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Chess Publishing received a very relevant question from subscriber Michel Lauzon. "What to do in the Dutch against the London System?".
This is also something that I get asked very frequently and it often occurs over the board, so in this month's update I will dive into a number of different and interesting ways that you can use the Dutch against the London System.

Download PGN of February ’25 Daring Defences games

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The Dutch Defence versus the London System [A80]

Bf4 and London/Jobava London Systems are very popular, so facing these lines is always going to be important.

I will have a look several different set ups that Black can play. My preference for Black would be to play along the lines of Gleizerov in the below encounter against Ratkovic.



Dutch v London 1 d4 f5 2 Bf4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 [A80]

This month will mainly deal with the position reached after 1 d4 f5 2 Bf4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3:

Here are the plans that we will look at this month:


Dutch v London ...b6 and ...g6 [A80]

This is my normal approach and leads to lively play. White will often advance on the Queenside, whilst Black will try and advance on the Kingside and in the centre.

This is quite risky but a very aggressive and fun approach. Looked at in Pakleza, Z - Williams, S and Yanchenko, R - Williams, S


Dutch v London ...b6 and ...Bd6 [A80]

This is the safest approach and the line I recommend in my latest chess course for Chessable. Black aims to make some exchanges and to gain equality.

I must admit though, I have gone off this idea somewhat. The positions are rather passive and with correct play it is problematic for Black to develop the Knight on b8. Looked at in Diaz Mino, P - Moreno Tejera, E.


Dutch v London with ...Nc6 and ...d6 [A80]

Black aims to play ...e5 as quickly as possible, with ...Nc6, ...d6, ...Qe7 and ...e5:

This can work really well and is a plan well worth trying for Black. Looked at in Mingo Fernandez, M - Glek, I and Jacobson, B - Zhou, J.


Dutch v London 4...g6 5 h3 Bg7 6 c4 0-0 7 Nc3 d6 [A80]

Black aims for play in the centre (with ...e5) and the Kingside (with ...g5). I haven't tried this often myself, but this looks like a fun and good way to go.

The light squared Bishop may even be better on c8, aiming for White on the c8-h3 diagonal. Looked at in Ratkovic, M - Gleizerov, E.


Dutch v London 4...b6 5 Be2 Bb7 6 0-0 Be7 7 c4 Ne4 [A80]

Here Black plays ...b6, ...Be7, ...Ne4 and ...g5 without castling:

This is very risky but also a lot of fun! I am not sure this is an entirely sound way to go, but it will certainly shake your opponent up. Looked at in Guerrero Olmos, S - Williams, S.


Dutch v London 1 d4 e6 2 Bf4 f5 3 g4 [A40/A80]

Finally, the game Rosen, E - Williams, S kicks off with a very interesting idea from Rosen, an idea that may well catch on with the more adventurous in the future! 1 d4 e6 2 Bf4 f5 3 g4!?:

This idea works much better with the Bishop being on f4 and is actually approved of by the computer engine.


Till next month, Simon.

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