How to Play the Dutch Defense Chess Opening

The thematic moves of the Dutch: 1. d4 f5 (red squares)

The Dutch Defense has in recent years become unpopular at the top level, but is still a very fun opening for amateurs or blitz night. The initial moves, 1. d4 f5, are sure to provide a challenging chess game. This opening has been used with success by Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Botvinnik and Paul Morphy, just to name a few. This opening reached the height of its popularity around 1950.

Things You'll Need

• Chessboard or PC chess

Instructions

1. Play f5 when white plays pawn to d4. This grabs some of the center and prevents white from playing the immediate e4, because the f5 pawn would simply capture it.

2. Play knight to f6 when white plays g3, or makes almost any other move for that matter. The idea here is to develop a piece that will aid control of center squares, while also preparing the castling of the black king.

3. Play e6 when white plays the bishop to g2, to allow development of the black bishop and also fight for white square control.

4. Play the black bishop to e7 when white pins the f6 knight to the queen with his own bishop on g5. This breaks the pin and allows the king to castle at the next available opportunity.

Tips & Warnings

• White may not choose to move in exactly this order, but the idea is the same; try to get the setup looking like it does in the image.