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Play the Classical Dutch Reviewed by Keith Hayward, ICCF-IM
I played the Classical Dutch for about 20 years so I was excited to see what Williams had to add on the subject. I recently finished reading Pinski’s Classical Dutch book. Although that book was done in good classic Everyman style, I was left wanting. The problem is that certain openings/defenses, like the Classical Dutch, cannot be well covered by examining only master and grandmaster games. Common and very natural moves (played by the average club player) are often brushed over, and in some cases completely ignored. That book left me feeling unprepared for my average opponent’s opening moves. Williams’ approach is quite didactic. I have read many Gambit books and this one stands out by itself on the amount of educational narrative. I was very pleased by this and I hope this trend continues in future Gambit books. Publishing Quality: The presentation of the analysis and diagrams are to Gambit’s usual high quality standards. Analysis lines are easy to find and follow. This is not a knock, but I must note that this book does not completely match Gambit’s usual encyclopedic coverage. I suspect Williams wrote the book first, the manuscript was presented, accepted, and then modified to Gambit Publication’s style. Subject Coverage: Like I said, I played the Classical Dutch, so I jumped into the book to see if Williams had improvements on lines I used to play. I was in for a rude shock. Many lines were missing, and in lines covered certain moves that I liked were missing too. For example, in the following variation: 1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 g3 Be7 5 Bg2 0–0 6 0–0 d6 7 Nc3 Qe8 8 b3
I have played 8…Nc6 many times with good success. Williams gives 8…Nbd7 as his main move. Williams also gives 8…Qh5?, 8…Bd8?, 8…a5, and 8…Ne4!? No mention of my 8…Nc6. The following game shows 8…Nc6 deserves attention.
NM Bill Harrison – FM Keith Hayward [A99] 1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 g3 Be7 5 Bg2 0–0 6 0–0 d6 7 Nc3 Qe8 8 b3 Nc6 9 d5 Nd8 10 Nb5 Nxd5 11 Nfd4 a6 12 Nxd6 Bxd6 13 cxd5 e5 14 Nc2 Qe7 15 a4 Nf7 16 Ba3 f4 17 gxf4 exf4 18 Bxd6 cxd6 19 Nd4 Ne5 20 Nf3 Nxf3+ 21 Bxf3 Qh4 22 Be4 Bh3 23 Re1 f3 0–1 Other masters have played 8…Nc6 so it is strange that such a move is not covered. The answer lay in the ‘Introduction’ where Williams writes: “I have ordered this book so that all classical lines worth playing for Black are looked at. I have given the reader a choice of two lines, where one is slightly worse for Black but safe while the other is risky but not necessarily worse for Black. The choice of which line to play depends on Black’s temperament.” Hmm, this book was not to be a detailed examination of the Classical Dutch, but Williams’ presentation of how he thinks one should play it. Not a classic Gambit Publications book!? Author’s Knowledge: I had not heard of Simon Williams before picking up this book. The book’s back cover states Williams is a “young international master from England”. I did some checking on FIDE’s website and found that Williams is 24 years old and has a rating of 2396. And it is likely that Williams finished this book when he was 23! An amazing first effort from Williams. We will all certainly be seeing his name more in the future. Another measure that speaks well for this book is that Williams actively plays this defense. The book has many of his games. A recent game of Williams using the Classical Dutch was published in the December 2003 issue of Chess Life:
Dragos Dumitrache (2492) – Simon Williams
(2381) [A96] 1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 g3 Nf6 4 Bg2 Be7 5 Nf3 0–0 6 0–0 d6 7 b4 Ne4 8 Bb2 a5 9 b5 a4 10 Nfd2 d5 11 Nxe4 fxe4 12 Ba3 c6 13 f3 exf3 14 Bxf3 dxc4 15 bxc6 Nxc6 16 e3 e5 17 d5 Nb4 18 Nc3 Bh3 19 Bg2 Bxg2 20 Rxf8+ Qxf8 21 Kxg2 Nd3 22 Bxe7 Qxe7 23 Rb1 Qg5 24 Rxb7 Rf8 25 d6 Qxe3 26 d7 Ne1+ 27 Kh3 Qh6+ 28 Kg4 Qe6+ 0–1 An impressive game speaking well on Williams feel for and knowledge of this defense. Informative: I found this book to be extremely informative. In the ‘Introduction’ Williams sets forth his ‘Basic Strategic Ideas’: “1) If White can achieve the e4 advance without Black playing …e5 and Black has to exchange with …fxe4, White will generally obtain an advantage.” “2) If Black can achieve the …e5 advance he will generally be at least equal.” One might argue that these are dreadfully obvious principles with the Classical Dutch, but repeatedly through the book Williams emphasizes these principles in his analysis. To be blunt, this worked with me. Williams’ analysis becomes very logical and affective. New Ideas: Previously publishers ignored the Classical Dutch and then almost together, Pinski’s and Williams’ books hit the market. Pinski’s book is more on the grandmaster theory level, while Williams’ book more of a personal didactic level. I think Williams’ book will truly prepare a player to use the defense. I have had several of my games follow Williams’ analysis. In contrast, I rarely have White opponents play as well as those in Pinski’s book. I found two parts of the book especially noteworthy in the new ideas realm, the chapters on …Bb4 and 7…Ne4! The former is an old favorite of mine against lower rated opponents:
Joe Gilbert (1773) – Keith Hayward (2295)
[A85] 1 d4 f5 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nf3 e6 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Bd2 0–0 6 a3 Bxc3 7 Bxc3 Ne4 8 Qc2 b6 9 g3 Bb7 10 Bg2 Nxc3 11 Qxc3 d6 12 Nh4 c6 13 d5 cxd5 14 cxd5 e5 15 e4 f4 16 gxf4 Qxh4 0–1 Black often gets a nice version of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. However, White can avoid this …Bb4 line by playing the sequence 1 d4, 2 Nf3, 3 g3, 4 Bg2 5 0-0, etc. which is a wise approach in my opinion. The latter option is rather interesting. After 1 d4 f5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 e6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 0–0 0–0 6 c4 d6 7 Nc3 theory often neglects 7…Ne4. Williams gives the move an exclamation mark. Oddly, in the book he gives more analysis on 8…Qe8 and 8…a5. Looking at the dates of his games, I suspect 7…Ne4! was a more recent revelation (and/or evolution of thought). Previous theory suggests 7…Ne4 might be playable, but Williams’ analysis maps out how this could be true. Since 7…Ne4 is lesser known, this analysis could make this variation an effective surprise weapon. Accuracy: I think Williams was fairly objective in his appraisals, like in the following line: 1 d4 f5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 e6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 0–0 0–0 6 c4 d6 7 Nc3 Qe8 8 Re1 Nc6 9 e4 fxe4 10 Nxe4 Nxe4 11 Rxe4 Qg6 12 Qe2 Bf6 13 Bd2 e5 14 dxe5 Nxe5 15 Nxe5 Bxe5 16 Bc3 Bxc3 17 bxc3 Bd7!?
Williams says “This seem to be better than the more commonly played 17…c6, which unnecessarily weakens the d6-pawn and allows White to achieve a slight advantage with 18 Re7. The text-move keeps the pawn structure intact.” The line continues: 18 Re7 Rae8 19 Bxb7 c6
“This position is critical for the evaluation of 8 Re1. White has an extra pawn but his bishop is shut out of the game, and his queenside pawns and kingside are weak. Maybe White is slightly better, but the game should end in a draw.” This evaluation seems right on as this old game of mine confirms: 19 Bd5+ Kh8 20 Bxb7 c6 21 Rxe8 Rxe8 22 Qf3 c5 23 Bc6 Bxc6 24 Qxc6 h6 25 Qf3 ½–½ Roy DeVault – K.Hayward, [A97] EMN-A-8 APCT 1998. I could find no real fault with Williams’ analysis except more move options could have been considered.
Overall Appraisal:
The Classical Dutch is an
uncompromising choice against 1 d4. Many of the middlegame battles can
become tactical with Black playing towards White’s king and White looking
for center or queenside positional play. I think Williams does an
excellent job of showing how each side should play. I can highly
recommend this book, and I hope Gambit Publications continues to support
such inspiring authors and efforts.
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