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How to Play Against the Staunton Gambit

The Stonewall Dutch is a traditional favourite amongst club players, as it offers Black ready-made attacking plans on the kingside. As Grandmaster Bent Larsen has noted, the Dutch also has the tendency to 'bring out the coward' in opponents, giving it an added practical sting. However, up until the late 1980s, the Stonewall wasn't fully trusted at grandmaster level, despite its earlier use by Alekhine and Botvinnik. Black's attacking plans were too one-sided, and White's methods too well worked out.

For many years, the Leningrad Dutch was viewed with some suspicion in view of the slight positional weaknesses created in Black's position. However, in the 1980s, dynamic new approaches were introduced by such players as Sergei Dolmatov, Evgeny Bareev, Mikhail Gurevich and especially Vladimir Malaniuk that changed the way people thought about the Leningrad Dutch. These players showed how an active approach could compensate for these defects, and offer Black excellent winning chances.

The Dutch Defence is an ambitious and underrated counter to the queen's pawn opening. With his very first move Black creates an asymmetrical pawn structure, thus unbalancing the position from a very early stage and allowing both White and Black players to fight for the initiative. Black also has many options within the Dutch Defence, from the ultra-solid Stonewall formation through to the fluid Classical System and the dynamic Leningrad Variation.

On the ABC of the Classical Dutch, IM Andrew Martin gives the student a thorough grounding in the ways of this unconventional opening. The positions that are reached after 1...f5 are always sharp and unclear, suiting the chessboard warrior very well. You cannot play the Dutch with a faint heart! The ABC of the Classical Dutch will analyse systems where predominantly Black plays with an early ...d7-d6. There are discussions of all the key ideas and opening themes, as well as repertoire suggestions for Black. The Classical Dutch does not enjoy an especially good reputation at the highest level, but from time to time the great players have employed 1...f5 when fighting outright for the win. It would not have been a good idea to tell Alekhine, Botvinnik, Bronstein or Larsen that 1...f5 is a weak move! The world of the Classical Dutch is a rather unusual one. If you are looking for a winning weapon as Black and you are an uncompromising fighter, then this opening is for you! Video running time: 3 hours 45 min. IM Andrew Martin is 54 years old and holds the FIDE Senior Trainer title. Since 2004 he has recorded over 25 DVD's for ChessBase. System requirements: Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard.
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The authors combine their talent to create an excellent work which supplements works on the Leningrad Dutch and fills in the gaps for players wishing to make the fighting modern Dutch their standard defense. Not only does it give coverage to the neglected English-Dutch(against 1.c4) and Reti-Dutch(against 1.Nf3) formations, but it also contains a comprehensive treatment of Black's best lines against the Lisitsin Gambit(1.Nf3 f5 2.e4) and other irregular White openings as well. All lines of the 1..e5 English Opening where Black plays 1..f5 in the first five moves are covered by transposition, Although the writers concentrate on how to play these lines as Black, White's best moves are shown, making this book a must for White.

On this ChessBase DVD, International Master Andrew Martin makes a compelling case for playing the Leningrad in competitive games and demonstrates that this is the ideal opening for players willing to embrace risk and who like to WIN.

Choosing the Dutch Defence with the black pieces is a clear signal that you are willing to go for the full point. There are no such things as exchange variations or an early trade of queens.