The Dutch Stonewall

by Nestrellov


The dutch stonewall is a very solid opening in KungFuChess. The pawns exert good centercontrol, the pawnstructure allows your pieces to be developed harmoniously and you have good possibilities to take over the initiative.



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The first pawn to move is the f-pawn. The idea behind this move is to counter big centers. If your opponent starts with d5, e5 and f5 now, you have already won a pawn after fxe5 and d4.



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The next couple of pawnmoves consolidate your position. It is almost impossible to loose a pawn, even if your opponent has moved faster than you right from the start.
If your opponent has not made d5 or b5 yet, you may also play c4 instead of c3. It often saves a little time.



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These two pawnmoves are very important. They insure that you always can play c4 and open up the position a little. The pawnmoves a3 and b4 are close to being a mistake, since your opponent can lock up the whole position by playing a6, b5, c6, d5, e6, f5.



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The queen and the lightsquared bishop are often placed best on these squares. There are two exceptions though:
1) If your opponent has played a5, b5 and c5, the pawn on b5 is hanging. So it is best to play Bxb5.
2) The bishop must be able to get to d3 before your opponent can play e5, otherwise your bishop may be lost.



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The knights are placed on d2 and f3. They may be able to invade the opponents position from outpost such as e5 or g5, but beware of pawns. Keep your knights connected. This way they protect each other and sometimes the can pick up a pawn (c6, e6 or g6) which is guarded only by the queen or the king.

Now your development is almost finished, but what to do with your dark-squared bishop?


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At the moment, your dark-squared bishop is utterly useless. Your own pawns block it and it has no real short-term prospects. But you cannot just let it be on c8, because you need to connect your rooks. The best square is definitely b2... or b7, if you are playing black. But make no mistake about it, sometimes the bishop becomes a real killer, if the pawns on c3 and d4 disappear.

Now you only need to castle to finish your development. You may castle short or long, it is just a matter of taste. You may also wait, if you are afraid of an attack with g5.
It is also a matter of taste, what you do with your kingside pawns, but it is wise to keep your options open.



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If nothing concrete has shown up by now, you can continue with bringing the rooks to the central files and opening the position with c4.



A tactical outburst

Here is the most impressive standardcombination of the dutch stonewall in KungFuChess. It shows to a certain degree the power of the unleashed dark-squared bishop and it definitely shows how powerful the rearrangement of pieces can be, if coordinated properly.



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White has encountered this position several times and makes the following moves quiet quickly...



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Black might think: "Well, no need to worry. The white pawn on e5 is only guarded twice, while it is attacked four times and additionally two times, when I play Ng6 and Rhe8."
But he should worry: He has just lost a pawn!



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White has made no attempt to hide, that all of his pieces are about to guard the pawn on e5. Even the light-squared bishop may be useful, since it can take a knight and thereby remove an attacker.
Black should now switch to defense and start blocking the pawn. If he tries to recapture the pawn, he will inevitably lose a piece.



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Now it is whites turn.



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If black manages to capture quickly throughout the combination, the dark-squared bishop can take on e5 in order to gain a little time so the knight on f3 is able to move in time again.
As you can see, even the kings rush to defence. It is very important that you exploit all resources.



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Let us see, how the combination continues if black stubbornly keeps on capturing on e5.



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And white wins easily.

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