Quote:Brabo wrote
A few months ago I encountered serious difficulties with the English in the line below which isn't mentioned in the book ' Win with the Stonewall Dutch':
1. c4, f5 2. Nf3, Nf6 3. g3, e6 4. Bg2, d5 5. 0-0, Bd6 6. cd5:, cd5: 7. d3, 0-0 8. Nc3 += This moveorder avoids the dc4: lines which were in my opinion the last resort for black. The book covers 8.., Nc6 but mentions that black can't equalise with it. I played 8..., Na6 an old idea of my lab and although I came pretty close winning the game against my +2400 rated opponent, in theory it isn't good enough for equalty.
So this nasty surprise made me go back to my lab and have a long hard think about how to continue playing a Dutch against the English while keeping the link with the stonewall as close as possible because I am not really fond to switch to the classical Dutch which I always found shaky. The conclusion was that a Botvinnik stonewall (Be7) was still reasonable.
1. c4, f5 2. Nf3, Nf6 3. g3, e6 4. Bg2, Be7 5. 0-0, 0-0 6. d4, d5 (only now because otherwise white can skip d4 and swith to b3-d3 systems which aren't easy for black).
I've not been able to test this seriously but on first sight it looks playable. e.g. 7. b3, c6 8. Ba3 (Modern stonewall players as myself don't like to see white so easily exchange the bishops but I think that it shouldn't be a disaster.), Nbd7 (Black should restict himself of taking on a3 too early. Developing the queenside first is more appropriate and if white takes himself on e7 then the queen is automatically better positioned. Further the route to d3 for the knight on b1 is quicker via a3 than from b1.)
Hello everybody just joined this wonderful site and noticed this message since I was Brabo's opponent in the mentioned game
.
In the game after
1. c4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 d5 5. 0-0 Bd6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. d3, 0-0 8. Nc3 Na6 9.e4 fxe4 10.dxe4 dxe4 11.Ng5 Nc5... I played the ridiculous
12.b4 and after 1
2...Be5 had to fight very hard for the draw, but the reason for the strange b4 was that over the board i had discovered that my prepared line
12.Ncxe4 Nfxe4 13.Nxe4 was not that great because although white does keep considerable pressure after
13...Nxe4 14.Bxe4 black does not have to oblige him and after a simple
13...Be7 14.Nxc5 Bxc5 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.Bg5 Rf8! (other squares land black in trouble) I concluded white advantage is very marginal since black will regroup with Bb6 and c6. My
12.b4? was disaster but I still dont see how white could really trouble the black position although after
8...Na6 9.Be3 white might be a that better.
Greetings from Antwerp, Stefan.
I witnessed that game. Pretty intense stuff, even more so because Brabo was leading the tournament after a win against an IM and a draw against a GM. It was a close shave for Antigoon.
Anyway playing the stonewall Botwinnikstyle always has appealed to me. The b3 Ba3 plan doesn't look too frightening and if so: why jump trough hoops trying to slow it down? One could say that if black is not at ease with that prospect he should perhaps play something else