GM Repertoire: Dutch Sidelines

En rykende aktuell repertoarbok for svart i Hollandsk, som dekker hvits mange alternativer til hovedvariantene med g3 og dermed kompletterer boka "Leningrad Dutch". Her dekkes også spill mot 1 c4 og 1 Sf3 fra hvit.

"Grandmaster Repertoire" er tilsammen utvilsomt den beste og mest kompetente serien av åpningsbøker som finnes, og Mihail Marin er en av de glimrende forfatterne i denne serien.

Forlagets egen omtale:

The Dutch is one Black’s most ambitious replies to 1.d4, as with 1...f5 Black creates asymmetrical and richly complex play. Mihail Marin is the ideal author to explain both the strategic ideas and the latest theory.

Dutch Sidelines covers lines where White does not fianchetto the king’s bishop. These include 1.d4 f5 2.c4 lines, as well as Anti-Dutch options such as 2.Bg5, 2.Nc3 and various gambits. In addition, the author offers extensive guidance on how to meet 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 in Dutch style. The companion volume, Leningrad Dutch, is the cornerstone of Black’s Dutch repertoire.

Mihail Marin is a grandmaster from Romania. His previous books for Quality Chess have established him as one of the world’s finest chess authors.

Fra forfatterens forord:

PrefaceIt is hard to think of another opening in which White has regularly tried out such a multitude of sidelines as against the Dutch Defence. Many of these systems are so popular in practice that the term “sidelines” in the context above requires some clarification. The highly provocative character of the Dutch induces the thought that White may try to refute it by radical means, usually consisting of deviating from the natural course of development as early as on move two. No matter how popular a particular Dutch system might be, one could not refer to meeting 1.d4 with 1...f5 as a “classical” or “main” variation.

Judging from my own feelings through the decades, I believe that for a player familiarized with and specialized in the Leningrad Dutch main lines – meaning those with g2-g3 which were covered in Volume 1, Leningrad Dutch – many of the sidelines examined in this second volume are a bit irritating. No matter how complicated and, to a certain extent, risky, the variations covered in the first volume may be, Black can always derive a certain comfort from playing a structure of their own choosing. In most of the sidelines, it is usually White who makes the choice. Fortunately, any feeling of discomfort on Black’s side should not last for long after one starts examining the early deviations in closer detail. Even though they may put some pressure on Black at an early stage, from the point of view of the middlegame fight, they tend to be less strategically challenging than the main g2-g3 lines, which are built on a foundation of harmonious development.

I would also mention a positive practical and psychological element to preparing and playing against these sidelines. The main Leningrad Dutch lines feature a relatively small bunch of pawn structures, enabling Leningrad specialists to develop a good feel for the ensuing positions and to orientate their actions with relative comfort and ease. On the other hand, this specialization also tends to cause some limitation in the process of developing as a player of universal style and culture. Being confronted with the array of sidelines on a regular basis should be a reason for joy, as it allows a player to maintain freshness and alertness in a wide range of structures.