Among top grandmasters the Dutch is a rare defense, which is good reason to play it! It has not been studied very deeply by many opponents, and theory, based on a small number of ‘reliable’ games, must be rather unreliable. – Bent Larsen
The producers of the F.E.B (The Full English Breakfast http://thefeb.podbean.com/) recently put me onto a stunning victory by Simon Williams with the Dutch Defence against Boris Gelfand.
It can be found here: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1694581
One of the things I like about this game is that it exemplifies what the Dutch is all about. The position quickly becomes complex and unbalanced, and though black goes the exchange up quite early on, it isn’t clear if he’s winning at any point. The game, then, teaches you how important it can be NOT to simply rely on a material count to see who’s ahead. White’s strong knight and pawn majority in the center make it, in my humble opinion, difficult to be sure whether black has a winning advantage.
Another thing I like about it is that there is consistency in strategy from black’s point of view. If you happen to read or even watch William’s material on the Dutch (I do and I have to say I am not a fan) he does chide an early b4 but more importantly, we see the more typical f-pawn push to f4 (A move Williams likes to play with white, perhaps he is an f4 addict!), and an attack on the kingside, all atypical features of the Dutch, as understood by Mr.Williams.
A game well worth studying, one which can teach a great deal.
MJM












































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