Menu
The Dutch Defense is a very active defense in chess against the Queen pawn opening.
1. d4 f5
Black looks to control the e4-square while completely unbalancing the position. Later on in the chess game, black will look to future his attack on white’s kingside. One of the key concepts is that the weak f7 square that black has becomes even more a target for white and many times white will focus exclusively on targeting this weakness. In return, black will have very active pieces that are not cramped and should provide for some exciting game play.
White usually fianchettoes his king’s bishop onto g2 to add support on the e4 square that black is attacking. Black also might fianchetto his bishop in the kingside to add pressure on the dark squares. As both sides have very different strategies, most games with the Dutch Defense become very lively and active.
For those players that encounter 1.d4 often and don’t like playing the Queen’s Gambit line, the Dutch Defense gives lots of great counterattacking for black and is a very good alternative.
Watch the video below to watch more detailed explanations of the opening, multiple variations, and extended lines.
