Dutch Defense

Play as BlackDefence

Stake a claim on e4 and aim for an aggressive kingside attack as Black.

The main line, move by move

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8 8. Qc2 Qh5 9. b3 Nc6

1. 1. d4 — Claim the center with the queen pawn and open lines for the queen and bishop.
2. 1... f5 — Stake a claim on e4 and aim for a kingside attack.
3. 2. g3 — Prepare to fianchetto the bishop.
4. 2... Nf6 — Develop the knight and eye the e4 square.
5. 3. Bg2 — The bishop eyes the long diagonal.
6. 3... e6 — Solid: opens the king bishop and supports d5.
7. 4. Nf3 — Develop the knight toward the center.
8. 4... Be7 — Develop the bishop and prepare to castle.
9. 5. O-O — Castle: your king gets safe and a rook joins the game.
10. 5... O-O — Castle: your king gets safe and a rook joins the game.
11. 6. c4 — Gain space in the center.
12. 6... d6 — Prepare ...e5 and free the c8 bishop.
13. 7. Nc3 — Develop the knight and add pressure on the center.
14. 7... Qe8 — Prepare ...Qh5 to attack on the kingside.
15. 8. Qc2 — Develop the queen and prepare e4.
16. 8... Qh5 — Bring the queen toward the attack.
17. 9. b3 — Prepare to put the bishop on the long diagonal.
18. 9... Nc6 — Develop the knight toward the center.

Related openings

• Sicilian Defense (Najdorf)
• French Defense
• Caro-Kann Defense
• Scandinavian Defense
• Pirc Defense

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