Considering a switch to the Dutch ... surely this title triggers me to respond because this is exactly what I did now about 8 years ago - and it's working wonderfully well indeed.

I play the Leningrad using Stefan Kindermann's book which is brilliant - you don't need anything else.

Big advantage of the Dutch is you can play it against basically anything other than 1.e4 and 1.Nc3.   

My results with it have been excellent. Most whites, even if they prepare for the game, don't get the hang of the positions and play them like a KID - what can be quite wrong at times.

You have to study the sidelines like 1.d4 f5 2.Bg5, the staunton gambit etc., but basically black is fine in all of these (good winning prospects as well) and is also doing very well in Kindermann's main line 1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.c4 0-0 6.Nc3 d6 7.0-0 Qe8! 8.d5 a5!? followed by Na6, Bd7 and usually c6.

So go for it!

yankdog wrote on 04/17/10 at 05:46:22:

If you are already KID player, you should play the modern (g6) rather than the pirc (d6), as the modern avoids some nasty pirc lines, but the "price" of delaying Nf6 is being willing to go into the KID if c4 is played (which you will be ok with). Tigers Modern is a great book. It isn't really that similar to the KID though (but a lot of fun / very unbalanced - a play for a win with black system). Tiger himself is a KID player.

Thanks very much Bilge.  As a matter of fact, I am considering developing the Pirc as one of my defenses.  Perhaps it is best to spend a couple of months putting a little time into both Pirc and Leningrad Dutch as well as test online...then trot it out OTB.  I feel that I am ready to go a different direction than the Sicilian anyway.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.  I appreciate it very much.

Yankdog

Kubi wrote on 04/17/10 at 20:31:05:


Bilge, while my rating is lower than yours, it seems we are taking a similar path in our thinking on the openings.  By the way, after dropping the Najdorf, what do you now play vs e4?

And to everyone, thank you very much for the ideas.  I am strongly considering now at least studying the Dutch and the Leningrad system.

Greetings Yankdog. When I first started studying chess seriously long time ago I also played Najdorf against 1.e4 and King Indian against 1.d4/1.c4/1.Nf3 Why ? Because then Kasparov was playing those openings with fiery success and I had the wrong impression that he was winning owing to his opening systems. I first dropped Najdorf because of its extensive theoritical volume. KID was another story. I was constantly winning with KID but I was always uneasy with the opening; I was basically winning the positions that I do not like and generally against weaker opposition. Against stronger players I never standed a chance then. One day I realized that forgetting centre at the initial moves then attacking it was not to my liking and while trying desperately to find something new I found the excellent book Leningrad System by Stefan Kindermann and after studying it and becoming familiar with the basic positions I started playing Leningrad. That is when I enjoyed chess more.
I believe Leningrad has fine strategic foundations and it can not be refuted someday. This should make you believe in the line itself. It is bit riskier than other major openings like KID, NID etc but also it is more enterprising. You can play different types of Leningrad as mentioned by other people ie. systems with Qe8, Nc6 (this also is divided into two major systems Na5 and Ne5) c6 and even e6. You can start with Qe8 and after studying enough you can add other systems to your arsenal. I assure you that provided you know what you are doing, you will never be left without counter chances even against stronger opposition. So all in all, I encourage you to play Leningrad but you should do some studying before you do so, naturally. If you decide to play Leningrad I can offer you more advices.
I am around 2200 ELO btw and I regularly play Leningrad with very good results.

yankdog wrote on 04/16/10 at 15:27:16:


I'd suggest buying 'Dangerous Weapons: The Dutch' if you want to sharpen up your Lenningrad repertoire, and it also has an excellent survey on 7...e6, the Christmas Tree variation. This also removes the 'weaknesses' that Koji mentioned, namely the e6-square, since d5 is now met by ...e5. There's also 7...c6, 7...Nc6 and 7...Qe8 to choose from if you don't like the 7...e6 stuff. 

You'll probably face sidelines just as much as the main lines. Against Nh3 lines, playing an early ...e6 is again interesting, and you should make sure you have a good antidote to 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bg5 since according to Johnsen and Bern White has chances of an edge here.

Koj, does your recommendation to avoid the Dutch and stick with the KID because of the difficulties you have experienced with the Dutch Leningrad?  I share your concerns about the Leningrad.  i am wondering if you think that other variations within the dutch are not worth pursuing for similar reasons or other reasons, and it might be best to stick with KID.

Maybe I am wrong.  But I am operating from the assumption that the Dutch, while complicated, is a bit less theoretical than the KID generally, and that at my level I am more likely to get positions I know better because White has likely studied other variations (like the KID) much more than the Dutch.

Thoughts?  And thanks again.