Chess: How does Black win? 09/06/2011

A COUNTERPUNCH strategy with Black can pay off at all levels of chess. Such openings are often based on a few variations, so are feasible for an amateur's limited pre-game homework. They also exploit the preference of many Whites for a controlled advantage, which is linked to a latent fear of losing the initiative or of allowing random tactics.

The aggressive Dutch 1 d4 f5 is generally underrated because it restricts Black's c8 bishop by a light square pawn chain at c6/d5/ e6/f5. But the world champions Alekhine and Botvinnik and title contenders Bronstein and Larsen all used the defence in key games.

But you need flexibility in playing the Dutch, as English grandmaster Simon Williams has shown over the years with some very innovative games with it. The Surrey GM is one of the country's leading exponents of the Dutch and he has written many magazine articles, books and his Killer Dutch DVD have all shown that, far from being strategic in nature, the Dutch can often be deployed as a very potent weapon, where a well timed fast strike can suddenly hit at the white king.

That's exactly what happened a few weeks ago at the French Team Championship in Mulhouse, as Williams scored the biggest scalp of his career by beating Poland's European silver medalist Radoslaw Wojtaszek (world champion Vishy Anand's second) – and it proved to be a gem of sacrificial miniature against a highly-rated 2721 opponent, who felt the full force of the "Killer Dutch".

Wojtaszek was going for something simple and uncomplicated with 9 b3; but he was hit by a bolt out of the blue with Williams' home-brewed rook sacrifice.

R Wojtaszek - S Williams

French Team Ch., (1)

Dutch Defence

1 d4 e6 2 Nf3 f5 3 g3 Nf6 4 Bg2 Be7 5 0–0 0–0 6 c4 d6 7 Qc2 a5 8 Nc3 Nc6 9 b3 e5 10 dxe5 dxe5 11 Rd1 Qe8 12 Nb5 Qh5 13 Nxc7 f4 14 Nxa8 Bc5! 15 Rd5 Nb4 16 Rxe5 Nxc2 17 Rxh5 Nxh5 18 Rb1 fxg3 19 hxg3 Nxg3 20 Rb2 Bf5 0–1