Learn the Dutch Defense

A80-A99 · a repertoire for black · 6 chapters · 46 annotated lines

"Fight for the full point from move one"

The Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5) is the most uncompromising answer to the queen's pawn: Black grabs the e4 square with a pawn on move one and announces a fight for the whole board. This course teaches the Leningrad Dutch — the dynamic fianchetto treatment with ...Nf6, ...g6, ...Bg7, ...O-O and ...d6, where the g7 bishop and the f5 pawn work together toward the twin breaks ...e5 and ...c5. You'll learn the flexible queen move 7...Qe8 that powers the main line, the calm recipes against every anti-Dutch system club players love — 2.Bg5, 2.Nc3, early e3 setups and the queen-trick 2.Qd3 — and the clean refutation of the Staunton Gambit with 4...Nc6!, where Black hands the pawn back at exactly the right moment and takes over the game. Every line ends in a position you'll be happy to play: solid, active, and full of winning chances.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Leningrad Main Line — 2.g3
  Lines: 8.d5 — Meet the Space Grab, 8.b3 — The ...e5 Break, 8.Re1 — Defuse the e4 Push, 8.Nd5 — Trade and Blockade, 8.Qb3 — The a5-a4 Counter, 8.b4 — Answer the Flank with the Center, 8.e4 — The Central Strike, 8.Bg5 — The Pin That Isn't
• Chapter 2: White Avoids the Fianchetto
  Lines: 2.Bg5 — The Hopton Attack, 2.Nc3 — Stop e4 with 2...d5, 2.c4 with e3 — The e5+f5 Duo, 2.Bg5 with 3.h4 — Weather the Storm, 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 — The Jobava Setup
• Chapter 3: The Staunton Gambit & Anti-Dutch Tricks
  Lines: Staunton Gambit: 4...Nc6!, 2.Qd3 — The Queen Trick, Staunton 5.Bxf6 — Punish the Early Trade, Staunton 4.g4 — The Bayonet Refuted, Staunton 7.Nxe4? — The Pin That Never Was
• Chapter 4: Fianchetto Sidelines
  Lines: The Karlsbad 4.Nh3 — Break at Once, 6.b3 — Occupy e4, 7.d5 — The Premature Space Grab, Karlsbad 7.d5 — Blockade the Squeeze, 6.d5 — Punish the Early Grab, 4.h4 — Call the Bluff, 4.Nc3 — Deny e4, Build Anyway
• Chapter 5: London & e3 Systems
  Lines: London Bf4 — ...Qe8 and ...e5 Anyway, The e3+Bd3 System — ...Nc6-b4!, The Torre 3.Bg5 — ...Ne4 Takes the Pair, Torre 4.Bf4 — Trade and Blunt, London with Bd3 — The Knight Recapture
• Chapter 6: The g4 Gambits
  Lines: The Korchnoi Attack: 2.h3 and 3.g4, The Krejcik Gambit: 2.g4, 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 — Take with the d-Pawn!, Korchnoi Attack with 5.h4 — Pawns Meet Pieces

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. d4 — 1.d4 — White opens with the queen's pawn.
• 1... f5 — The Dutch! Black seizes the e4 square with a pawn and unbalances the game immediately. Unlike the symmetrical defenses, the Dutch fights for a win from the very first move — the f-pawn will spearhead a kingside attack later.
• 2. g3 — The main line: White prepares the kingside fianchetto to fight for the long diagonal.
• 2... Nf6 — Develop and reinforce e4. The knight belongs on f6 in every Leningrad line — it watches e4 and d5 and shelters the king.
• 3. Bg2 — White's bishop takes the long diagonal.
• 3... g6 — The Leningrad signature. Black fianchettoes too: the g7 bishop will stare down the same diagonal, support the ...e5 break, and defend the king. This is what separates the Leningrad from the passive classical Dutch setups.
• 4. Nf3 — White develops the kingside knight.
• 4... Bg7 — The bishop lands on its best square. From g7 it eyes d4 and b2, and every central break Black plays from now on gains strength from this piece.
• 5. O-O — White castles.
• 5... O-O — Castle — king safety before the central fight begins. Notice the harmony: Black has made only natural moves and already has a full attacking setup on the kingside.
• 6. c4 — White claims queenside space and supports a later d5.
• 6... d6 — The final pillar of the Leningrad structure. The d6 pawn controls e5 and c5 and prepares the thematic break ...e5 — the move Black's whole setup is built around.
• 7. Nc3 — White completes development, reaching the main tabiya.
• 7... Qe8 — The famous Leningrad queen move — remember it. On e8 the queen supports ...e5, steps off the d-file away from tricks, guards e6 and g6, and can later swing to f7 or h5 for the attack. One move, four jobs.
• 8. d5 — The critical space grab: White fixes the center and takes e6 and c6 under surveillance.
• 8... Na6 — Change plans without blinking. With the center closed, ...e5 is on hold, so the knight sets off for c5 at once — the outpost this structure is all about. Going the slow way round with ...a5 first is the old recommendation; in practice the immediate trip scores better, because the knight is on its square before White has organized anything against it. Rim knight? Only for one move.
• 9. Nd4 — White centralizes the knight, eyeing the e6 and c6 squares.
• 9... Bd7 — Develop and load the lever. From d7 the bishop supports the ...c6 break — the move that asks White's d5 wedge the only awkward question in the position — and covers b5 so no knight can jump in behind it.
• 10. Rb1 — White prepares b4, hunting the a6 knight before it ever reaches c5.
• 10... c6 — Hit the wedge before the flank play arrives. Every White pawn move on the queenside costs a tempo, and ...c6 makes them all irrelevant: the pawn White is defending with b4 and Rb1 is the one that has to make a decision right now.
• 11. b4 — White grabs space anyway and takes c5 away from the knight.
• 11... Rc8 — Line the rook up on the file that is about to open. Whatever happens on d5 or c6 next, this rook ends up staring at White's queenside — and the a6 knight has c7 and b5 waiting once the c-file clears.
• 12. e4 — White finally plays the big central push, hoping to blow the position open first.
• 12... cxd5 — Resolve the tension on your terms — the side that chooses when to trade chooses the structure. After 13.exf5 dxc4 Black's queenside pawns roll, the a6 knight springs to life on c7 or c5, and White's proud center has become two loose pawns. Black has the easier moves for the rest of the game.

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