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Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...f5/2. c4/2...g6

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Dutch Defence

With g6

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Leningrad dutch mainline: 7...Qe8
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black kinge8 black queenf8 black rookg8 black kingh8 black king8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black kinge7 black pawnf7 black kingg7 black bishoph7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black pawne6 black kingf6 black knightg6 black pawnh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black pawng5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white pawnd4 white pawne4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 white knightd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 white pawnh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white bishoph2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 black kingf1 white rookg1 white kingh1 black king1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. d4 f5 2. c4 g6

A dynamic choice, the Dutch with g6 is a Leningrad setup. The pawn structure is practically always g6-f5-d6. Black plays in this system, with only a few rare exceptions, his bishop to g7, knight to f6, and castles quickly.

Leningrad Dutch main line is, with possible changes in move order: 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nc3 Qe8 (Diagram).

With 7...Qe8 black plans e5. White usually either plays a pawn advance on queenside with b4-b5 etc., which is helped by the strong bishop on g2 or/and plays for center with e4 and d5. In fact the space advancing move 8 d5 is main line . The main alternatives to 7..Qe8 for black are 7...c6 and 7..Nc6. 7..c6 is considered quite solid and played by former world champion M Botvinnik in the end of his career. 7... Nc6 is an ultra sharp alternative where black usually plays for kingside attack.

On absolute top level Leningrad Dutch is today rarely played. But it is used occasionally and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik played it several times in his youth. Its considered an excellent way for black to play for win, especially below grandmaster level, but the slight weakening of kingside with pawn f5 makes it not the taste of every strong chessplayer.

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Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. d4 f5 2. c4 g6

3 4 5 6 7
Leningrad g3
Nf6
Bg2
Bg7
Nf3
O-O
O-O
d6
Nc3
Qe8
=
Bladel Nc3
Nh6
e4
fxe4
Nxe4
Bg7
Nf3
c6
Bd3
d5
=

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References

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