How do you know this, Amet? Is it out yet?

I've got a reply om my email to Simon Williams and the DVD will be up for sale within the next two - three weeks. It's Classical though.

I bought mine in Hastings at the Dutch themed tournament Simon organised to celebrate the release of the DVD.

[As a small aside I happened to be the first ever person to purchase a copy of The Killer Dutch ... such is my level of play that this will probably remain my premier chess achievement in 2010].

Assuming he's managed to fight his way through the snow Simon has probably got back from Hastings now.  I'd try emailing him and asking him if he's mailing them out yet.

Best of luck.

J

It seems to me that the pawn structure requires less understanding to maintain early on, IMO, in the Stonewall.  The themes are very playable, and Black has a good grip of the center.  The developments are easy to play, just understanding when it is appropriate to enter into which plan, but a bit of study makes that pretty easy.  As a matter of fact, without any Stonewall understanding, I came up with an initial tabiya for Black to try for with the typical c6-d5-e6-f5 pawn structure, KB on d6, KN on f6, 0-0, QN on d7, then b6-Bb7, Qc7, and finally Rae8.  I showed this idea to Nigel Short via Myspace or Facebook, and he said it was in fact a typical plan, except that the queen should instead be on e7, as the opening of the c-file could be harmful to Black.  But the ideas are easy and lucid - Black creates tension upon both the c5 and e5 squares, and has a solid position that White has to contend with.  I think this is pretty easy to play. 
The Classical, on the other hand, is a different critter, and takes more understanding of the themes to play.  Black's counterattack comes swiftly, and the pawns definitely flow towards the kingside.  And playing e5 at the wrong time can be wrong for Black as well.  And me personally, I don't like the early ...Qh5 themes for Black - maybe I don't yet understand them enough myself, but it seems too early.  I think the Classical requires more understanding.  I would like to hear your take on the two positions, if you don't mind - maybe you could give me some ideas to work with!

Blackburne wrote on 01/05/10 at 14:57:53:


I think I agree with this comment - the Classical is harder for a beginner Dutch to handle.  The pawns in the beginning can be "loose", and a bad move order can give White a quick advantage.  I remember so many times when I first began learning chess playing the Classical setup (with both White and Black) and accidentally leaving e3 (or e6) en prise.  It took me a while to understand basic themes - allowing White to advance to d5 being not as much of an issue as I previously thought.  With the Stonewall, Black grips the center much stronger, but the opening dynamics are different...not that it is bad, and occasionally I hash out the Stonewall still...but after more time invested in the Dutch, I like the winning chances of the Classical better than the Stonewall - the Stonewall is easier for me to keep a draw in hand, however...I have faired well against much stronger opposition with the Stonewall, thanks to the solid pawns!

Thanks to all for the links to these DVDs!

Do any of you own them? Before I shell out the money, I'd like to have some idea of the coverage and the level at which they're pitched. (The advanced DVDs might be fun for me but not for an 11 year old.)

The repertoire we're looking at is Stonewall against most setups, but Dutch-Indian against a few setups where the Stonewall doesn't work particularly well, e.g. 1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bb4.

We've looked at the Classical Dutch, but at this level -- about 1500 -- the Classical seems to be more difficult to handle than the Stonewall, since it is fairly easy to teach a few basic patterns in the latter but much more difficult to teach the Classical in the sharp lines where everything explodes in the center.

For a reference point, this student has enjoyed Murray Chandler's "Bashing the Sicilian with 3.Bb5, vol. 1," which seems to me to be pitched at a crowd in the 1500-2000 range.

Boris Schipkov’s DVD trilogy about the Dutch is advanced but very interesting Dutch A90-A99, Dutch A86-A89 and Dutch A80-A85 - on ChessBase
http://www.chessbase.com/shop/productlist.asp?product=ot&subd=&user=&coin=

On ChessBase you will also find some other DVD about Dutch.

Hacker,

Thanks for the reply. I do have McDonald's book, but I haven't got the new Dangerous Weapons: The Dutch. This kid plays 1...e6 and is comfortable (and hugely sucessful) with the French, so most of the Anti-Dutch lines aren't an issue.

TalJechin,

I agree. That's why my student spends at least an hour a day working tactics exercises. You needn't fear that tactics are being neglected here. And analyzing losses is one of the things I always drill into my students. So I think we have that covered!