TacticForge

1.d4 f5

The Dutch Defence

A Dutch repertoire for players who want to attack: the Leningrad against most setups, a different plan against the London, and one answer to every gambit.

After 1.d4 f5 Black claims e4 and points everything at the kingside. White can not count on a quiet game, and neither can you: the Dutch rewards players who know their plans and punishes those who drift.

This book gives you one system and a few exceptions. Against most White setups you play the Leningrad: …Nf6, …g6, …Bg7, …O-O and …d6, then …e5 or …Qe8 with play on the kingside. Against the London and some early Bg5 lines you switch to setups with …e6, because there the Leningrad loses its point. Against e4 gambits you take the pawn; against g4 and h3 you take the centre with …d5.

Each chapter starts from the setup White chooses, not from a move order, so you can find your answer at the board: look at where White's bishops and knights are going, then open the matching chapter.

Chapters

  1. 1The Leningrad against c4 and Nc3White's most common setup, and your main system: …Nf6, …g6, …Bg7, …O-O, …d6. Where White's bishops go tells you which break to play.
  2. 2The fianchetto: g3 and Bg2The classical Leningrad. White's bishop on g2 slows the game down, and there is time for …Qe8, …Na6–c5 and …e5.
  3. 3Against the LondonAgainst an early Bf4, don't play the Leningrad. Play …e6, …b6 and …Bb7, and put a knight on e4.
  4. 4Against an early Bg5Three ways for White to bring the bishop to g5 early. The answers that score best at club level are also the simplest.
  5. 5Quiet systems: Nf3, e3 and Nc3White keeps the c-pawn home and builds slowly. Most of these lines lead back to your Leningrad setup; a few need …e6 and …Bb4.
  6. 6Gambits and sharp triesClub Dutch players score their worst results against gambits: 42% against the Staunton. Know which pawns to take and which to ignore.
  7. 71.c4 and 1.Nf3Play 1…f5 against these too. If White plays d4, you are in the earlier chapters; if White never does, …e5 is free.

How this book was checked

Every move recommended for Black is within 0.3 pawns of Stockfish 18's first choice at depth 20 (the Dutch itself, 1…f5, costs about a third of a pawn and is the one exception). Every White reply played in at least 5% of club games is covered, checked against millions of Lichess blitz and rapid games between 1600 and 2000 rated players. Every mistake shown is confirmed by the engine, and every number in a note comes from the engine, not from memory.