prepared Dutch player.
1 5 'iid 2 'iib 6! gives Black splendid
chances; the immediate threat is
Pa rt Fou r:
16 ... ttJe4 to exploit a potential attack
8 d s liJa s 9 liJd2
on f2 by the black queen) 14 ... hxg 5
(14 ... 'iVa5 ! ? al so looks fine) 1 5 JLxC5
JLe6 and Black is at least okay th anks to 1 d4 fS 2 g3 ttJf6 3 JLg2 g6 4 ttJf3 JLg7 S
his activity. 0-0 0-0 6 c4 d6 7 ttJC3 ttJc6 8 d S ttJa s 9
13 bxc3 JLxc3 14 .l:tbl 'iVa s is JLd S+ ttJd2
'ii'g 7 16 JLxc6 bxc6 17 'iix c6 f4

This is the traditional way for White

The only way to defend the cornered to counter the threat to the c4-pawn .
TOok on a8 is by pl aying 17 ... JLa6, but Indeed, over the years it h as amassed a
then the white knight jumps into e6. fair bit of theory which is summ arized
Zelic therefore tries to mix things up below.
with an exch ange sacrifice, but his po­ Note th at the move order 9 'iic 2 c5
sition soon falls apart in any case: (in stead 9 . . ttJxC4 run s into 10 ttJb5
.

18 'iVxa8 'ili'xgs 19 JLxf4 :xf4 20 'iix c8 which is slightly awkward) 10 ttJd2 e 5 !

JLd4 21 :fl Ite4 22 l::r. b 8 'ii' h 6 23 'ii h 3+ 11 dxe6 JLxe6 allows Bl ack t o reach the
'ii' g 7 24 'iic 8 'ii' h 6 2 S e3 ':xe3 26 'iVh3+ 9 ttJd2 c5 10 'iVa e 5 11 dxe6 JLxe6 lines
Refuting the desperate rook offer. If given below, which seem favourable
in stead 26 fxe 3 ? ? 'iix e3+ 2 7 'ii' g 2 'iie 2+ for him.
2 8 'ii'h 3 'ii'xfl+ and only Black can win . An important altern ative is 9 b3 ! ?
26. . .'ii' g 7 27 fxe3 'iix e3+ 28 'ii' h l l-0 This looks like a blunder, but i n fact
things are by no mean s easy for Bl ack
N ovelties such as 12 ttJg 5 ! ? often do after 9 ... ttJe4 10 ttJxe4 JLxal ll ttJeg 5 c5
well when they are first introduced, but (definitely bad is 1 1...JLg 7 ? 12 ttJd4

1 50
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 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 tiJ c 3 tiJ c 6

when Black has the ghastly choice of file and advanced pawns give Black
lettin g a knight into e6 or giving up his some dynamic compen sation for h av­
dark-squared bishop with 1 2 ... i.xd4) 1 2 ing the knight still out of play on as.
e 4 i.g7 13 tiJh4 with a n enduring ini­ 9 c5
...

tiative for White and no counterplay Now we sha11 look at 10 a3 in the

for Black - the knight on as looks awful Quena11 ata-Rodriguez g ame th at fol­
when it isn 't the centre of attention, lows.
and here a11 the action i s on the king ­ I think that i s a better way for White
side. to play than 10 'iVc2 which encourages
In stead after 9 b3, 9 ... cS tries to take Black to begin counterplay in the cen­
play into familiar territory, but 10 tre with 10 ... e S ! .
i.d2 ! ? is tricky. The slow 10 ... 'iii>h 8
turned out badly in l . Lutsko-D.Trifonov,
Minsk 2005, after 11 e4 fxe4 12 tiJg S.
Because the g s-square is so important
for the white knight on its journey to­
wards the hole on e6, perh aps 10 ... h 6 ! ?
should b e played t o keep i t out.

Then :
a) If White settles for 1 1 a3 then af­
ter 11 ... b6 1 2 b4 tiJb7 Black has a com­
pact pawn centre and a solid queen­
side. Now the g ame E. Brondum ­
M.Gurevich, Copenhagen 2001, was
highly curious: 13 :bl i.d7 14 tiJbS ?
The move 10 i.d2 prevents the (White begins an extraordin ary ma­
natural tiJd2 to support an e2-e4 break­ noeuvre of the knight to a6) 14 ... 'ii'e 7
through, so the knight on f3 is quite 1 5 tiJC7 l'1ac8 16 tiJa6 e4 (Black seizes
hemmed in - a bit like the knight on more space and then prepares a king­
as, in fact. After 10 ... h6 pl ay might con­ side attack) 17 Vh3 tiJg4 18 e3 hS! 19
tinue 1 1 'iVc2 g s (directed against bxcS dxcS (White has no way through
White's plan of 12 tiJh4 and 13 e4) 12 on the queen side; his knight is a truly
e4 fxe4 13 tiJxe4 ii.fs 14 tiJxf6+ l:txf6 1 5 pathetic piece on a6) 20 i.b2 i.xb2 2 1
'iVc3 b 6 with unclear play. The open f- 'ili'xb2 h4 22 :fdl h x g 3 2 3 hxg 3 i.a4 24

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Play t h e D u tch

l:[el Vh 7 2 5 lDfl lDd6 26 'ii'a 2 �e8 0-1. ':xb4 bS turned out well for Black in
The g ame ends abruptly as 26 .. :ifb7 A.Truskavetsky-S.Kovalov, Sevastopol
will pick up the ridiculous knight. 2000, as he man aged to utilize his
b) 11 dxe6 �xe6 and now: queen side pawn majority after 16 �b2
bl) 12 b3 dS ! 1 3 cxdS lDxdS 14 �b2 �xb2 17 l:txb2 'iff6 18 :bl l:[ac8 19
lDb4 15 'ii'C l :c8 gives Black a free posi­ lDb3 lDxb3 20 axb3 as, etc.
tion.
b2) However, 12 :dl is worse, al­
L.Quenal iata-A.Rodriguez Vi la
lowing Black to build up a decisive at­
Buenos Ai res 2009
tack in surprisingly quick fashion:
12 ... 'ii'e 7! (defending b7 so that c4 is
now hanging) 1 d4 f5 2 g3 lDf6 3 �g2 g6 4 lDf3 �g7 5
0-0 0-0 6 C4 d6 7 lDC3 lDc6 8 d 5 lDa 5 9
lDd2 c5 10 a 3 �d71

1 3 b3 lDc6 14 �b2 (White doesn't

have time for 14 e3, as then 14 ... lDb4 1 5
'ifbl f4! gives Black a tremendous ini­ Black can afford to ignore the
tiative: for example, 16 gxf4 �fS 17 e4 'threat' of 1 1 b4? as he regains the
lDh S 18 exfs �xc3 with ideas of ... �xal piece with advantage after 11 ... cxb4 12
and ... lDxf4) 14 ...lDd4 1 5 'ii'd 3 f4! 16 axb4 lDxC4! 13 lDxc4 'iVC7 14 'iVb3 l:[fc8
g xf4 �fS 17 e4 �e6. Now the f4-pawn etc. On the other han d, Black has been
is going to drop and White's position prevented from playing a line with the
soon fell apart in D.Berkovich­ pawn advance ... e7-e S : he must con­
B.Annakov, Ufa 199 3 : 18 �f3 lDd7 19 e S centrate for the time being on the n ar­
l:txf4 20 exd6 'iVg S+ 2 1 �g2 lD e s 22 row front of the queen side.
'iVtl :taf8 2 3 lDce4 l:[xe4 24 lDxe4 11 'ii'C 2 'ii'C 7
lDef3+ 25 �h l Vh4 26 h3 'iVxe4 0-1. Once again indirectly meeting the
Finally, 10 :bl e S 11 dxe6 �xe6 1 2 threat of 1 2 b4, which would again per­
lD d S lDxdS 1 3 cxdS � d 7 14 b 4 cxb4 1 5 mit 12 ... cxb4 13 axb4 lDxc4.

1 52
 Th e M a i n L i n e L e n i n g ra d : 7 tD c 3 tD c 6

Rodriguez plan s to advance .. .fS-f4

and turn the es-square into a strong
central post for his knight.
17 tiJd1 �xb2?!
In stead 17 ... �d4 ! ? was an interest­
ing possibility. Then 18 �xd4 cxd4
would expose the c4-pawn to attack,
but otherwise Black is poised to ad­
vance with 18 .. .f4.
18 ':xb2 f4 19 llxb8 'iWxb8 20 'iWC3 'iWd8
2 1 f3 tiJe5 22 tiJf2
1 2 b3 a 6 Black stands well on the king side,
Beginning a pawn advance t o put but the knight on as is a liability.
more pressure on c4. 22 e6?
••.

13 �b2 b5 14 e4 Now White is able to break the

Ambitious. After the regrouping 14 blockade on f4. I would suggest
tiJdl bS 15 �c3, as played by the great 22 ... 'iWC7 2 3 l:.bl g s to reinforce the
Botvinnik versus Matulovic at Belgrade dark squares and ensure th at the
1970, Black gets sufficient counterplay knight gets to stay on e S .
with l S ... bxC4 16 bxc4 :tb7 ! (better 23 gxf4 ':'xf4 24 tiJh3! .l:.f8 2 5 f4
th an Matulovic's 16 ... tiJg4). For exam ­
ple, 17 ':bl l:tfb8 18 ':xb7 ':xb7 19 tiJb2
'iVb8 20 e3 tiJb3 2 1 tiJf3 tiJe4 2 2 �xg 7
�xg 7 2 3 tiJd3, as in E.Magerramov­
Mi.Tseitlin, Balatonbereny 1989, and
here Tseitlin has recommended 2 3 ... aS.
14...':ab8 15 lIab1 bXc4 16 bXc4 tiJg4

The knight is driven back and the

white centre starts to roll forwards.
25 ...tiJg4 26 e5 dxe5 27 fxe5
Positionally Rodriguez is busted, but
let's not forget this is the Dutch . There
are always going to be tactical re­
sources for Black, and similarly plenty

153
Play t h e D u tc h

o f opportunities for White t o make a 30 ... lLlxC4

tactical oversight.

31 iLxC4?
27 .. J:txf1+ 28 iLxf1 exd5 29 cxd 5 c4 30 He h ad to try 31 'it'xC4, though Black
lLlxC4? is better after 3 1 .. :iVb6+ and 32 ... lLlxe s .
Here it is - the Dutch has done its 3 1 :iVb6+ 3 2 � h 1 'ili'b1+ 3 3 �g2 'iWe4+
.•

job and confused White. Correct was 30 34 �g3 lLle3 35 e6 'ii'g4+ 0-1
e6! when after 30 ... iLb S 31 lLle4 or The white queen is lost to a fork on
30 ... 'ifb6+ 31 �h 1 Black is in deep peril. d1.

1 54
 Chapter E i ght

The D utch ve rs u s 1 tt:Jf3 a n d 1 c4

In this ch apter we'll examine a series of

variation s in which White avoids an
early d2-d4, or at least delays it for a
long time. Chiefly we'll be looking at
lines after 1 llJf3 fS and 1 c4 fS, al­
though 1 b3 fS also gets a mention at
the end.

Pa rt One: 1 tbf3 fS

After 1 llJf3 fS White doesn't have to 3 eS!

•••

advance with d2-d4 or c2-c4, but might The simplest reply. Interesting is
prefer a rapid e2-e4; a dangerous ad­ 3 ... dS 4 d3 'ii'd 6, but the following
vance which Bl ack must be prepared variation discourages me from giving it
for. a go: 5 llJC3 exd3 6 iLxd3 llJf6 7 llJbs
'ii'b 6 8 i.f4 llJa6 9 'ii'e 2 i.g4 10 f3 i.d7
The Lisitsyn G a m bit 11 0-0-0 an d White had a massive ini­
tiative for the pawn in M. Kazhgaleyev­
1 llJf3 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 llJgs P.Nikolic, Kerner 2007. Black actually
This is the Lisitsyn Gambit. White won this game - the final move was
hopes for an early attack again st the 43 ... 'ii'a 1 mate - but it looks too risky
black king . even for th e Dutch .

155
Play th e D u tc h

4 d3 e3! to grind out the win on move 50 in

Black gives up the pawn on e3 so O.Husser-V. Bron znik, Bad Worishofen
th at White is unable to develop an ini­ 2008.
tiative after 4 ... exd3 5 .i.xd3 when
s ... lLlf6? 6 .i.xh 7 ! lLlxh 7 ? ! 7 'ifh s+ is al­ The Delayed Lisitsyn: 2 d 3 ! ?
ready a decisive attack.
5 .i.xe3 1L1c6!? 1 1L1f3 f 5 2 d3!7
In recent years White h as devised a
two-part plan to refute the Dutch . First
of all, he prepares the pawn thrust e2-
e4, in order to liquidate Bl ack's bastion
on fs . Thereafter he will follow up with
d3-d4, to free the bishop on f1 and gain
the initiative in the centre. This system
is surprisingly poisonous.
The main line is 2 ... d6 3 e4 e s 4 lLlc3
when White will exch ange on fs and
break with d3-d4, but I prefer 2 g617.
..•

Or s ....i.e7 at once, but Black doesn't

need to do the knight on g s the favour
of driving it back to f3 . Indeed, if now 6
lLlf3 anyway Black can come up with a
more useful move like 6 ... 1L1f6, and re-
serve the chance to pl ay ... .i.b4 or some
other active bishop move. White's op­
tion s don 't seem as good as after
s ... .i.e7 6 lLlf3 lLlc6 7 d4. The fianchetto
on g 2 he now chooses is far from in­
spiring.
6 g3 .i.e7 7 .i.g2 1L1f6 S lLle4 d 5 g lLlxf6+ If we can get away with this then
.i.xf6 we keep the position in the style of the
Annoyingly for White, he can't cen­ Leningrad Dutch .
tralize his knight as after 10 lLlC3 d4 or Note th at the statistics on 2 ... g 6 on
10 lLld2 d4 he loses a piece. your database may well be rather mis­
10 c3 d4 11 .i.d2 dXc3 12 .i.xC3 0-0 13 leading. They certainly are on mine,
0-0 .i.e6 14 .i.e4 'ii'd 7 15 lLlu l:tadS 16 where the players of Black have been
lLlc2 .i.h3 over a hundred Elo points on average
Black h ad a good g ame and went on weaker. Taking th at into account,

156
 Th e D u tc h Ve rs u s 1 ttJ/3 a n d 1 c4

Black's results h ave been pretty good. e6-square. Of course Leningrad players
We'll look at three alternatives for are used to enduring a hole in the
White after the critical line 1 ttJf3 fS 2 pawn structure on e6, but here it is
d3 g 6 3 e4 d6 4 exfs �xfS S d4 �g 7 : 6 pronounced as White has already
�d3, 6 c3 and 6 ttJC3. opened the e-file. That m akes the e7-
But first of all let's check out 1 ttJf3 fS 2 pawn a backward pawn on an open
d3 g 6 3 h4. It would be strange if this file. On the other hand, Black achieves a
sharp gambit line were g ood for White freer and faster development of his
when his bishop is shut in by the pawn pieces than in the m ain line Leningrad.
on d3. After 3 ... ttJf6 4 e4 e6 ! ? Black is In the present g ame, Bartel has every
solid enough, or 4 h S ttJxh S S l:r.xh S (S single piece centralized and ready for
e4 e6) s ... g xh S 6 e4 e6 7 exfs 'ii'f6 and action by move twelve. How often are
White doesn't have enough for the ex­ Black's rooks so easily developed?
change. So my advice is: if White
pushes the pawn to h S, take it with the
knight. Onwards now to the main line!

L.Schandorff- M.Bartel
E u ropea n Tea m
Cha m pion s h i p. Novi Sad 2009

1 ttJf3 f5 2 d 3 g6 3 e4 d6
This is played rather than 3 ... �g7 in
order to recapture on fS with the And we shouldn't forget th at Black
bi shop. also h as the half-open f-file for poten­
4 exf5 �xf5 5 d4 tial counterplay. Furthermore, the
To free his bishop and take some black queen finds an active post on fS .
space in the centre. The position is 6 .. Ji'd7 1
similar to Balogh's Defence: 1 d4 d6 2 A good move: the black queen will
e4 fS . Th at isn't especially highly re­ reach an active square and a defender
g arded, but crucially in the Dutch ver­ is added to e6. In contrast, 6 ... �xd3 7
sion Black has achieved the 2 ... g6 move 'ii'x d3 would activate the white queen,
'for free' as White played d4 in two when already ideas of ttJg s, heading for
goes. e6, combined with 'ii'b 3 or 'ii'e 2 would
5 �g7 6 �d 3 1
••• be in the air.
The exchange of light-squared bi sh­ 7 0-0 ttJf6 8 �xf5 1fxf5 9 c4
ops increases the weakness of Black's If 9 ttJC3 then 9 ... ttJdS 10 ttJxdS 'ii'x ds

157
Play t h e D u tc h

looks okay for Black.

In stead 9 �el looks critical. After
9 ... ttJc6 10 ttJC3 the 10 ... ttJdS idea again
looks fine after 11 ttJxdS �xdS 12 c3
0-0, so White should play 10 c4, when
Black might block the d4-dS advance
with 10 ... dS.

Stoppin g White from advancing

with 14 dS. As in his g ame with Gerber,
below, Bartel gets a grip on the light
squares in the centre by advancing
...d6-dS and then ... e7-e6.
14 h 3 dXc4 15 'iixC4+ ttJd S 16 "*"b3
ttJ7b6 17 a4 'it>hS!
I think Black i s again okay here. For Black now h as a good and active po­
example: sition thanks to his well-entrenched
a) 1 1 ttJc3 dxc4 12 d S ? ! l:td8 is good central pieces. White's attempt to
for Black. cause problem s on the queenside will
b) 11 ttJes 0-0 12 ttJxc6 bxc6 when backfire.
the greedy 13 l::tx e7? could lose in spec­ lS l::tfel
tacul ar style to 13 ... ttJg4 14 f3 l1ae 8 ! l S Black is better after 18 as ttJxC3 19
l:txe8 lhe8 16 fxg4 i.. x d4+! 17 �h l (or bxc3 iVxas 20 l:tal iNdS !
17 "*"xd4 .l:!.el mate) 17 ... 'iif2 18 i.. d 2 lS ... e6 19 as?
�e2, and there's no good way to pre­
vent m ate on g 2 . So White shoul d
make d o with 13 ttJ a 3 J:tae8 o r 1 3 ttJC3
when safe is 13 ... .l::!. a e8, but I rather like
13 ... dxC4 ! ? for Black. His pawn s are a
wreck, but he has an extra one and d4
is al so a target. So the conclusion
seem s to be that Black h as enough dy­
namic play after 9 .l::!. e l.
9 ...0-0 10 ttJC3 ttJbd7 11 i.. e 3 c6 12 "*"e2
.l:!.aeS 13 z:radl d s !

158
 Th e D u tc h Ve rs u s 1 ttJj3 a n d 1 c4

H e should h ave given up on this Black's n atural developing moves re­

idea. quire him to offer a pawn sacrifice.
19 ... ttJxe3 20 %:txe3 6 ... ttJf6 7 ttJbd2 0-01 8 'i'b3+
After 20 fxe3 'i!i'xas 2 1 %:tal 1i'h s 22
':xa7 ':xf3 ! Black g ets a dangerous at­
tack for the exch ange.
20...'i!i'xa 5 2 1 l:txe6 :xe6 22 'i'xe6 'iWf51
White's pawn structure has deterio­
rated even further. H e could exch ange
queens and try to defend a bad end­
g ame. Instead he tries for activity,
comes under an attack and finally has
to play an endgame after all a pawn
down . The remaining moves were:
2 3 'i'e7 'i!i'f7 24 l:te1 'iii> g 8 2 5 'i'e2 ttJd 5 Winning the b7-pawn .
26 ttJg5 'i¥f5 27 ttJf3 ttJf4 28 'i¥C4+ 'iii> h 8 8 ... 'iii> h 8 9 'i'xb7 ttJbd7 10 .i.e2 e5
29 l:te3 .i.h6 30 l:te5 ttJxh3+ 3 1 'iii>f1 'i'C2 Black h as plenty of compen sation -
32 'iWe2 'ii'c 1+ 33 'i¥e1 'iWxe1+ 34 l:[xe1 the white queen is on an awkward
ttJg5 35 ttJe5 .i.g7 36 d5 cxd 5 37 ttJxd 5 square and the knight on f3 is going to
�U5 3 8 f4 .i.xe5 39 g4 l:txf4+ 40 ttJxf4 be pushed back by ... eS-e4 .
.i.xf4 41 l:.e7 .i.d6 42 l:[xb7 .i.C5 43 'iii> g 2 11 0-0
h6 44 llc7 .i.b6 45 lld7 'iii> g 8 46 :e7 'it>f8 Or 11 dxes ttJcS 12 'i¥b s (not 12
47 l:[b7 ttJf7 48 'iii> g 3 'iii> g 7 49 'iii>f4 ..t>f6 50 'i'c6? .i.d7, trapping the queen) 12 ... a6
.l:.d7 'it>e6 51 11d1 .i.C7+ 52 'iii> e4 ttJg5+ 5 3 13 'i'C4 ttJg4! 14 exd6 'i'xd6 15 0-0
'ifile3 'iii> e 5 54 .l:. h 1 .i.b6+ 5 5 'iii>e 2 ttJf7 5 6 litae8. White is two pawn s up, but his
l:[f1 'iii> e 6 57 .l:!. h 1 'iii>f6 58 l:tf1+ 'iii> g 7 5 9 position is very shaky. The black queen
':f4 ttJe5 6 0 'it> d 2 g5 61 .ll e4 'iii>f6 62 'iii> e 2 is poised to deliver mate on h2 if the
'iii> e 6 63 l:ta4 'iii> d 5 0-1 knight can be removed from f3 . If now
16 h3 ttJe5 17 ttJxes 'i'xe s, the bishop
on e2 is in trouble because of 18 .i.f3
B.Jacobsen-B.Ch ristensen
.i.d3.
Da n i s h C h a m pion s h i p,
In fact there are so many attacking
Si l keborg 2009
moves available to Bl ack - ... ttJe4,
... .i.e6, and even ... .i.d7 with ideas of
1 ttJf3 f5 2 d 3 g6 3 e4 d6 4 exf5 .i.xf5 5 ... .i.b 5 - that it is difficult to see how
d4 .i.g7 6 c3 White can escape.
White avoids exchanging bishops 11 e4 12 ttJe1 ttJb6 13 'iWa6 ttJfd 5
.••

with 6 .i.d3 . It leads to a sh arp fight as Threatening 14 ... ttJf4.

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Play t h e D u tch

8 ... e6 9 'iVd2 d S I

14 tDC4 cS
Alternatively Black could try for a H aving the pawn s o n dS and e 6
king side attack with 14 .. :ii'h 4. But mean s th at Black h as more space be­
Christensen adopts a positional ap­ hind them for his pieces. Furthermore,
proach - increasing his pressure on the his c6-knight and g7-bishop are more
white centre. In his confusion J acobsen adept at covering the hole on eS th an a
lets his queen be trapped. hole on e6. This mean s that the freeing
1S tDc2 cxd4 16 tDxd4 .ixd4 17 cxd4 move ... e6-es is more likely to occur.
tDb4 18 'iib 7 <;t>g8 19 .id2? 1:Z.f7 20 10 .id3 .ixd3 11 'ii'x d3 tDc6 12 0-0-0
'iVxf7+ <;t>xf7 21 .ixb4 tDxC4 22 .ixc4+ 'ii'd 7 13 l:the1 l:[ae8
.ie6 23 dS .ifs 24 .id2 hS 2S .ie3 'iff6 Once again it can be observed how
26 b3 gs 2 7 1:Z.ac1 <;t>g6 28 1:Z.c2 a s 29 fluent Black's development is in the
.ibs h4 30 h 3 g4 3 1 hxg4 .ixg4 0-1 2 . . . g 6 variation. Both his rooks are al­
ready well centralized.
14 'ifbS?
R.Gerber-M.Bartel
The same faulty strategy as at move
I l les Medes 2007
eight. This time White uses his queen
to cajole the black pawn s to advance -
1 tDf3 fs 2 d3 d6 3 e4 g6 4 exfS .ixfs S which i s exactly what suits Black's
d4 .ig7 6 tDc3 tDf6 7 .igs 0-0 8 .ic4+? strategy.
White h as played a lot of active­ 14 ...'ifc8 1S <;t>b1 a6 16 'ii'e 2 bS 17 a 3
looking moves, but in reality they don 't tDd7
do anything to h arm the black position. It seems like the knight i s headin g
On the contrary, Bartel i s delighted that for a n attacking square o n c4. H owever,
with 8 .i C4+ White is positively en­ Bartel doesn't want a battle between
couraging him to tran sfer his pawn s to wing attacks. First of all he is going to
e6 and ds. keep the knight on b6 to support the

1 60
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 Th e D u tch Vers u s 1 lDf3 a n d 1 c4

d5-pawn so that the central break ... e6-

e 5 becomes possible. Only then will the
Part Two:
knight con sider going to the c4-square.
The Anglo-Dutch

1 c4 fS
If you decide to play the Dutch
ag ainst everything, you will face the
English quite often . If White wishes to
push his d-pawn no further than d3, he
usually fianchettoes on the king side
and then sets up with e2-e4 and lDge2,
e2-e3 and lDge2, or just lDf3 . Before we
come to those sen sible approaches, we
18 h4 lDb6 19 i.e3 e s l must con sider an unusual g ambit:
Finally i t i s time for the central 2 lDC3 lDf6 3 e4
breakthroug h . Note that another route to this posi­
20 lDxes lDxes 21 dxes l:txes 22 f4 tion i s 2 e4 fxe4 3 lDc3 lDf6.
.:tee8 2 3 'ii'd 2 cSI
Now Black comes steamrollering
through the centre, as 24 lDxdS lDc4 25
"iVf2 lDxb2 i s horrible for White.
24 i.f2 d4 2 s lDe4 'ifc6 26 lDgs lDC4

H ere White can try 4 d3, but the

simpl e 4 ... e 5 seem s fine for Black. For
exampl e, 5 g4 h6 (to stop the knight
being driven from f6) 6 g5 hxg 5 7 i.xg 5
i.b4 8 i.g 2 0-0 9 i.xe4 "iVe8 10 i.g 2 c6
Fin ally the knight reaches c4. l1 lDge2 d6 12 lDg 3 i.g4 13 "iVd2 lDbd7
27 "iVd3 "iVxg2 28 l:te2 lDxb21 0-1 14 0-0 lDh 5 and Black was better due to
Too nasty to contemplate is 29 his more compact pawn structure in
�xb2 l:txe2 30 'ii'x e2 ? ! d3+. A. Danilovic-V. Podinic, Belgrade 2008.

1 61
Play t h e D u tch

However, this is only half the story. For example, S h4 dS 6 g s lLlh S 7

If White plays 4 g4! 7 then the move cxdS iLg7 8 'ii'a4+ c6 9 i.g2 0-0 when
4 ... h6 is less attractive as White can White's g ame was something of a mess
play S i.g 2. in J.Mellado Trivino-S. Del Rio Angelis,
Zamora 1996. Or S d3 dS ! 6 gs d4 7
gxf6 dxc3 8 f7+ �xf7 9 bxc3 exd3 10
i.xd3 i.g7 with a clear advantage to
Bl ack.

The Botvin n i k System

D.Laylo-F .Nijboer
Tu ri n Olym piad 2006

Here is a gamelet that shows the 1 c4 f5 2 lLlC3 lLlf6 3 g3 g6 4 i.g2 i.g7 5

danger of this variation if Black is care­ d3
less: S ... eS 6 h4 i.e7? (essential was
6 ... dS ! , involving the bishop on c8 in the
g ame so that 7 ... hxg s 8 hxg s lLlg4 be­
comes a possible an swer to White's
next move) 7 gS hxg s 8 hxg s ':xh l 9
i.xh l lLlg8 10 'iVh S+ �8 1 1 i.xe4 c6 12
'iVf3+ 1-0 J.Mellado Trivino-F.Vallejo
Pon s, Oropesa del Mar 1996.
So against 4 g4 I would recommend
4 ... g6.

The features o f the Botvinnik Sys­

tem begin to take shape. White aim s to
establish a pawn on e4. He has delayed
developing the knight from gl as he
wants to put it on e2 rather than f3 .
Black is allowed to develop all his
pieces and get a foothold on the centre
himself. Nonetheless, I can't say I enjoy
playing against this rock-solid opening
system all that much . Probably it is be-

1 62
 Th e D u tc h Ve rs u s 1 tDf3 a n d 1 c4

cause Black needs to show more pa­ - but I guess we aren't too worried, as
tience and restraint than in the usual Black usually has at least one glaring
Dutch variation s. There are no ready structural weakness in the Dutch . And
targets for the black pieces, although of for once there i s al so a hole in the
course there are no targets for White white pawn structure. The twin pillars
either. of Black's pawn structure create a fine
5 0-0 6 e4 fxe4
•.• outpost on d4 for the black knight.
This move is considered to be pre­ Of course, a brilliant strategic player
mature, but Black also h as a particular such as World Champion Botvinnik
opening scheme in mind. He wants to would h ave noticed if Black could get a
stabilize the centre at once so that he great position simply by plonking a
can put a triangle of pawns on d6, e s knight on d4. Then the opening system
a n d cs. I like thi s method as it gives would certainly never have been
Black a clear guiding path against a adopted by him and bear his n ame.
rather confusing opening scheme. 11 f4!
7 dxe4 d6 8 tDge2 c5 White needs the help of his pawn s
to make a dent on the bl ack position.
After 1 1 .i.g s Black can develop with
1 1 ... .i.e6, 12 ... 'iVd7, and play ... tDd4
whenever he pleases.
11 ....i.e6!

Black has delayed developing the

knight on b8 until he could m ake this
pawn move.
9 0-0 tDc6 10 h 3
A restraining move typical o f the
line as a whole. In stead 10 f4 .te6 1 1 b3 A very in structive moment, which
'it'd7 followed by 1 2 ... .i.h 3 allows Black shows that the natural move is not al­
to carry out a favourable exch ange of ways the best one.
bishops. After 1 1 ...tDd4 White can make an
10 ... e5 excellent pawn sacrifice with 12 fs !
This creates a hole on the ds-square gxfS (otherwise 13 g4, etc, i s position-

1 63
Play th e D u tc h

ally crushing) 13 exfs lLlxfS 14 'ii'd 3 ! White therefore tries another plan .
lLld4 1 5 .i.g s .i.e6 16 lLle4 ':c8 17 lLl2C3 13 g4 exf41
and Black was in a terrible bind due to It is essential not to allow White a
the pin on f6 in B. Damljanovic­ pawn wedge with 14 fS.
S. Kindermann, H alkidiki 2002. It is 14 .i.xf4 lLles
White who is getting by far the most So after all the talk about ...lLld4 the
benefit from the central situation as knight ends up on the es-square. But
his knight on e4 supports the action let's not forget that the e s-square only
along the f-file. became accessible to the knight be­
The black knight looks pretty on d4, cause White wanted to take some ac­
but what exactly is it doing ? The f4-fS tion before ... lLld4 was played. Black's
move h as al so opened up the diagonal strategy has won his knight a fine cen­
for White's bishop on g 2 , which Black tral post.
was careful to block in the opening 1 s .i.xes
with 6 .. .fxe4. In other words, Black's Alas the knight didn't enjoy itself on
opening strategy h as ended in fiasco. eS for lon g . Still, the fact that White
That is why 11 ... .i.e6 ! should be couldn 't find anything better th an to
played. The pawn on c4 is hanging, so give up the important dark-squared
Black win s time to take measures bishop shows that Black h as at least
again st the f4-fS advance. equalized.
12 b3 'ilt'd7 1 1s ... dxes 16 'ii'xd7 lLlxd7 17 l:tad1
1:Ixf1+ 18 .i.xf1 11c8

Continuing the fight ag ain st f4-fS.

The pawn on h3 i s now hanging . N ow The most active square for the rook,
after 13 �h 2 Black could either play whence it m ay be able to attack the
1 3 ... lLld4, as the sting h as been take out white queen side after ... 1:Ic6. It is also
of the f4-fS advance, or spend one available for the defence of the second
m ove on preparation with 13 ... 1:Iae8. rank.

1 64
 Th e D u t c h Ve rs u s 1 tDf3 a n d 1 c4

19 JLg2 JLf6 l asts until move 1 14! For those of you

Next the bishop is brought around with stamina, here is the remainder:
to d8, a more active post than g 7 as it 28 gxh5 gxh5 29 b5 tDd4 30 h4 axb5 31
can then take part in the queenside exb5 l:ta8 32 a4 JLa5 33 ltb2 JLg6 34 :f2
action . tDe6 3 5 :tf3 tDf4 36 tDe7 JLf7 37 tDf5+
20 tDd 5 JLd8 21 tDee3 a6 �6 38 tDd6 b6 39 tDxf7 JLxe3 40 ':'xe3
Keeping the white knight out of bS. �xf7 41 l:ta3 �e7 42 JLe4 �d6 43 l:ta2
White is now confronted with a prob­ �e7 44 �3 :d8 45 as bxa5 46 lIxa 5
lem that was discussed in Chapter Four l:td4 47 JLfl l:r.dl 48 �2 lld4 49 .l:.a6
- he h as two knights, but only one lIxe4 50 l:te6+ �d7 51 l:txe5 �d6 52
great square for them on dS. l:te6+ �d5 53 :el :b4 54 .l:.dl+ �e6 5 5
22 JLfl �g7 2 3 �g2 tDf8 l:td2 � 5 56 l:td8 �e4 57 l:td2 lIb3 5 8
As the next step in improving the JLe4 l:tb4 5 9 JLfl � 5 6 0 l:td8 e 4 61 l:tg8
layout of the black pieces, the knight is �e5 62 ':'d8 llb2+ 63 �g3 .l:.b3+ 64 �h2
brought to e6, where it is in contact e3 65 JLe4 l:tb4 66 l:te8 e2 67 .l:.e8+ �5
with the celebrated outpost on d4. 68 JLxe2 lIb2 69 lIf8+ �e5 70 J:te8+ tDe6
24 a3 JLf7 25 b4 tDe6 26 .:1bl JLe8 27 71 �g3 l:txe2 72 b6 l:te3+ 73 �2 ':'b3 74
�g3 h 5 l:.h8 tDf4 75 lIb8 l:tb2+ 76 �g3 tDe2+ 77
�3 tDd4+ 78 �e3 lIb3+ 79 �d2 �d6 80
b7 tDe6 81 l:th8 l:tb5 82 l:th7 tDb8 83 �e3
�e6 84 �e4 lita5 85 �b4 l:tf5 86 �e3
�b6 87 �d3 ':'e5 88 �d4 tDe6+ 89 �d3
�a7 90 :e7 tDd8 91 l:tg7 tDxb7 92 l:tg6
�b8 93 'it>d4 :a5 94 �e3 �e7 95 �4
tDd8 96 .:tf6 �d7 97 l:tf5 tDe6+ 98 �e4
l:.a4+ 99 �d5 tDd8 100 �e5 �e7 101
%:tfl ':'a 5+ 102 �e4 tDf7 103 nbl tDd6+
104 �4 l:!.f5+ 105 �e3 �6 106 ':'el %:ta5
107 ':'e6 �e5 108 �2 tDf5 109 l:tg6 l:ta4
Finally some aggressive action be­ 110 lIg8 ':'f4+ 111 �e2 lIxh4 112 l:!.h8
gins. Nijboer has got exactly what he �4 113 �2 tDe7 114 l::tf8+ �e5 0-1
was hoping for: a strong but consid­
erably lower-rated player h as played a After this m arathon I don 't suppose
solid opening as White, and he has I need to remind you that the watch­
man aged to m ake it into a double­ word for Black in the Botvinnik System
edged fight. is patience. White is hoping that you
He eventually man ages to grind will become careless or reckless, when
down his opponent - but the game he can pick you off.

1 65
Play t h e D u tc h

Classica l English Development White's hands. However, the exchange

with lLlf3 on b4 somewhat lessens the force of
White's pawn-storm and avoids being
1 c4 f5 2 tt:Jc3 tt:Jf6 3 g3 g6 4 .tg2 .tg7 5 left with a potential target on a7.
tt:Jf3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 9 a 3 e5
An alternative move order to reach Note that Black delayed ... e7-e5 un­
this position is 1 tt:Jf3 f5 2 g3 tt:Jf6 3 .tg2 til here. H e g ave priority to ... tt:Jc6 so
g 6 4 0-0 .tg7 5 c4 d6 6 tt:JC3 0-0. that he was ready to meet White's :b1
with ... a7-a5.
10 b4 axb4 11 axb4
We have reached a standard English
versus Dutch opening scenario. White
hopes to keep things quiet in the cen­
tre, ward off any attack Black tries on
the king side, and gradually advance his
queenside pawn s.

7 d3
Finally deciding again st 7 d4 and a
main line Leningrad.
7 tt:Jc6 8 ':'b1 a s
.•.

11... h6
A useful move. It rules out lines
with 12 .tg 5 in which White plays .txf6
to increase his control over d5. It also
prepares under some circum stances to
expand with ... g 6-g 5, to begin a king­
side pawn-roller. And fin ally it means
This might seem strange a s i t only that after ... .te6 the bishop won't be hit
temporarily prevents b2-b4 and leads by tt:Jg 5 .
to the opening of the a-file, which in Moreover, hesitant o r passive pl ay
Wunder-Buch al below falls into will be punished. Indeed, in

1 66
 Th e D u tc h Ve rs u s 1 tiJj3 a n d 1 c4

An.Timofeev-I.Kosov, Peterhof 2008, than the knight retreat to el.

White invited an attack with a com­ 12 ...tiJe7 13 Ji.b2
mon English m anoeuvre which proved The next g ame features the sharper
badly misguided here: 13 c5.
12 tiJe1? gs 13 e3?! f4! 13 ... Ji.e6 14 l:tu
White decides to seize control of the
a-file. Black's aim is to keep body and
soul together long enough on the
queen side and in the centre so th at his
attack on the king side can g ain pace.
14 l:tb8 lS tiJe1 gs 16 l:ta7 "iVc8 17 "iVb3
•..

f4 18 .i.a3 tiJfS 19 tiJc2 l:tf7 20 b6 c6 21

tiJe4 cS

14 tiJd s
Black al so has a rampant initiative
after 14 exf4 g xf4 15 gxf4 exf4 16 .i.xf4
tiJg4, hitting both c3 and f4.
14 tiJxd s lS .i.xd S+
•.•

Safer was 1 5 cxd5, but Black can still

attack after 15 ... tiJe7.
lS ...�h8 16 exf4 exf4 17 .i.b2 .i.xb2 18
l:txb2 'iff6 19 'ifh s A m ajor concession as now there is
Stopping 19 ... .i.h 3, but losing the a hole on dS and the white bishop can
exchange. attack the b7-pawn . On the other hand,
19 ... .i.g4 20 "ii'xg4 'i¥xb2 and Bl ack was the pawn blocks the attack on d6, the
winning. linchpin of the black centre. The posi­
tion is now very exciting - will the
black king side attack be in time, or will
S. Wunder-S.Buchal
White smash through the queen side?
Bad Wiessee 2006
22 tiJC3 tiJd4 2 3 tiJxd4 exd4 24 tiJbS tiJe8
2 S .i.c1 .i.es 26 Ji.d2 tiJf6 27 l:tfa1
1 c4 fs 2 tiJc3 tiJf6 3 g3 g6 4 Ji.g2 Ji.g7 S White has brilliant control of the a­
tiJf3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 d 3 tiJc6 8 .l:1.b1 a s 9 file, but this mean s th at his rooks,
a 3 eS 10 b4 axb4 11 axb4 h6 12 bS knight and queen are all a long way
A much more sen sible approach from the defence of their king .

167
Play t h e D u tc h

27 ....1i. h 3 White is just too late with the

passed pawn .
34 gxf3 3 5 ctJe8+ ctJxe8 36 'ii'g l+ �h7
..•

3 7 l:txe8 fxe2+ 38 �xe2 'iVf3+ 39 �e1

.1i.g4 0-1

E.Ya nayt-H.Naka m u ra
La s Vegas 2006

1 c4 f5 2 ctJC3 ctJf6 3 g3 g6 4 .1i.g2 .1i.g7 5

ctJf3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 d 3 ctJc6 8 l:tb1 a s 9
Offering t o exchange o ff o n e o f the a 3 e5 10 b4 axb4 11 axb4 h6 12 b5 ctJe7
few pieces defending the white king 13 c5
and clearing f5 for the black queen. In contrast to the previous game,
28 ctJC7 'ili'f5 29 .:ta8 ':'xa8 30 l::txa 8+ White seeks an immediate tactical
�g7 3 1 .1i.xb7 slugfest - not necessarily a good idea
Now White is totally winning on the against N akamura.
queen side and totally lost on the king ­ 13 .1i.e61
..•

side. The king is the most important

piece, of course.
3 1 ...fxg3

Black completes his development

and prevents White playing the attack­
ing move 'iWb3 .
3 2 .1i.f3 14 b6
There is a pretty m ate after 3 2 hxg 3 Ramming the centre structure on
'ili'xf2+ ! 3 3 �xf2 ctJg4+ and 3 4... l:tf1 both d6 and c7. It becomes fragmented,
m ate. but on the other hand the black pieces
32 gxf2+ 33 �xf2 g4 34 Wd1
..• become very active.

1 68
 Th e D u tch Ve rs u s 1 l'fjf3 a n d 1 c4

14 ... dxc5 15 bXc7 'ii'x C7 16 l'fjb5 'ii'd 8!? 21 l'fjC3 22 'ili'd3 'it'xd41 23 'ii'x d4 cxd4
•••

After 16 ... 'ii'b 8 White has the sur- 24 .i.. x e7 :e8

prising tactic 17 l'fjxe s ! with the idea
that 17 ... 'ii'x es ? 18 .i..f4 win s the black
queen. However, the position remains
unclear after, say, 17 ... g S or 17 ... .i.. a 2.
Instead N akamura decides to give up
the pawn straightaway.
17 l'fjxe5
Black's centre h as crumbled, but his
bishops will exert enormous pressure
on the white queenside.
17 ... .i.. n I 18 1:[u l'fjfd 5 19 .i.. a 3
I also rather like Black's position af­ White is temporarily a piece for a
ter 19 'ii'c 2 .i..b 3 ! ? 20 'ili'xb3 1:[xa1 2 1 pawn up, but with a knight, bishop and
l'fjxg6 l'fjxg6 22 .i.. x dS+ c;j;>h 7. TOok all h anging there is no way even
19 ...:a 5 1 to escape to equality.
25 :d2 :xe5 26 .i.. d 6 .l:[5e6 27 .i.. b4
l'fjxe2+ 28 c;j;>hl .l:.b6 29 �a3 1:[b5 30 h4
g5 31 c;j;>h2 gxh4 32 :el hxg3+ 33 fxg3
:be5 34 .i.. d 6 l:te3 3 5 .i.. x b7 l'fjxg3 36
':gl l'fje2 3 7 1:[g2 c;j;>h7 38 .i.. a 6 l'fjc3 39
.i..f4 11f3 40 .i.. g 3 l'fje4 0-1

White plays e2-e3 and ltJge2

Just like the Botvinnik System, this re­
quires a more distinct move order from
White, as he has to avoid l'fjf3 and first
Black h a s t o counterattack again st clear the way for the knight to go to e2.
bS as 19 ... .i.. x es 20 l:lxa2 is just pleasant
for White.
P Brodowski H Da nielsen
.
-
.

20 1:[xa2 1:[xb5
Mysl i borz 2008
Threatening both 21 ... .i.. x es and the
fork 2 1 ... l'fjC3 .
21 d4? 1 c4 f5 2 g3 g6 3 .i.. g 2 .i.. g 7 4 l'fjC3 d6 5
The unlikely move 21 'ii'a 1! would e3 l'fjf6 6 l'fjge2 0-0 7 0-0
keep White alive, though Black h as the Putting the knight on e2 rather th an
initiative after 2 1 ... l'fjb4. f3 means that White is better prepared

1 69
Play t h e D u tc h

t o meet a king side pawn-storm by play for b2-b4, but 9 d3 e s 10 a3 .te6

Black. He has more control of the f4- 11 b4 axb4 12 axb4 liJbd7 13 bs 'ikC7
square and might even block thing s looks comfortable for Black. In time he
with f2-f4 i f i t looks like Black is threat­ can aim to expand with ... d6-dS.
ening .. .fs-f4. In stead if White omitted d2-d3 and
7 a5!?
••• played the immediate 9 a3 es 10 b4
axb4 11 axb4 then Black might con­
tinue 11 ... .te6, but 1 1 ... e4 is interestin g
t o shut in the bishop o n g 2 and target
c4 with ... .te6.
9 ... e5 10 dxe5 dxe5 11 b3 .te6

Bl ack begin s by restraining a possi­

ble b2-b4 by White. He plan s a system
of development with moves like ... c6,
... e s and ... .te6, with ... liJa6 usually pre-
ferred to ...liJbd7 if the knight is in no
danger of being run down by a b4-bs Already Bl ack feel s a bit better due
pawn advance. to his space advantage and the fact
8 11b1 that the bishop on g 2 is passive.
After 8 d4 c6 9 b3 liJa6 Black obtain s 12 e4
an attractive Leningrad-style set-up: 1 0 Evidently White didn't want to al ­
.tb2 .td7 1 1 'iVd2 ':b8 12 lUd l liJC7 (if low 12 ... e4, but he will pay a heavy
White now 'passes', then Black can ex­ price for weakening the d4- and f4-
pand on the queenside with 13 ... bs) 13 squares. Perhaps he should have sim­
ds liJa6 (back again, now that the cS­ plified with 12 .ta3 ':e8 13 'iVxd8 l:txd8.
square h as appeared for the knight) 14 12 ...liJa6 13 'ikxd8 �fxd8 14 .te3 liJb4
dxc6 bxc6 1 5 liJf4 liJcs and Black was at 15 .tb6 :d2 16 :fd1
least equal in P. Degembe-A. De Santis, White hopes to evict the rook and
Saint Vincent 2001. emerge with a good game due to the
8 ... c6 9 d4 pressure on the as-pawn .
Slightly incon sistent after putting 16 ':C2 17 a 3 liJa2 18 liJxa2 ':'xe2 19
..•

the rook on bl. In stead White could liJc3 :c2 20 �dC1 �xc1+ 21 l:txc1 liJd7

1 70
 Th e D u tc h Ve rs u s 1 lbf3 a n d 1 c4

22 .ie3 f4! 1 ... eS 2 .ib2 d6.

Then we can fi an ch etto in King's In­
dian-style and think about .. .f7-f5 l ater
on. For example:
a) 3 C4 g 6 4 d4 ..ll. g 7 5 dxe5 lbd7 ! (a
typical delayed recapture on e5) 6 'i!Vd2
dxe5 7 lbf3 c6 8 lbC3 lbgf6 9 lbg 5
(White begins a manoeuvre th at lets us
play our Dutch move) 9 ... 0-0 10 lbge4
lbxe4 1 1 lbxe4 f5 12 lbd6 lbc5 13 l::t d 1
'iVe7 and Black had dynamic chances
due to White's backward king side de­
The Dutch pawn-ram strikes. It acti­ velopment and rather vulnerable
vates the bishop and wins the c5- knight on d6 in 5.Cicak-Cu. H an sen,
square for the knight, after which the Reykjavik 1998.
white queen side is on the point of col ­ b) 3 e3 g 6 and now 4 d4 .ig7 5 dxe5
l apse. lbd7 6 lbf3 lbe7 7 lbbd2 dxe5 is com ­
2 3 gxf4 exf4 24 .ixf4 lbcs fortable for Black, T.A10nso Martinez­
Now both captures 24 ... lbd3 and A.5trikovic, Mondariz 2009.
24 ... lbxb3 are threatened. Brodowski
tries to escape with a sacrifice, but it is
inadequate.
2 S lbd S cxd S 26 exd s .ifS 27 d6 lbd3 28
.ie3 lbXC1 29 .ixc1 .id4 30 ..ll. g s �b8
3 1 b4 axb4 32 axb4 'it>g7 33 cS .id7 34
..ll.f4 h6 3 S h4 ..ll. C 3 36 bS .ixbS 3 7 d 7
.l:i. d 8 38 ..ll. x b7 .ixd7 39 c 6 .ic8 4 0 'it>g2
.:re8 41 'it>f3 .id4 0-1

Part Three: 1 b3
Alternatively, 4 f4 .ig7 5 lbf3 lbd7 6
.iC4 lbh 6 7 0-0 0-0 led to a doub1e­
1 b3 edged game in E.Bacrot-M.Adam s,
The Nim zowitsch-Larsen Attack. Moscow (blitz) 2007. In neither of these
Now 1 .. .f5 2 ..ll.b 2 lbf6 3 .ixf6 exf6 isn't lines will Black be hurrying to play .. .f7-
very appealing for Black. 50 I 'm going f5, but at least we have the 'feel ' of the
to recommend a non-Dutch approach : Dutch mobile pawn centre.

1 71
Play t h e D u tc h

I nd ex of Var iati ons

l d4 6 b4 - 9 3
1 ttJf3 f5 6 ttJh 3 - 1 1 1
2 b3 - 8 5 5 ... 0-0 6 c4
2 e4 - 155 6 b4 - 87
2 d3 - 156 6 b3 - 96
1 c 4 f 5 2 ttJ C 3 ttJf6 3 g 3 (3 e 4 - 161) 6 d6 7 ttJc3
•..

3 ... g 6 4 .lig 2 .lig7 5 d3 0-0 7 d5 - 141

6 e4 - 163 7 b3 - 96
6 ttJf3 - 166 7 ttJbd2 - 118
6 e3 - 169 7 ... c6
l b3 - 17 1 7 ... ttJc6 8 d5 (8 'iVc2 - 141;
1 f 5 and now:
... 8 b3 - 143) 8 ... ttJa5
9 'i!Vd3 - 144
A: 2 g3 9 'iVa4 - 147
B: 2 c4 9 ttJd2 - 150
c : Other 2nd Moves 8 d5
8 'YWC2 - 1 2 1
A) 1 d4 f5 2 g3 ttJf6 3 ii.g2 g6 4 ttJf3 8 b3 'i!Va5 9 ii.b2 ( 9 .lid2 - 1 2 8 ) 9 . . . e5
4 c3 - 100 10 dxe 5 (10 ikC2 - 10) 10 ... dxe 5
4 ttJd2 - 103 1 1 �C2 - 124
4 ttJh 3 - 108, 112 1 1 e4 - 126
4 ii.g7 5 0-0
• • . 8 . ii.d7 9 libl
. .

5 c4 0-0 9 ttJd4 - 1 3 5

1 72
 I n dex of Va ria tio n s

9 e4 - 1 3 8 6 .i.d3 - 44, 45
9 tLla6
••. 6 .i.e2 -46
10 b3 - 1 3 1 2 .i.g 5 h 6 3 .i.h4 (3 .i.f4 - 59) 3 ... g 5
10 b4 - 1 3 3 4 e3 - 5 3
4 e4 - 61
B ) 1 d 4 f S 2 c 4 tLlf6 3 tLlC3 d6 4 tLlf3 2 tLlf3 tLlf6 3 .i.g 5 - 8 1
4 f3 - 72 2 g4 - 17
4 .i.g 5 - 77 2 h 3 - 18
4 ... g6 5 e3 2 'iNd3 - 19
5 .i.g 5 - 78 2 b3 - 84
5 g 3 - Line A 2 tLlh 3 - 107
S .i.g7
••. 2 ...fxe4 3 tLlC3 tLlf6 4 .i.gS
6 b4 - 66 4 f3 - 22
6 .i.e2 - 67 4 g4 - 3 5
6 .i.d3 - 7 1 4 ... tLlc6 5 d S tLles 6 'iVe2
6 'iVd4 tLlf7
C } 1 d4 f S 2 e4 7 .i.xf6 - 2 5
2 tLlc3 d5 7 h4 - 2 6
3 e4 - 3 9 6 tLlf7 7 .i.xf6
•••

3 .i.g 5 - 49 7 h4 - 34
3 .i.f4 a6 4 e3 (4 e4 - 40) 7 ... exf6 8 tLlxe4 'iVe7 - 3 2
4 ... tLlf6 5 tLlf3 e6 8 ... .i.e7 - 3 0
6 tLle5 - 44 8 ... .i.b4+ - 3 1

1 73
Play t h e D u tch

I nd ex of Ciam es

Anand.V-Nakamura.H, Wijk aan Zee 2010 .................................................................. 90

Andersson.U-Beliavsky.A, Bazn a 2008 ....................................................................... 133
Armstrong.M-Rendle.T, Liverpool 2007 ........................................................................ 81
Babula.V-Bartel.M, Prievidza 2009 ............................................................................. 145
BerkvensJ-Reinderman.D, Dutch League 2006 .......................................................... 77
Bitalzadeh.A-Nijboer.F, Wijk aan Zee 2009 ................................................................. 78
BoguszlavszkijJ-Ferkingstad.S, Budapest 2009 ......................................................... 28
Brodowski.P-Danielsen.H, Mysliborz 2008 ............................................................... 1 69
Bromberger.S-Bartel.M, Warsaw (rapid) 2007 ........................................................ 1 01
Buehl.W-Reifurth.L, Chicago 1994 ................................................................................. 10
Chauca.J-Rodi.L, Brasilia 2010
......................................................................................... 24
Cirabisi.F-Dzhumaev.M, Genova 2006 .......................................................................... 26
Damaso.R-Spraggett.K, Andorra 2007 ....................................................................... 128
Dambacher.M-Van Blitterswijk.S, Leeuwarden 2004 ............................................... 73
DeminaJ-Muzychuk.A, St Petersburg 2009 ................................................................. 60
Dziuba.M-Bartel.M, Warsaw (rapid) 2009 ................................................................... 93
Elsness.F-Bartel.M, European Team Champion ship, N ovi Sad 2009 .................... 46
Erdos.V-Nikolic.P, German League 2010 ...................................................................... 32
Felier.S-Bartel.M, European Team Ch ampion ship, Novi Sad 2009 ....................... 79
Felier.S-Nakamura.H, Cap d'Agde (rapid) 2008 ....................................................... 115
Fressinet.L-Renner.C, German League 2008 ................................................................ 88
Gasanov.E-Zelic.M, European Champion ship, Rijeka 2010 ................................. 149
Gerber.R-Bartel.M, Illes Medes 2007 .......................................................................... 1 60

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 I n dex of G a m e s

Gerber.V-Panchenko.A, Kyiv 2008 .................................................................................. 35

Giffa rd.N-Legky.N, Cannes 1992 .................................................................................... 70
Harikrishna.P-Ehlvest.J, Merida 2008 ......................................................................... 118
Hille.R-Malaniuk.V, Munster 199 5 ................................................................................. 55
H uerta.S-Graf.A, Merida 2006
......................................................................................... 49
Iba rra Chami.L-Rodriguez Vila.A, Mexico City 2007 .................................................. 19
IIjushin.A-Berg.E, European Championship, Budva 2009 ....................................... 11
Izquierdo.D-Tristan.L, Mar del Plata 2009 ................................................................. 147
Jacobsen.B-Christensen.B, Danish Ch ampionship, Silkeborg 2009 ................... 1 59
Jakovenko.D-Gurevich.M, Odessa (rapid) 2010 ...................................................... 126
Kaliszewski.T-Warakomski.T, Warsaw (rapid) 2009 .............................................. 124
Kantans.T-Semcesen.D, Stockholm 2008/09 ............................................................ 135
Karpov.A-Malaniuk.V, Tallinn (rapid) 2005 .............................................................. 111
Karpov.A-Nakamura.H, Cap d 'Agde (rapid) 2008 ...................................................... 12
Kasparov.G-Leigh Interest PLC, London simul ' 1993 ................................................. 53
Kempinski.R-Nijboer.F, European Championship, Warsaw 2005 ......................... 69
Khenkin.I-Bartel.M, European Team Championship, Novi Sad 2009 ............... 1 03
Klimov.S-Berg.E, Maastricht 2009 ............................................................................... 112
Kozul.Z-Grunberg.M, Bizovac 2006 ............................................................................. 138
Kozul.Z-Volokitin.A, European Team Champion ship, Novi Sad 2009 .............. 121
Kraai.J-Nakamura.H, Foxwoods 2007 ............................................................................ 85
Lagowski.P-Bartel.M, Polish Team Champion ship 2006 ......................................... 74
Laylo.D-Nijboer.F, Turin Olympiad 2006 ................................................................... 1 62
Lysyj.l-Narciso Dublan.M, European Championship, Plovdiv 2008 ...................... 42
Malakhatko.V-Firman.N, German League 2008 ........................................................ 40
Nechaev.A-Firman.N, Khmelnitsky 2008 ...................................................................... 98
Predojevic.B-Sedlak.N, Nova Gorica 2008 .................................................................... 22
Quenallata.L-Rodriguez Vila.A, Buenos Aires 2009 ................................................ 152
Radjabov.T-lva nchuk.V, Odessa (rapid) 2008 .......................................................... 143
Rodriguez Vargas.O-Danner.G, Dresden 2010 ......................................................... 1 08
Rosko.L-Semcesen.D, Olomouc 2008 ............................................................................. 33
Sakaev.K-Volokitin.A, European Club Cup, Ohrid 2009 .......................................... 44
Schandorff. L-Bartel.M, European Team Championship, Novi Sad 2009 ......... 157
Sergeev.V-Firman.N, Alushta 2009 .................................................................................. 9
Shishkin.V-Malaniuk.V, Mielno 2007 ............................................................................ 61
Timofeev.An-Kosov.l, Peterhof 2008 .......................................................................... 167
Vaisser.A-Bartel.M, European Championship, I stanbul 2003 ............................ 110
Walker.G-De Saint Amant.P, London 1 8 3 6 .................................................................... 7

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Play t h e D u tc h

Wunder.S-Buchal.S, Bad Wiessee 2006...................................................................... 167

Wright.N-Sharma.D, Canberra 2010............................................................................. 67
Yanayt.E-Nakamura.H, las Vegas 2006 ..................................................................... 1 68
Zoebisch.H-Semcesen.D, Schwarzach 2008 .............................................................. 131

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