Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation
1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.Nc3
What Is The Stonewall Variation?
The Stonewall is a bargain struck on move one and paid off on move forty. Black plants pawns on f5, e6, d5 and c6 and takes permanent ownership of e4: a knight lands there, the dark-squared bishop regroups from e7 to d6, and the queen swings via e8 to h5 for a direct assault on your king. The price is a light-squared bishop buried alive on c8 and a hole on e5 that never heals.
Every Stonewall game is a race between Black's kingside attack and White's exploitation of e5 and the entombed bishop. As White, trade the dark-squared bishops with b3 and Ba3, occupy e5, and steer for an endgame where the c8 bishop is a spectator. As Black, keep queens on and attack before that endgame arrives.
How Do You Play Against The Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation?
No reliable data covers this position, so treat this as the plan. Black has built the Stonewall with pawns on d5, e6 and f5, which grips e4 permanently and concedes the e5 square just as permanently.
The Stonewall trades one strong square for one weak one, so the entire game is about who occupies their square first. Put a knight on e5 and support it, then trade off Black's light-squared bishop, which is already the worst piece on the board behind its own pawns. Black's counterplay comes from ...g5 and a kingside attack, so do not leave your own king exposed while manoeuvring on the other side.
The Named Lines Of The Stonewall Variation
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Modern Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.O-O Bd6 |
| Botvinnik Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.b3 |
| Chekhover Variation | 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.Nc3 c6 8.Qc2 Qe8 9.Bg5 |