The Dutch Defence
One move into the game and Black is already attacking. 1...f5 takes the e4-square, opens a file at White's king, and weakens Black's own - which is why it is the most exciting answer to 1.d4 and the one with the fastest traps.
Last updated
- First moves
- 1. d4 f5
- ECO
- A80
- Best for
- Black
- Style
- Aggressive
- Theory
- Moderate
- Level
- Advanced
The Dutch Defence is 1.d4 f5, and it is the only reply to 1.d4 that starts attacking on move one. The f-pawn takes e4 away from White, opens a file that points at White's king, and hands Black a plan before either side has developed a piece.
That second arrow is the price. With the f-pawn gone from f7 there is a diagonal running at Black's king that did not exist a move ago, and every trap on this page uses it. Play the opening well and it never matters; play it carelessly and the game is over on move six.
The main line: the Classical Dutch
The Classical Dutch. Step through all twelve moves and watch Black build an attacking structure without ever being in danger.
Now play Black's side of it.
You are Black. White has played 1.d4. Play the Dutch: the f-pawn, the knight, the pawn that shuts the dangerous diagonal, the bishop, castle.
The Leningrad: fianchetto and hit back in the centre
The Leningrad Dutch - Black mirrors White's fianchetto and plays for ...e5 rather than a direct attack.
The Stonewall: build a wall, attack with pieces
The Stonewall Dutch - pawns on c6, d5, e6 and f5, and every piece aimed at the kingside.
The trap: do not chase the bishop
2.Bg5 is the most dangerous second move in the Dutch, and it is dangerous because it is annoying. The bishop is attacking nothing; the instinct is to kick it, and kicking it loses.
You are Black. Develop instead.
White has played 2.Bg5, hoping you will chase it. Find the developing move that makes the bishop the piece with a problem.
The plans, for both sides
Black's plans. Whichever setup you choose, the plan is the same shape: get the king castled, put the queen on e8 and then h5 or g6, drop a knight on e4, and roll the g- and h-pawns at White's king. In the Leningrad, add the ...e5 break; in the Stonewall, forget about pawn breaks entirely and attack with pieces. The one rule that never changes: castle before you attack.
White's plans. Play g3 and Bg2, which is the move order that asks the most of Black. Then take the e5-square - the permanent hole in every Dutch structure - with a knight, expand on the queenside with c4 and b4, and open the position slowly. If Black is careless in the first four moves, look at the e8-h5 diagonal instead; the Bg5 lines above win a lot of club games.
The tactics that decide these positions are the direct ones. Checkmate arrives faster in the Dutch than in any other reply to 1.d4, in both directions, and the pattern behind the 2.Bg5 disaster is a cousin of Fool's Mate - the f-pawn leaves, the diagonal opens, the queen arrives. Castling early is not advice here, it is the whole safety plan.
If you like attacking the kingside but would rather not weaken your own, the King's Indian Defence does the same thing from a safer structure. And if you play 1.d4 yourself and want this attack with an extra move, that is Bird's Opening.
Try it
White has played 1.d4. Play the move that makes this the Dutch Defence.
The Dutch is the defence to learn if you would rather set the terms than answer them. It is the one reply to 1.d4 where Black has an attacking plan before White has one - and once you know the three setups and the one trap, it is a perfectly sound way to play for a win with the black pieces. The lessons take it from there.
Common questions
- What is the Dutch Defence?
- 1.d4 f5. Black answers the queen's pawn by staking a claim on e4 with the f-pawn instead of the e-pawn or the d-pawn. It gives Black a ready-made kingside attack and a half-open f-file, and it costs the diagonal into Black's own king - so both sides get chances from move one.
- Is the Dutch Defence good for beginners?
- It is fun and it is risky, and beginners should know the second part. The plans are easy to understand - push the f-pawn, aim everything at h2 - but the weakened e8-h5 diagonal means there are real mates available to White inside six moves. Learn the three lines on this page and it becomes a perfectly playable club weapon; skip them and you will lose a few very short games.
- What are the three Dutch setups?
- The Classical (...e6, ...Be7, ...d6), a flexible attacking structure and the main line here. The Leningrad (...g6, ...Bg7, ...d6), which fianchettoes and plays ...e5 later - the most popular version today. And the Stonewall (...e6, ...d5, ...c6, ...Bd6), which builds a wall of pawns on the dark squares and attacks with pieces. Pick one and learn it; they are three different games.
- Is the Dutch Defence sound?
- Yes, at every level below the very top. It has been played by world champions - Botvinnik built a career on the Stonewall - and modern engines rate the main lines as fully playable. It is not the most solid defence to 1.d4 and it never claimed to be: it trades a little safety for an attack that arrives before White's does.
- What is the most dangerous trap in the Dutch?
- Everything after 2.Bg5. If Black chases the bishop with 2...h6 3.Bh4 g5 4.Bg3 f4, then 5.e3! offers it - and 5...fxg3?? is mate in one: 6.Qh5#, because the f7- and g6-squares are both gone. Even declining, 5...h5 6.Bd3 Rh6?? loses to 7.Qxh5+ Rxh5 8.Bg6 mate. The answer is not to chase: develop with 2...Nf6 and the bishop is the piece with a problem.
- How do I meet 2.e4, the Staunton Gambit?
- 2.e4 fxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 is the main line, and Black is simply a pawn up with a solid position after 4.Bg5 Nc6 or 4.f3 d5. The gambit is dangerous only if Black tries to hold everything - give the pawn back at the right moment and White has nothing. It is worth ten minutes of preparation because it is common at club level and almost never seen above it.
Ideas this opening runs on:
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