Chess lessons › Chess openings
The Dutch Defence
Black fights for e4 from the side with the f-pawn, rather than meeting 1.d4 in the centre.
The idea
Black fights for e4 from the side with the f-pawn, not the centre.
- Black answers 1.d4 with the f-pawn instead of the centre.
- The pawn on f5 already presses on e4 from the side.
- One calm answer is g3, to put the bishop on the long diagonal.
In a game: Spot it when Black meets 1.d4 with 1...f5 instead of 1...d5 or 1...Nf6.
How the lesson begins
Against 1.d4, Black can fight for e4 from the side instead of the centre. This is the Dutch Defence, played in about 2% of games after 1.d4 among players rated 1200 to 1599. White scored 51% in those games.
- 1. d4 White takes the centre.
- 1... f5 Black’s pawn now watches e4. The knight will come to f6 to add to it.
Find the move
White to move. One calm way to meet the Dutch is to fianchetto the king’s bishop and castle quickly.
A hint
The pawn on g2 can advance one square.
Show the answer
2. g3
g3 prepares Bg2, which will aim down the long diagonal at e4 and d5, the squares Black’s f-pawn fights for. Lichess calls this the Fianchetto Attack.
In numbers
How often it is played
| Rating | Value |
|---|---|
| Under 800 | Too few games |
| 800 to 1199 | 2.2 |
| 1200 to 1599 | 3.5 |
| 1600 to 1999 | 6.1 |
| 2000 and up | 7.1 |
How the games ended
White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%, over 8,730 games that start this way, in a sample of rated Lichess games from 2026.