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Neil McDonald

play the Dutch

an opening repertoire for Black based on the Leningrad Variation

EVERYMAN CHESS
Gloucester Publishers pic www.everymanchess.com
First published in 2010 by Gloucester Publishers plc (formerly Everyman
Publishers plc ) , Northburgh H ouse, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT

Copyright © 2010 Neil McDonald

The right of Neil McDonald to be identified as the author of thi s work h as been
asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication m ay be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system or tran smitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission of the publi sher.

British Libra ry Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

I S B N : 978 1 8 5 744 641 8

Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, P.D Box 480,
246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437-0480.

All other sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess, N orthburgh H ouse,
10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT
tel : 020 7 2 5 3 7887 fax: 020 7490 3 708
em ail : [email protected] ; website: www.everymanchess.com

Everyman is the regi stered trade m ark of Random H ouse Inc. and is used in thi s
work under licence from Random H ouse Inc.

Everyma n Chess Series

Chief advisor: Byron Jacobs
Commissioning editor: John Emms
Assi stant editor: Richard Palliser

Typeset and edited by First Rank Publishing, Brighton .

Cover design by Horatio Monteverde.
Printed and bound in the US by Versa Press.
Contents

Preface 5

Introduction 7

1 Gambit Lines and Early Oddities 16

2 White Plays 2 tbC3 37

3 White Plays 2 il.gs 52

4 White Avoids an early g2-g3 against a Leningrad Set-up 65

5 Sidelines in the Leningrad Variation 87

6 The Main Line Leningrad: 7 tbc3 c6 115

7 The Main Line Leningrad: 7 tbc3 tbc6 140

8 The Dutch versus 1 tbf3 and 1 c4 155

Index of Variations 172

Index of Games 174

 Preface

It is an appealing feature of the Dutch that 1 .. .fS can be played again st virtually
any opening move apart from 1 e4.
H owever, this is slightly misleading if it suggests that you only h ave to learn
one basic sequence of moves after 1 .. .fS and then you are ready for anything. In
reality the Dutch l eads to a range of pawn structures, each of which requires its
own special treatment. For example, thi s book is built around the Leningrad
Dutch, but in many cases Bl ack will do best to set up a Stonewall centre with ... d7-
dS, rather than play the 'characteristic' ... d7-d6 Leningrad move.
Likewise after 2 ttJC3, 2 ..tg s and other early divergences by White, the pawn
structure h as little, or sometimes nothing at all, in common with the traditional
Leningrad Dutch . Thus at times the centre is characteri stic of the Queen 's Gambit;
at other times the King's Indi an ; and after 2 ..tg s it feel s like a strange Sicilian
Hedgehog !
So more preparation is required to play the opening than is apparent at first
glance, when 1 . .fS appears such a great l abour-saving device. On the plus side you
.

are going to h ave more fun playing the Dutch - its variety mean s you aren 't going
to grow bored of it any time soon .
In view of the range of possibilities after l...fS, can we say that there is any one
strategic theme that run s through the openin g ? I find the varied adventures of
Black's f-pawn the most intriguing aspect of the opening. The pawn is cast for­
ward irretrievably into the world on move one, and ends up performing varied

5
Play t h e D u tc h

roles, sometimes i n the same game: a battering ram when i t advances t o f4; a pil­
lar of the state in the Stonewall, perhaps supporting a knight on e4; and the de­
stroyer of the white centre when it is exchanged for a pawn on e4. In a less aggres­
sive role it sits patiently on fS, restraining the white centre. Destroyer, restrainer,
pillar: the impact of the f-pawn is felt throughout the game, even if it vanishes
from the board at an early stage.
The Dutch i s a difficult opening for both players to h an dle, and sometimes it all
goes wrong for Black. H owever, there are al so great moments when the f-pawn
shows its power. Even the strongest opponents can find their position ripped up
by the dynamism of this little pawn .
Let me wish you good luck in your Dutch adventures. H ave fun with the f­
pawn !

N eil McDonal d
Gravesend
September 2008

6
 I ntr o d ucti on

Some St rate g ica l a n d

Ta ctica l Themes i n t h e D utch

Before w e become immersed i n sophis- 6 0-0 7 0-0 e6

...

ticated modern theory, I thought I'd

show you one of the very first Dutch
games on record.

Ci.Wa l ker-P. De Saint Amant

London 1836

1 d4 fs 2 e4 ttJf6 3 ttJe3 d6 4 ttJf3 e6?!

Chess history, or at least its termi­
nology, would h ave to be rewritten if
Bl ack had played 4 ... g 6 here, since the s .te2?!
Leningrad Dutch wasn't invented until Nowadays we'd expect 8 e4, seizing
a hundred or so years after this g ame. space before Black can establish a
Not surprisingly, Black puts his bishop Stonewall with his next move.
on e7 in Classical Dutch style. S dS 9 exd s exd s 10 iLd2 ttJe6 11 'iie 2
..•

S e3 iLe7 6 .td 3 a6 12 a3 .1i..d 6 13 b4 ttJe4!

White is al so unable to play in mod­ A procedure that will be much re­
ern style by fianchettoing his king's peated throughout this book. Bl ack
bi shop with S g 3 and 6 .1i..g2. m akes use of the 'de facto' outpost on

7
Play t h e D u tc h

e4. Its effect i n 1836 is such that White guard thing s on g7. H ere the dark
immediately blunders a pawn . squares around the black kin g are en­
tirely unprotected. Still, even after this
positional blunder the wedge of pawn s
on the light squares acts as a barrier
against the white attack.
25 f4 �b8 26 l:!.b1 iLe8 27 �b6
The manoeuvre 27 iLe1 and 28 iLh4
to infiltrate the dark squares on the
kingside l ooks strong .
2 7. . .�a7 28 iie7 d4 29 e 4 fxe4 30 f5?
A clever attackin g idea but with a
fatal flaw. H e should prefer 30 iLxe4.
14 b5? tiJxe3 15 iLxe3 axb5 16 �xb5
.l::txa 3 17 l:.xa 3 iLxa 3 18 .l::. a 1 i.. d 6 19
i.. d 3 �e7 20 iLd2 i.. d 7 21 iib3 J:tb8 22
l:te1 l:!a8 23 tiJe5 i.. x e5 24 dxe5
Now Black could keep his extra
pawn with 24 ... iixe 5 25 �xb7 l:ta7 26
"iVb6 ':a1 followed by simplifying. How­
ever, it seem s that Saint Amant wanted
to strengthen the f5 -pawn against any
possible i.. xf5 sacrifice.

30 ... 'iWb8!
Walker was hoping for 30 ... exd3 ? 3 1
f6 ! b 6 (to stop mate on g 7) 3 2 f7+ �g 7
3 3 iLh 6+! �xh 6 34 f8ii+ completing a
brilliant career for the f-pawn . In stead
he is obliged to exch ange queen s and
after some further adventures was de­
feated in the endgame by the pretty
finishing stroke 40 ... tiJf7.
3 1 'i\¥xb8 tiJxb8 3 2 i..x e4 gxf5 3 3 i.. x b7
24 ... g6?? iLxb7 34 Itxb7 :a1+ 35 �f2 tiJe6 36
The Leningrad Dutch king side pawn iLh6 tiJxe5 37 l:tg7+ �h8 38 h3 l:[a2+ 39
structure is ri sky enough for Black even �g3 f4+ 40 �xf4 tiJf7! 41 l:[xf7 .l:.f2+ 42
when there is a bishop available to �e4 l:txf7 43 �xd4 J:tf6 0-1

8
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

The Dutch pawn-ra m passed pawn h ave all become impor­

tant dyn amic factors in the position
th anks to the sacrifice of the torrent
pawn . The upshot is that thanks to the
' Dutch' pawn Bl ack gains activity in
what would otherwise h ave been a
dour defen sive position for him.
2 5 .ie5
It is the bl ack TOok on the c-file that
profits after 2 S g 3 d4 26 .id2 ':C2.
25 ...':'C4 26 ttJc3 d4 2 7 ttJa2

The position was reached in

V.Sergeev-N.Firman, Alushta 2009. It
looks as though Black can't do anything
but suffer with 2 3 ... l:ted8. H owever,
there came:
23 f41 1
•••

A move of splendid vitality.

24 exf4 ttJe6
What h as Black achieved with his
.. .fS-f4 move that serves him so well in
the Dutch ? N ow Black should have continued
Firstly, the scope of the bishop on a7 g enerating dynamism with his pawns
has been increased - it attacks f2 with 27 ... g S ! , creating a passed pawn
rather than (in Nimzowitsch's memo­ and active pieces after 28 fxg s ttJxg S .
rable phrase) 'bitin g on granite' Still, he m an aged t o win the endgame
against e3. anyhow after 22 moves.
Secondly, the rook on e8 is granted
an open file. Black esta blishes
Thirdly, the pawn on dS is converted a pawn wedge in the centre
into a passed pawn th at can advance to Sometimes the .. .fS-f4 pawn-ram oc­
d4 where it will be well defended. curs in a closed or static pawn struc­
Fin ally, the knight on e6 h as been ture after systematic preparation. Of­
activated with a threat to f4 as 2S ':'xdS ten White can be accused of nothing
ttJxf4 intending 26 ... ttJe2+ is at least worse than passive play in the Dutch,
okay for Black. but ends up in great difficulties before
So a black TOok, knight, bishop and move 20. Here is a typical positional

9
Play t h e D u t c h

squeeze by Black again st passive play,

adorned with the pawn-ram .

W.Buehl-L.Reifurth
Chicago 1994

1 d4 fs 2 liJf3 liJf6 3 g3 g6 4 .i.g2 .i.g7 S

c4 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 liJC3 c6 8 b3 'ii'a s 9
.i.b2 e5 10 'it'c2?

15 b4 .i.e6 16 liJa4 .i.f7 17 'it'd2

White h as no counterplay and so
Bl ack h asn't hurried his attack. How­
ever, now he decides it is time for vio­
lence:
17 ...liJg4 18 h 3 .i.h6! 19 e3
Black provoked this move so th at a
future .. .fS-f4 breakthrough will not
only attack e3 but al so contain the
threat of .. .f4-f3, smothering the bishop
An irresolute move that allows Black on g 2 .
to g et a grip on the centre. In stead 10 1 9. . .liJf6 20 � c 3 a6 2 1 l:t b l b 6 22 liJc2
dxe s dxes 11 e4 is di scussed in Chapter .i.e8 23 :fcl g5 24 .i.fl liJe7!
Six.
10 e4 ll liJel
•..

From bad to worse. He should pl ay

1 1 liJd2 followed by 12 e3 and then try
to edge forwards on the queen side.
11 d S 12 cxd 5?
..•

The fin al mi stake, giving the black

knight the c6-square.
12 ... cxd 5 13 a3 liJc6 14 ,l;tdl 'it'd8!
The queen has served her purpose
on the queenside and i s now n eeded to
support a king side attack. Black's basic Nicely done. Bl ack win s time to m a­
aim is to advance .. .fS-f4 at the most noeuvre his knight to g 6 to support the
favourable moment. .. .fS-f4 advance by a discovered attack

10
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

on the knight on a4. and h ave t o b e grasped!

25 ttJb2 The following position was reached
The white pieces are grouped on the in A.lljushin-E.Berg, European Champi­
queen side, but what can they do? onship, Budva 2009.
25 ...f4
The Dutch pawn h as the decisive
word.
26 exf4 gxf4 27 gxf4 ttJg6 28 �h1 ttJxf4
29 i.g2 ttJg4!
It's not too late for Black to throw it
all away with 29 ... ttJxg 2 ? 30 'iVxh6 when
31 :g l gives White a strong attack.

The c6-pawn i s attacked twice. If

21 ... i.e8 then 22 ttJe6 win s the ex­
change, while 21 ... i.xd4 22 'ii'x d4 gives
up Black's important dark-square
bishop, and 21 ... c5 22 .l:tb7 'iVc8 23 ttJc6
'ii'xb7 24 ttJxd8 'ii'C 7 25 ttJxf7 �xf7 26
'iVxd6 'iVxd6 2 7 l:txd6 leaves him a
pawn down in an endgame. Berg
30 ttJe3 comes up with a far better solution to
It all caves in for White after 30 Black's travails:
hxg4 'ifh4+ 31 �g l ttJh 3+ 32 i.xh 3 21 ... d5! 22 cxd 5 i.xd 5
i.xd2 3 3 i.xd2 'iVxf2+. Black remains under inten se pres­
30 ... ttJxh 3 3 1 i.xh3 'ii' h 4 0-1 sure after 2 2 ... cxd5 2 3 l:tdc1.
Either h3 or f2 drops next move 2 3 ttJxc6!
with a quick massacre Winning a pawn .
2 3 ... i.xc6
Black wins through tactica l If 23 ... i.xg 2 24 ttJxd8 ltxd8 25 'ii'b 3+
sha rpness after a tough defence �g 7 26 �xg 2 and White wins.
In the Dutch White often strives to g ain 24 'ii'C4+ �h8 2 5 i.xc6 .l:txd1+ 26 l:[xd1
space and/or open lines on the queen­ :c8 27 ':'C1 'ii'd 6
side. Black needs to be patient and White h as won a pawn, but the
keep an eye open for favourable tactics. presence of opposite-coloured bishops
Opportunities may appear suddenly mean s he has few winning chances.

11
Play th e D u tc h

the h8-square: for example, 40 ... 'ii'd 3+

41 �g 2 'ii'e 2+ 42 �h 3 'ii'x C4 43 'ii'h 8+
':h 7 44 'iVf8+ ':g7 45 'jfh 8+.
39 ':e7 40 i.. g 2 'ii'e 1+ 41 �h2 l:te3 1 42
..•

':c1 "XC1 43 'iVd4 'iVc3 44 'iVxa 7?

Black would still h ave to prove he i s
winning after 4 4 'ii'd 8 ! a s 4 4. . .':xg 3 ?
would only draw after 4 5 'iVf8+.
44 'ii'e 11 0-1
•••

A typica l adva ntage for Black

28 a4 �g7 29 �g2 l:r.C7 30 ':c2 'ii'd 1 3 1 in the endga me
h3 h S 3 2 h4 'ii'd 6 3 3 a s 'ii'd 1 34 a6 'ii'd 6 Black does surprisingly well in the end­
35 'iVbs �h6 36 ':C4 i.. d 4 g ame in the Dutch as White's pawn
Now the exchanges that result from structure gets worn down . In fact
37 i..f3 or 37 'ii'd 5 would leave White White often wears it down him self, or
with negligible winning chances, but makes it disjointed, by playing overly
he has lost his sen se of danger: sh arply. Assuming that e7 remain s
37 'ii'a 4? i.. xf2 1 1 guarded, the Dutch Leningrad pawn
structure is rather solid for Black - the
pawn on e7 is a linchpin that is difficult
to attack and holds together the black
centre.
The following position was reached
in A.Karpov-H.Nakamura, Cap d' Agde
(rapid) 2008.

The weakness of f2 strikes again .

3 8 �xf2?
White can hold on with 3 8 i..f3, for
instance if 3 8 ... i.. C 5 3 9 :C2.
38 .. :iVd2+ 39 �gl?
White can still draw with 39 �f1
:te7 40 'ii'a 1! stopping the mate on e1
and aiming for a perpetual check via Black has a couple of advantages:

12
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

The white bishop is shut in on g 2 by arrang e ... dS-d4, whereas White can
a solid barrier on e4. If f2-f3 i s ever only m ake moves with his pieces and
played to free it then the white pawn wait.
structure and pieces will be exposed to But still, can we really say th at the
tactical blows from the black pieces position is anything other than a draw?
that are m assed on the e-file and f­ For the sake of fairness I should point
files. H ere i s the paradox of the Dutch out this was a rapidplay g ame. On the
e2, f2, g 3 and h 2 pawn structure: it is other h an d, the fact th at Karpov
incredibly solid, but it can become a couldn't defend it shows that it isn 't
tomb for the bishop on g 2 - and in easy. Simple endgame position s are a
some cases for the king on g l. Being forte of the great masters, even after
behind h eavy fortification s is okay so their opening knowledge h as withered
long as you don 't want to get out. and their tactical sight declined.
In contrast, the black bishop on c4 is 2 S .. :ilt'f61
active. Unlike its opposite number on
g2, it h as escaped outside the pawn
chain and h as a target on e2. Further­
more, and this is an important factor
on a board that is so open, it is de­
fended by the pawn on dS and so is
secure from attack.
Whereas the pawn on dS is soundly
defended by the bishop on c4, White
has two pawn s that are potentially
vulnerable. The first is the pawn on e2
- it cramps the white queen 's mobility By threatening to mobilize the
to have to defend it. The second vul­ pawns with 26 ... d4 N akamura per­
nerable pawn is on f2. Its defen sive suades White to exchange off his active
alliance with the bishop on e3 is less rook.
secure than th at between the black 26 l:txf7 'ili'xf7 27 �fl
bishop and pawn on dS, because of the Intending to unwind with 28 �d4
possible disruptive move ... dS-d4. and 29 e3. If all the bishops vanish
Whereas the white pawn structure from the board, Karpov could even try
is solid but inert, the black pawns con­ to prove that the ds-pawn is a weak­
trol more space and are more dyn amic. ness.
To h ave pawns on dS and e4 versus 27 ...'iff61
pawn s on e2 and f2 gives Black a lot Denying Karpov his plan .
more potential to expand. H e can try to 28 �gs 'iffs

13
Play t h e D u tc h

With t h e incidental tactical threat rook checking there, poor Karpov h as to

of 29 ... e 3 ! winning in stantly as bl, d2, worry too about a possible invasion on
f2 and g 5 would suddenly all be hang­ his second rank with 3 1 ...l:la2.
ing ! 3 1 :e7?
29 l1b7 The calm 31 �e3 would still h ave
saved the day: if 31 .. JU8 then 32 �d4
when 32 ... �xg 3 ? ? allows the killer
check 33 :g7+; and 31 ... l:.a2 32 'iVb4
threatens 3 3 'iVe7 and so prevents Black
from continuing his attack.
3 1 . .l::tfS
.

With a double threat to f2 and g 3 .

3 2 �f4?!
After 3 2 �e3 �xg 3 ? ? 3 3 'iVd4!,
threatening m ate on g 7 and defending
f2 a third time, turn s the tables. But the
29 .. JlaS intermedi ate 3 2 ...'iIi'f6 ! does the trick
In principle it would be wrong to after 3 3 lIb7 �xg 3 .
hurry the ... d5-d4 push as it deprives 3 2 . . .�xf4 3 3 gxf4 'iVg4+!
the bishop on c4 of its defender. And The hurried 3 3 ... 'iVxf4? allows White
there i s also a tactical reason why: counterplay after 34 'ii'd4 lIf6 (34 ... 'ii'f6
29 ... d4 30 l:lxg 7+! 'iit x g7 3 1 �h 6+ i s best) 3 5 �h 3, etc.
(stronger than 31 'iVxd4+ 'iVe 5 when g 5
as well a s c4 is hanging) 3 1 ... 'iit g 8 3 2
'iWxd4 'iWf7 3 3 �Cl! intending 3 4 �b2.
Then, notwith standing being an ex­
ch ange up, Black can never hope to win
because of his dark-square holes.
30 h4
Bl ack's persi stence begins to pay off.
Karpov secures his bishop but in doing
so weaken s his king side pawn s. It was
simpler to retreat with 30 �e3 ! and ask
Black 'how can you m ake progress?' 34 �g2 'iVxh4
30 ... �e5 ! Winning a pawn and attacking the
N akamura straightaway homes i n white rook. ..
o n the g 3-pawn. A s the bishop al so 3 5 :C7 'iVxf4
control s b8 and prevents the white ... and so winning a pawn while

14
 I n t ro d u c t i o n

again attackin g the white rook. No �d4 0-1

chance is given to White to counterat­ White's isolated pawn is no m atch
tack. The rest is fairly straightforward. for Black's connected passed pawn s.
36 'ii'xf4 :xf4 37 e3 .l:tf7 38 .l:tc8+ �g7
39 :c5 l:te7 40 :c6 i.e2 41 i.h3 %1a7 42 Karpov didn't play as well in 2008 as
:d6 i.C4 43 �g2 h5 44 �g3 .:tal 45 h e did twenty years earlier, but I 'm
�f4 l:thl 46 i.e6 :fl 47 �g5 .:tgl+ 48 pretty sure if he couldn't defend
�f4 .:tg2 49 i.xd5 l:txf2+ 50 �xe4 White's position then it won 't be easy
i.xd 5+ 51 :xd5 h4 52 :d7+ :f7 5 3 for your opponents either.

15
 Chapter One

Gambit Li nes a n d Ea rly Od d ities

1 d4 fS change his fs-pawn for the white e4-

pawn, or, even worse, by dislocatin g
the white king side pawn s with g 2 -g4.
That is why the strongest players h ave
shown little interest in these variation s
for White. In fact only in the Staunton
Gambit (2 e4) is the theory developing
fairly fast.
The opening period can be a rather
anxious time when facing a gambit, as
White m akes it clear from move two or
three th at he is out for blood. It m ay
In this ch apter we'll examine the feel that defeat - and an embarrass­
moves 2 g4, 2 h 3 , 2 'iVd3 and 2 e4, as we ingly quick one - is only one slight mis­
start our journey into the theory of the step away. But once the initial storm
Dutch Defence by con sidering those passes over, Black is left in a healthy
variations in which White aim s at the state. As we will see in the following
immediate elimination of the fs-pawn . g ames, the bl ack pieces easily find
These lines can be tricky and a careless g ood squares - even the bishop on c8.
or under-prepared pl ayer might well be If in doubt, play moves like ... lDf6, ... d7-
caught out by them. However, posi­ dS and ...lDc6, and you can 't go far
tion ally speaking, the move 1 .. .fS can 't wrong again st any of the White g am­
be refuted by allowing Black to ex- bits.

16
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

swered by Kindermann's recommenda­

tion of 7 ... ii.b4! 8 eS lLle4 9 ii.xe4 dxe4
Pa rt One: 2 g4
when White is loose on the light
squares, and Black can build up with
l d4 fS 2 g4 ... 0-0, ... b7-b6, ... ii.b7, etc.
In stead 3 ii.f4 is an anti-... g4-g 3
measure, but there is nothing to stop
Black developing with 3 ... lLlf6 4 h3 dS 5
lLlC3 lLlc6 etc, when we h ave to ask our­
selves what White h as got for his pawn .
3 dSI
•••

White deflects the pawn from fS in

order to build a centre with e2-e4, or to
use the pawn on g4 as a hook to open
lines with h 2-h 3 . As long as he plays
with a little care, Black is sure to g et a
good g ame as White's pawn thrust
doesn't have the support of his pieces Reuben Fine was right when he said
and loosen s his king side too much . In th at ... d7-dS is the antidote to all g am ­
his work on the Dutch, leadin g expert bits !
Valeri Beim even goes so far as to give 2 4 es
g4 a question m ark. Now after the n atural move 4 ... �fS,
2 fxg4 3 e4
... White can try 5 lLle2 ! ? e6 6 lLlg 3 with
After 3 h 3 , 3 ... g 3 ! i s simplest, return­ the idea of h 2-h 3 and lLlxfS at the right
ing the pawn to prevent White opening moment. I don't like this for Black, as it
lines on the kingside (you might like to feels like his pawn structure is being
compare this with the line 1 d4 fS 2 needlessly compromised.
'iVd3 dS 3 g4 fxg4 4 h 3 g 3 ! given l ater in Therefore I would recommend
the chapter). After 4 fxg 3 lLlf6 5 ii.g 2 dS 4 ii.e61? If White then plays slowly,
.••

Black can develop with moves like the retreat ... ii.f7 followed by ... e7-e6
6 ... e6, 7 ... ii.d6, 8 ... 0-0 and 9 ... lLlc6. An would turn it into a kind of French in
attempt to throw a spanner in the which the black bishop is on the good
works with 6 lLlc3 e6 7 e4 is well an- f7-square.

17
Play t h e D u tc h

the pawn is doing on h 3 . If in stead 4 g 5

lDe4 5 i.f4 e 6 6 lDf3 c5 we h ave
reached the type of set-up for Black
th at is recommended in Chapter Two
against 2 lDc3, but how inferior has
been the play of White ! H e h as g ained
little from the pawn moves on the g­
file and h -file, whereas Black has been
steadily increasing his power in the
centre. Indeed, after 7 e3 'ii'b 6 8 'ii'c 1
i.d7 ! (positionally alert, non-routine
Play could go 5 lD e 2 'ii'd 7 6 lDf4 lDc6 play: Black intends to exch ange off his
7 lDxe6 'ii'x e6 8 i.e2 and now 8 ... lDh 6 ! bad bishop before pl aying ...lDc6) 9 c3
i s an efficient way t o defend g4, a s 9 i.b5 10 lDbd2 lDc6 Black h ad an excel­
i.xh 6 'ii'xh 6 10 i.xg4 e6 looks very lent position in the g ame K. Kusnetsov­
comfortable for Black. Instead after 9 M.Dzhumaev, Dubai 2001.
c4 0-0-0 White stood badly in More testing i s 4 'ii'd 3, but in the
A.Truskavetsky-V. Romcovici, Dniprope­ following example Bl ack got a good
trovsk 200 5 . g am e with simple consolidating and
developing moves: 4 ... e6 5 gxf5
(against slower play Black can build up
Part Two: 2 h3
with ... i.e7, ... 0-0, ... C7-c5, etc) 5 ... exf5

1 d4 f S 2 h 3 lDf6 3 84

6 i.g 5 (White decides to eliminate

the knight that would become strong
H ere simpl e and good is 3 d S . If 4
•.. in the future after ... lDe4) 6 ... i.e7 7
g xf5 i.xf5 Black is ahead in develop­ i.xf6 i.xf6 8 i.g2 c6 9 lDd2 0-0 10 C4
ment and we are left wondering what i.e6 1 1 cxd5 i.xd5 (the fact that Black

18
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

can exchange off the light-squared .tf4 liJf6 6 liJf3 .td6 7 liJ e 5 liJh 5 8 e 3 !
bishops in a Stonewall set-up is a far and the knight h ad a strong outpost
from encouraging sign for White) 12 square on e5 in H .Teske-A. Berelowitsch,
.txd5+ 'iVxd5 13 liJgf3 liJa6 14 'iVb3 Miilheim 2009.
'i'xb3 1 5 liJxb3 lUe8 16 l:.dl :ad8 17 So m aking it messy with 3 .. .fxg4
l:td2 litd5 and in B.Heberla-P. Nguyen, looks best. In the followin g illustrative
Warsaw 2008, Black h ad achieved a full g ame, we see a theme characteristic of
development without incurrin g any g ambit lines in the Dutch : a white
weaknesses. H e possessed the best mi­ knight on gl dominated by a black
nor piece in the shape of the dark­ pawn on e4.
squared bishop and had pressure on
the white centre. White was rated Elo
L.l ba rra Chami­
248 5, Black 2 3 2 7, but Heberla still h ad
A. Rodriguez Vila
to struggle to draw after his poor open­
Mexico City 2007
ing.

1 d4 fS 2 'i'd3 dS 3 g4
Pa rt Th ree: 2 1fd3
If White doesn't act quickly then
Black can build up with ... liJf6, ... e7-e6,
1 d4 fS 2 'ii'd 3 ... c7-c5, ... liJc6, etc, when White has
A direct attack o n the f 5 pawn by Her trouble in justifying his queen move -
Majesty. Now 2 dS with a Stonewall
•.. in fact she could become a target of the
centre looks the best respon se. After 3 black pieces.
g4 ... 3 fxg4 4 h3 g3!
..•

... Black can be very solid with 3 ... e6, An important strategical device in
but this to some extent justifies this type of position. Black doesn 't
White's play: for example, 4 gxf5 exf5 5 want to take on h 3 as 4 ... gxh 3 5 liJxh 3

19
Play t h e D u tc h

activates the white knight a n d open s

the h -file for a possible attack on h7. As
White al so threaten s to open the h -file
and clear h 3 him self by playing 5 hxg4,
Black elects to advance the pawn to g 3 .
s fxg3
In contrast to 4 ... gxh 3 5 liJxh 3 , this
recapture does nothing to improve the
dynamism of the white pieces. On the
contrary, the white pawn s are a little
bit compromised (one less pawn being
in the centre). 8 g4 �g7 9 c3 0-0
The alternative 5 'ili'xg 3 makes a lot With ideas of 10 ... liJxg4.
of sense, but I don 't think White can 10 'ii'g 3
claim any advantage. For example, Chami defends his bishop and at­
5 ... liJf6 6 liJC3 �f5 7 �f4 liJh 5 (al so pos­ tacks the a-pawn . However, he h as
sible is 7 ... liJa6 with ideas of ...liJb4) 8 fallen too far behind in development
'ili'g 5 g 6 9 �e5, as in G.Welling-1Bosch, and Black is able to exploit this with
H ertogenbosch 1999, and now 9 ... liJf6 ! ? vigorous play.
is an interesting way t o keep the ten­ 10 ... liJe4 11 �xe4 dxe4
sion, intending 10 �g 2 (or 10 e3 liJbd7
11 0-0-0 e6) 10 ... liJbd7 11 0-0-0 (an im­
portant point i s that 11 liJxd5 fail s to
11...liJxe 5) 1 1...c6 12 liJf3 e6 etc.
S ...liJf6 6 �g2 liJc6
Note the typical ...liJf6 and ... liJc6 re­
spon se to White's g ambit line. Did
White really imagine that with a few
flimsy pawn moves he was going to
break through the enemy line when
there are such powerful 'keepers' op­
posing him ? White tried to strike a quick blow in
7 �f4 g6 1 the opening, but h as ended up drained
Planning t o gain time by attacking of dynamism himself because of the
the queen with 8 ... �f5 . White's next difficulty in developing his knight from
m ove stops this but leaves the bishop g l.
on f4 undefended - a factor that be­ 12 �xC7 'iVd s 13 'iVe3
comes important as early as move 9. After 13 liJd2 not so clear is 1 3 ... e3

20
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

1 4 ttldf3, but Black can keep o n attack- e4 fxe4.

ing with 13 ... e 5 .
13 . . .ttlxd4! 1 4 ttla 3
Al so hopeless i s 14 cxd4 .i.xd4 1 5
Wh3 .i.f2+ 16 �fl .i.b6+ 17 �g 2 'ilixb3
18 axb3 .i.xc7 and wins.
14...ttlbs 15 ttlxbs
Or 15 c4 'ilif7 ! 16 cxb 5 'ii'f 1+ 17 �d2
'ii'x a1.
lS ...'ilixbs 16 0-0-0 'ilie4 17 .i.g3 .i.e6

It deserves respect as it is the only

system for White in this ch apter th at
h as the backin g of several top-class
players. It h as al so collected an awful
lot of sharp theory, as we shall see.
The modern way to play the Staun­
ton for White i s 3 ttlC3 ttlf6 4 .i.g 5 . This
will be analysed in Part Five. H ere we'll
look at the old-fashioned method
If you are wondering why Black's at­ which is to stab at the e4-pawn with
tack i s unstoppable, just l ook at the f2-f3 in an attempt to open lines on the
white knight on g l and the rook on h i. kingside.
18 b3 'ilie6 19 �bl bS 20 :tel a s 21 'iVd2 In virtually all lines in which White
a4 0-1 plays f2-f3 without a preliminary d4-
White was by no mean s a bad d5, it is possible for Black to stand his
player - he was rated 2 3 2 5 - but he ground in the centre by defending the
was entirely helpless once the l ack of e4-pawn with ... d7-d5, and supportin g
cohesion in his position drove him fur­ i t again if necessary with . . ..i.f5. I t is
ther and further behind in develop­ then a thorn in White's side - or per­
ment. h aps we should say it is a stone in the
hoof of the knight on g l, as it is pre­
vented from going to f3. We have al­
Pa rt Fou r:
ready seen White's problems when the
The Sta u nton Gambit
knight is dominated by a black pawn
on e4 in the Chami-Rodriguez game
The Staunton Gambit begins 1 d4 fS 2 above.

21
Play t h e D u tch

Black can mobilize all his pieces.

6 .i.gs .i.fS !
B.Predojevic-N.Sedlak
In Queen's pawn openings Black's
Nova Gorica 2008
m ain strategic problem i s usually the
development of his queen's bishop. The
1 d4 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJc3 fact that it here finds a comfortable
After 3 f3 the ... d7-dS recipe already deployment to fS is enough on its own
applies: 3 ... dS 4 fxe4 dxe4 and now 5 to condemn White's opening play.
ttJC3 ttJf6 6 .i.g s .i.fs transposes to our 7 .i.C4 ttJc6!
main g ame, while 5 .i.C4 ttJf6 6 ttJe2 Black's piece deployment is flowing
allows Black at least equality with the very smoothly.
freeing move 6 ... e s ! when 7 dxe S ? ! 8 ttJge2 e6 9 0-0 ttJa s
jfxd1+ 8 c;i;>xdl ttJ g 4 would b e bad for A familiar plan : Black hunts down
White. the strong light-squared bishop. It feel s
3 ... ttJf6 4 f3 that the g ame i s turning in Black's fa­
We sh all discuss ideas of f2-f3 after vour, but Predojevic finds a curious
3 ttJC3 ttJf6 4 .i.g s ttJc6 in Part Five. drawing variation .
4 ... d S I 10 .i.d S !

Black refuses t o fall behind in de­ A move that appears t o be a typo, as

velopment and give White the initia­ it is surely impossible that the bishop
tive after 4 ... exf3 5 ttJxf3. goes to a square defended three times
S fxe4 dxe4 by the black pieces. Alas for Bl ack his
The doubled pawn s look ugly, but control over dS proves a mirage: the
the one on e4 is denying the white queen dare not take on dS, the knight
knight its n atural square on f3 . It will on f6 is pinned and the pawn on e6
require some time and effort for White need- s to defend fS.
to regain his pawn, and meanwhile 10 'ifd7 l1 l:txfS I exfs 12 .i.xf6 gxf6 13
.••

22
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d E a rly O dd i t i e s

t'Llf4 h S draw.
Black's king can't run away as 17 ... .:xh S 18 t'Llxf6+ �e7 19 t'Llg8+ Va-Va
13 ... 0-0-0 loses the queen to 14 .te6. It A very exciting g ame. I'm curious to
seem s that the text move permanently know how much of this was the pl ay­
stops the white queen giving a check ers' opening preparation, and how
on h S, but there i s going to be another much was over-the-board in spiration . I
surprise ... hope they didn 't both h ave the position
after 17 "ii'xh S+! on their computer
screen s before th e g am e !

Part Five: The Modern

Stau nton Variation

1 d4 fS 2 e4 fxe4 3 t'LlC3 t'Llf6 4 .tgs

At the time of writing this is the
only move respected by very strong
players. White undermines e4 by at­
14 .te6 "ii'd 6 lS g3 l:td8 16 t'Llcd s c6 tackin g the black knight.
It appears that White's initiative is
coming to an end after 17 t'Llxf6+ �e7
when, besides the knight on f6, the d4
pawn is h anging with check.
17 'iix hS+!

White also sets a positional trap

that all Dutch players should be aware
of: 4 ... dS? S .txf6 exf6 6 'iih S+ g6 7
'iix ds and White has regained his
pawn with an excellent g ame. That
Saving him self. A great move, but I mean s of course th at we are deprived,
can 't bring myself to give it two excla­ at least temporarily, of our favourite
mation m arks as it only leads to a ... d7-dS move.

23
Play t h e D u tc h

But no matter: 4. . .liJc6 is a n attrac­ liJxe4?? liJxe4 1 3 .l:txe4 'iVds ! and White
tive altern ative. was unable to defend both e4 and g s .
b ) 5 �bs a 6 and now Black has a
good version of the 4 f3 gambit style
J.Cha uca-L.Rodi
centre after 6 �xc6 dxc6 ! ? intending
B ra s i l i a 2010
7 ... �fs etc. 50 White might retreat the
bishop with 6 �a4 when 6 ... bs 7 �b3
1 d4 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 liJC3 liJf6 4 �gs liJc6 liJas ! hunts down the important white
bishop, and after, for example, 8 .i.ds
liJxds 9 liJxds �b7 10 liJf4 g6 11 h4
�g8 12 hs cs 13 hxg6 hxg6 14 dxcs
"fiC7 Black h ad good play in R.Cifuentes
Parada-V.Malaniuk, H astings 1994/9 5 .
s liJes
•••

S dS
The purpose o f thi s move i sn 't only
to force the knight to es, where it can
be attacked by the white queen . A sec­
ond objective is to stop Black support­
ing the pawn on e4 with ... d7-ds . How­
ever, if White avoids 5 ds, the ... d7-ds 6'i1i'd4
move remains a motif: After 6 f3 Black can't support the
a) 5 f3 ds 6 .i.bs a6. Now Black had e4-pawn, but he can sell its life in re­
a good g ame after 7 �a4 b s 8 �b3 turn for g aining time to equalize:
liJas 9 �xf6 liJxb3 10 �xg 7 �xg 7 11 6 ... liJf7 7 �e3 (naturally 7 �xf6 exf6 8
axb3 0-0 in A.Matviychuk-R.Khaetsky, fxe4 �b4 is simply terrible for White)
Evpatoria 2007. In stead 7 .i.xc6+ bxc6 8 7 ... e s ! (unfortunately bypassing the f3-
fxe4 dxe4 is unclear. In the g ame pawn with 7 ... e3 8 �xe3 just strikes me
A.5chlosser-M.Urban, German League as good for White) 8 dxe6 dxe6 9
1994, White decided to get rid of the 'ii'x d8+ �xd8 10 0-0-0+ (or 10 fxe4
pesky e4-pawn as quickly as possible, liJg4) 10 ... �d7 1 1 liJxe4 liJxe4 1 2 fxe4
but it turned out to be a bad mistake: 9 �d6 13 liJf3 rJ;e7 with equality.
liJge2 g 6 10 0-0 �g 7 1 1 l:tf4?! 0-0 12 6 ... liJf71

24
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

The knight completes a three-move .i.xb 2 ! i s ruinous for White: 16 'it'xb2?

journey to the king side. Wh at I find ttJC4+.
most satisfying is that Black gets full 14 ... bSI
value for 1 .. .f5 by utilizing the vacated
f7-square for his knight.
7 .i.xf6
White decides to g et his pawn back,
but n ow Black's dark-squared bishop
will h ave no rival . The alternative 7 h4
is con sidered below, while after 7 .i.h4
g 5 ! 8 .i.g3 .i.g 7 9 ttJxe4, the fully ade­
quate 9 ... c6 intending 10 .. :iVb6 h as
been recommended, but surely Black
can trap the white queen with 9 ... ttJxe4
10 'iWxg 7 ttJf6 intending 11 .. Jlg 8 ? 15 h S 'iWf6
7 ... exf6 8 ttJxe4 fS ! Other things being equal, it is
doubtful that White's attack along the
h -file could compete with the diagon al
and frontal pressure Black will build up
again st b2. But what will really kill
White here is the combination of the
pressure on b2 with the entrance of a
black rook along the e-file.
16 c3 .l::t b 8 17 hxg6 hxg6 18 ttJh3 b4 19
cxb4?
More resistance was offered by 19
c4, but Black should win : 19 ... .i.a6 20
Shades of 1 .. .fS. Black's f-pawn has litcl :fe8 with the idea of 21 ... l::t e 3 ! in
been reborn and drives the white the style of the g ame (the rook is im­
knight from the centre. mun e due to mate on b2), and then,
9 ttJg3 g6 10 0-0-0 .i.h6+ 11 'it'b1 0-0 12 once the knight is driven from g 3 ,
h4 .i.g7 13 'iVd2 ttJd6! 2 2 . . .ttJe4 with a crushing initiative.
The knight will support queenside 19 ... a S ! 20 a3 axb4 21 axb4 l::t e 8 22
action from a central post from which ttJgs :e3 !
it cannot be dislodged. Once more we have t o give credit to
14 f4 the Dutch pawn . If White hadn't felt
An ugly move is needed to restrain obliged to stop it in its tracks with 14
the Dutch pawn, for 14 ttJf3 f4 is ttJe2 f4, the e3-square would never have

25
Play th e D u tc h

become available t o the black rook. And

it is this which breaks the white posi­
F.Cira bisi-M.Dzhumaev
tion - not only is g3 hanging but there
Genova 2006
is the threat of 23 ... l:r.b3 .

1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJc3 ttJf6 4 �g5 ttJc6

5 d5 ttJe5 6 'ii'd 4 ttJf7 7 h4 c6

2 3 ttJh7 "iie 7 24 .:th3 l:[xg31 2 5 :xg3

ttJe4 0-1
After 26 'ii'e 1 .:txb4 Black h as a win­
ning attack as b2 is collapsing, to say This is the most interesting re­
nothing of the hanging knight on h7. spon se, but it is al so rather double­
edged. The idea is to challenge the
I dare say that White m ay do better white queen with ... 'ifb6.
with 1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJC3 ttJf6 4 �g5 8 0-0-0
ttJc6 5 d 5 ttJe5 6 'ii'd 4 ttJf7 7 h4!? Play tran sposes after 8 �xf6 gxf6 9
0-0-0 'irb6.
8 ..."ii b 6 9 �xf6
Feeble for White is 9 'ii'd 2 ? ! 'ii'a 5, at­
tackin g d5 again and clearing the way
for the queenside pawn s to advance:
10 �C4 ttJd6 11 �b3 c5 12 ttJxe4 'ii'x d2+
13 ttJxd2 b 5 14 c4 �a6. Here Black en­
joyed a strong blockading knight on d6,
the bishop-pair and active queen side
pawn s in l Boguszl avszki-Hoang Thanh
Trang, Budapest 2007.
H ere Bl ack can choose between 9 ... gxf6
7 ... c6 and 7 ... e5, and we will examine H aving studied various g ames in
each move in turn . this line, I think I need to point out a

26
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

golden rule for Black: l1 lLlf3

If White plays precisely the open e­
file m ay become a useful attackin g re­
source for him. H owever, everything
went swimmingly for Black after the
misguided 11 dxc6 bxc6 12 i.C4 i.h6+
13 'it>bl 'ili'f4 14 'ili'e2 in lColeto
Calderon-A. Ruiz Saiz, Parl a 2008, and
now 14 ... dS, inviting an inadequate
sacrifice on dS, was probably even
stronger than 14 .. J�b8.
11 ... i.h6+ 12 'it>b1 'ike3 13 'ii'a 4 'ilkf4 14
U nless Wh ite can reply with 'ikh5 'ikb3 0-0
mate, you shou ld answer i.xf 6 with
... gxf6! rather tha n ... exf 6.
After ... g xf6, the way is cleared for
the bishop on f8 to enter the g ame.
There is often the bonus that ... i.h 6
gains time by giving check to a white
king castled on cl. Moreover, the black
pawn centre is increased in size and
forms a hard shell around the black
king . And, finally, even if the black cen­
tre pawns aren't n eeded to defend the
king, they are a useful position al asset. Black decides to evacuate his king
In contrast, 7 ... exf6 weaken s the black from the centre.
king and l eaves the central light 15 i.e2?
squares around it full of holes. Even worse is 15 l::t d4? ? which looks
But remember what I said about not like a strong attacking move, because ...
being m ated by 'i1ihs after ... g xf6. If the well, I'll let the reader tell me! We shall
king is boxed in, m ake sure you h ave a discuss the improvement 1 5 i.d3 ! be­
move like .. ,eDf7 available ! l ow.
10 'ikxe4 'ikxf2 1 5 c51
.••

Black h as not only g ained the f2- Stopping 16 l::t d4 and threatening to
pawn, he h as also opened up the e3- exchange queen s if wished with
and f4-squares for co-operation be­ 16 ... 'ili'b4. Black went on to win in
tween his queen and dark-squared rather straightforward fashion :
bishop. 1 6 d6 e 6 17 lLl b 5 b 6 1 8 i.C4 .i.b7 19

27
Play t h e D u tch

.::t hf1 'ifg3 20 ttJC3 �h8 21 ttJe1 ttJes 22 Assuming the 7 ... c6 line i s under the
.tbS a6 2 3 .te2 bS 24 .tf3 ttJxf3 2 S gxf3 weather, Black should turn his atten ­
'ii' h 3 26 l1f2 :g8 27 ttJe2 'ifxh4 28 l:.f1 tion to 7 ... eSI.
�d S 29 l:.xd S exd s 30 'ii'x d s l:.ae8 3 1
'ili'd1 c 4 3 2 f4 'ili'h2 3 3 ttJd4 :g1 0-1

Returning to the position after

14... 0-0, it seems that White was dazzled
by the chance to play 16 lId4 and so
blocked the e-file with his bishop. In­
stead 15 .td3 ! would set Black some
major problems. The intention is simply
16 .l:r.del to attack e7, possibly followed
by 17 l:.e4 to hound the black queen.
Black could counter this with l s ... as
when 16 l:.del bs! 17 ':xe7 a4 is bad for
J.Boguszlavszkij-S.Ferkingstad
White because his queen is smothered
Buda pest 2009
after 18 'ii'a 3 b4. However, 16 ttJd4!...

1 d4 fs 2 e4 fxe4 3 ttJc3 ttJf6 4 .tgs ttJc6

S ds ttJes 6 'ii'd 4 ttJf7 7 h4 eS 8 dxe6
Instead 8 'ili'a4 was played in
G .Mester-F.Grafl, Budapest 2003, but it
hasn't attracted any followers at the
time of writing .

.. .is a powerful respon se intending

17 ttJfs to hit e7 and h6. The knight i s
immune because o f 16 .. :iVxd4 17
.txh 7+. I can't find a satisfactory line
for Black: for example, 16 ... �h 8 17 ttJfs
bs 18 ttJe2 ! .
The position leadin g up t o 1 5 .td3 i s
very interesting and you might like to It led to wild complication s after
try to find an improvement for Black. 8 ... c6 9 .txf6 g xf6 10 0-0-0 fs ! 11 g4 b s

28
 G a m b i t L i n e s a n d Ea rly O d d i t i e s

12 'iVb3 b4 13 dxc6! bxC3 14 cxd7+ 11 lDb5

iLxd7 15 iLbs �d6 16 'iWe6+ WfS and After 11 lDge 2 ? ! Black can defend
now 17 iLxd7 might be good for White the e4-pawn with all his minor pieces:
as he doesn't get m ated after 17 ... 'iWb6 11... lDf7 12 lDg 3 lDd6 13 �e2 (he
is b3 'iWb4 19 ':'ds ! . shoul d swallow his pride and g et his
Being more cowardly, I would rec­ pawn back with 13 �xf6 g xf6 14
ommend S ... h6 9 iLxf6 'ifxf6 10 lDxe4 lDgxe4, although after 14 ... lDxe4 1 5
"iVb6 lDxe4 iL e 7 Black h a s the two bishops
and the superior pawn centre) 13 ... iLc6
14 .l:thel iLe7 15 iLxf6 iLxf6 16 iLg4
�xC3 17 bxc3 rtie7 and it h ad all gone
horribly wrong for White in D. Rensch ­
G .Antal, Lubbock 2009.
11 iLxb5 12 iLxb5+ c6 13 iLc4 iLC5 14
..•

lDh3 lDd 5 15 ':'he1 0-0 16 ':'xe4 iLxf2 17

lDxf2 ':xf2 18 iLxd8 ':xd8 19 ':xe6 rt;f7
Instead 19 ... .:.xg 2 looks like a draw
after 20 ':e7 bs 21 iLxds+ cxds 2 2
':'xa7 ':'cS 2 3 ':'d2 ':'g1+ 24 ':'dl ':' g 2
11 0-0-0 'iWb4 12 'ifxb4 iLxb4 when I with a repetition .
don't see any advantage for White.
S dxe6 9 'ii'x dS+ lDxdS 10 0-0-0
...

In stead 10 iLxf6 g xf6 11 lDxe4 iLe7

is pleasant for Black, while 10 lDbs
iLb4+ 11 c3 iLas defends c7 and leaves
White struggling .
10 iLd7
•.•

20 lIe2
If 20 ':'del, threatening 21 ':'e7+,
20 ... rtifS breaking the pin on ds l ooks
the most precise reply.
20 lIxe2 21 iLxe2 rtie7
..•

Black is comfortable and somehow

contrived to win the endgame.

29
Play t h e D u t c h

Another interesting idea for White inflict doubled and isol ated pawns on
in the Staunton Gambit is 1 d4 fS 2 e4 him with 9 d6.
fxe4 3 liJc3 liJf6 4 ..tgs liJc6 5 dS liJes 6 We h ave reached one of the most
'iie 2!?, which has to some extent su­ critical position s in the modern theory
perseded 6 'iid 4. of the Staunton Gambit, so we'll take a
good l ook at Black's options. If you wish
you can skip straight to 8 . :�e 7 ! in Sce­
.

nario Two which is the move I think

Bl ack should pl ay.

Scena rio One:

Black plays 8 .i.e7 or 8 i.. b 4+
... ...

The immediate 8 ... ..te7 i sn 't very prom-

ising for Black after 9 d6!

6 ... liJf7
Black retreats his knight to a safe
square (kindly provided by 1 .. .fS ! ) and
forces White to choose wh at to do with
his bishop. Now we'll examine 7 h4
towards the end of this chapter, but
first we must see wh at h appen s if
White exchanges:
7 ..txf6 exf6 8 liJxe4
9 ... cxd6 10 0-0-0 0-0 and here White
can deprive the black knight of es with
11 f4! ?, as he did in D.Ortega H ermida­
A.Menvielle . Lacourrelle, Las Palmas
2009:
11 .. :�a s?
A poor reaction . Black should try
11 . . b6 or offer to give back the pawn
.

for some freedom with 11 ... dS, when

White would reply 12 liJC3, aiming to
take on dS with the knight.
Threatening m ate in one. After 12 liJC3
Black blocks the e-file, White intends to It is to stop this move th at Black

30
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

plays 8 ... �b4+ in the variation that fol­ This aim s t o develop with 1 2 �C4
lows. Now White now m akes full use of when the bishop exerts strong pres­
Black's weak squares on C4 and dS. sure. Black stopped thi s with 11 'iiC 7 .•.

12 �d8
..• in V. Erdos-V.5ikul a, Budapest 2009, but
This position is h ardly an adver­ it still led to trouble for him :
tisement for the power of the bishop­ 12 ttJg3
pair! Not allowing the ch ance for 12 .. .fS .
13 ttJf3 l:tb8 14 .l::td S I bS 15 .l::tx bS l:txbS 12 ... 0-0 13 iLe2 ::te8 14 iLf3 fS
16 'ilixbs 'iiC 7 17 iLc4 �b7 18 ttJdS 'iic 6
19 'iib 3 iLa6 20 �xa6 'iix a6 21 ttJd4
Wh8 22 lte1 'iia s 23 c3 'iic s 24 'ilibs a6
25 'iix d7 !
A pretty combination t o put Black
out of his misery.
2S .. Ji'xd s 26 :e8 1-0
If 26 ... �g8 then 27 ttJe6 and splat!

Instead Beim and others h ave rec­

ommended the sequence 8 ... �b4+ 9 c3
�e7 10 d6 cxd6 after which White no Trying to do something fast before
longer h as the option of ttJC3 to g et his White can play 15 ttJge2, 16 0-0 and 17
knight in contact with the hole on dS. If ttJf4, dominating the centre.
11 0-0-0 then the white king's resi­ 15 ttJxfS ! �gS+ 16 ttJe3 'ilics 17 �d S I
dence is slightly compromised and can
be a source of counterplay for Bl ack.
Thus the most dangerous move ap­
pears to be the quiet 11 'iid 2!?

Black is playing without his queen­

side rook or bishop, so White is going
to come out top in the firefight in the
centre.

31
Play th e D u tch

17 g6 18 tbf3 .txe3 19 fxe3 J:lxe3+ 20

•.. tbxd3+ 17 tbxd3 and Black h as a very
'iti>dl 'iti>g7 21 ':fl l:te7 22 e4 poor endgame. As usual, White's idea
Intending 23 tbd4 and 24 'ii'f4, with would be to apply pressure along the e­
a decisive attack along the f-file. file after, say, 18 0-0-0 and 19 J:lhel
22 'ii'e 3 2 3 'ii'x e3 ':xe3 24 'iti>d2 l:te7 2 5
.•. perh aps followed by doubling rooks.
tbd4 l:tb8 26 l:tael tbe5 27 tbb5 b 6 28 So the conclusion i s th at Bl ack h as a
tbxd6 .ta6 29 b4 b5 30 e5 tbe4+ 3 1 hard life after both 8 ... .te7 and
.txe4 l:txel 3 2 l:txel bxe4 3 3 'iti>e3 .tb7 8 ... .tb4+ 9 c3 .te7 .
34 tbxb7 .l:txb7 35 'iti>xe4 'iti>f7 3 6 a4 l:tb8
37 b5 ':e8 38 'iti>d 5 1-0 Scena rio Two:
The leading Dutch expert Vladimir Black plays 8 'iVe7 !
•••

Malaniuk al so came a cropper in this

variation when he tried 11 :ii'a 5 12
V E rdos P Nikolic
. .

-
. .

.te4 'ii'e 5, aiming to do something fast

Germ a n league 2010
before White can develop and castle
kingside:
13 .td 5! tbg5 1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 tbe3 tbf6 4 .tg5 tbe6
s ds tbe5 6 'ii'e 2 tbf7 7 .txf6 exf6 8
tbxe4 'ii'e 71
I think this is the best remedy for
Black.
9 d6 'ii'e 61

Now instead of the slow 14 f3 in

5. Drazic-V.Mal aniuk, Milan 2009, the
clever 14 tbf3 ! ? l ooks stronger:
a) 14 ... tbxf3+ 15 g xf3 intends 16
0-0-0 and 1711del. Black can 't respond
l s .. .fs as 16 f4 traps the queen. If you play through the variation s of
b) 14 ... tbxe4 1 5 'ii'd 3 ! (a neat point) the previous scen ario, you'll under­
ls ... tbcs+ (to exchange queen s, as stand why Nikolic is keen to avoid the
ls ... tbxf2+ 16 'iti>xf2 followed by 17 doubled pawn s and light-square
:ael is horrible for Black) 16 tbxe s weakness that result from 9 ... tbxd6 10

32
 G a m b i t L i n e s a n d Ea rly O dd i t i e s

tLlxd6+ cxd6. White could continue 1 1

0-0-0 o r even 1 1 g 3 ! ? planning 1 2 �g 2.
10 dxc7 �b4+
This is Nikolic's idea: Black will re­
capture the c7-pawn with his bishop.
In stead 10 ... dS give White the chance
to attack the ds-pawn with 11 liJc3 !
(better than the 1 1 liJd2 of I,Nemet­
A.Cherniaev, Biel 2006), such as with
11...�b4 12 'ii'x e6+ �xe6 13 liJge2 �d7
14 0-0-0.
11 c3 �a s 12 tLlcS I Nikolic sees the chance for counter­
Forcing Black t o unwind the white play against the f2-pawn with moves
king side by capturing on e2. like ... �cS and ... 1:te2, so White is com ­
12 ...'ii'x e2+ 13 �xe2 �xc7 14 liJf3 b6 1S pelled to go on the defen sive.
tLla61 22 liJd s :te2 �3 :hfl �cS 24 liJd4 �xd4
25 1:txd4 1::[c S 26 tLlf4 l:te7 27 tLld S ':'e2
28 tLlf4 %ie7 29 tLld S Vz-Vz
The active black rooks persuade
White to agree to a repetition.
That wasn't the most exciting g ame
ever in the Dutch, but Nikolic achieved
a fairly comfortable draw as Black
again st one of the most promising
young Hungarian Grandmasters. And if
White h ad played one or two inaccu­
rate moves, the veteran Bosnian
If the knight retreats Black will h ave Grandmaster could have tried for the
a comfortable g ame with lS ... �b7. In advantage.
fact, the bishop-pair would allow him We now turn our attention to an ­
to pl ay for an advantage. other sub-variation in which White
lS .. �d8 16 0-0-0 �b7 17 tLld4
. delays recouping his pawn .
After 17 liJxC7 �xc7 Black is in no
danger as the i solated pawn is soundly
L.Rosko-D.Semcesen
defended. He could even try to increase
Olomouc 2008
the pressure along the a8-h l diagon al.
17 ...�f4+ 18 �bl 1:te8 19 �f3 �xf3 20
tLlxf3 ':c8 2 1 tLlb4 �d6! 1 d4 fS 2 e4 fxe4 3 tLlc3 tLlf6 4 �gs tLlc6

33
Play t h e D u tc h

5 d s ttJ e s 6 �e2 ttJf7 7 h4!? pawn to strengthen his centre.

Ag ain we see this bold advance.
7 ... c6!

10 i.. xf6
If 10 ttJxf6+ gxf6 and Black will build
Freein g the black queen for action a m assive centre with ... d7-dS.
on as or b6, and preparing to complete 10 ... gxf6 11 'ii'xe4 i.. h 6+ 12 ttJe3 fs 13
the liquidation of the white pawn cen­ 'iVb4 'ike7
tre which began with 2 .. .fxe4. Securing the right to castle, as the
8 0-0-0 cxd S 9 ttJxd s endgame is poor for White after 14
After 9 i.. xf6 gxf6 10 ttJxdS Black �xe7+ cJ;;x e7.
can tran spose with 10 ... e6. 14 'YWb3 0-0
I can sympathize if you find this po­
sition rather scary for Black, but let's
not forget that White no longer h as a
battering ram in the shape of a centre
pawn . Unless Bl ack blunders, there's no
good reason why White shoul d be able
to break through his defen sive line.
9 ...e6!
Here's a way for Black to blunder
and lose: 9 ... b6?? 10 i.. xf6 gxf6 (or
10 ... exf6 11 'iWxe4+ 1i.e7 - 11 ... ttJes 11
f4 - 12 ttJxe7, attacking a8) 1 1 �xe4 Black h as a big centre and the
i..h 6+ (if 11 ... i..b 7 it's m ate in one) 12 bishop-pair, including the dark-square
'it'b1 and Black h as no defence to the mon ster on h6.
double threats of 1 3 ttJxf6+ and 13 Realizing that his position was go­
ttJxe7, uncovering an attack on a8. ing to go gradually downhill if he didn 't
In stead Black returns the extra do anything fast, White tried to attack

34
 G a m b i t L i n es a n d Ea rly O d d i t i e s

along the g -file, but the bl ack king A n aggressive move pl anning to
proved to be safe on h8. The remaining drive back the knight with S g S .
moves were: 4 d5!?
..•

15 lDf3 b6 16 .i.b5 a6 17 .i.e2 b5 18 g4

fxg4 19 lIhgl �h8 20 lIxg4 'ii'f6 21
lDg5 lDe5 22 lDe4 "ike7 2 3 "ikc3 .i.g7 24
.l:!.xg7 'ii'xg7 25 .:tfl d 5 26 lDg3 lDC4 27
'iVxg7+ �xg7 28 lDh5+ �h8 29 lDg4 e5
30 lDgf6 .i.e6 3 1 b3 lDd6 3 2 l:1dl l:tad8
33 .i.g4 .i.xg4 34 lDxg4 lDe4 35 lDxe5
l:txf2 3 6 lDd3 l:lh2 3 7 lDhf4 l:tc8 3 8 lDel
lDC3 39 l:td3 lDxa2+ 40 �b2 lDb4 41
l:tg3 lDxC2 42 lDf3 l::tf2 43 lDd3 .l:!e2 44
lDf4 :e4 45 lDxd 5 lDd4 46 lDg5 11e2+ 47
�a 3 lU8 48 �b4 :e5 49 lDC7 h6 50 The norm al move is 4. . .h6, securing
lDh3 lDc6+ 51 �c3 as 52 lDgl .l:!c8 5 3 the knight on f6, but it would be great
lDa6 lDb4+ 0-1 if Bl ack could just ignore the threat.
There now begins an extremely long
forcing line:
Pa rt Six: The Sta unton
5 g5 .i.g4
Gambit with g2-g4
Not allowing White the initiative he
is looking for after S ... lDg8 6 f3 ! .
6 .i.e2 .i.xe2 7 'ii'x e2
V.Gerber-A.Panchenko
If 7 lDgxe 2 ? then Black has the reply
Kyiv 2008
7 ... lDh S .
7 . . .lDg8 8 'ii' b 5+
1 d4 f5 2 e4 fxe4 3 lDc3 lDf6 4 g4 White should prefer 8 f3 : for exam­
ple, 8 ... lDc6 9 fxe4 (Black is doing nicely
after 11 SLe3 e6 12 fxe4 SLb4) 9 ... lDxd4
10 "iVd3 eS 11 lDf3 .i.cS with unclear
play.
8 ... lDc61
The only good move. A couple of
players have fallen for the tradition al
Staunton "iVh S+ and "iVxds trick in a
different form after 8 ... "ikd7 9 "ikxb7
'ili'c6 10 'ili'c8+ �f7 11 'i!VfS+ �e8 12
'i¥xdS.

35
Play t h e D u tch

9 ttJxd S And now White has a good g am e af­

If this is White's best move then the ter 1 2 f3, but absolutely crushing was
opening has gone wrong for him. 12 ttJh 3 ! with the threat of 13 g6+ hxg6
Black al so stands well after 9 'ii'x ds 14 ttJg S+. If Black stops it with 12 ... g6,
"xdS 10 ttJxdS 0-0-0, but the key line is both 1 3 f3, to open the f-file for the
9 "xb7 ttJxd4 10 ttJxdS ttJxC2+ 1 1 'ito>dl attack, and 13 ttJf4 are killing. H owever,
ttJxal 12 'ii'x a8 'ii'x a8 13 ttJxC7+ �d7 14 in the g ame White gradually lost his
ttJxa8 e S . However, this al so looks ex­ way and ended up droppin g a piece:
cellent for Black as the knight on a8 is 12 �f4 ttJe7 13 "C3 ttJg6 14 �e3 �d6
easier to trap than the one on al: for lS h4 'ifd7 16 hS ttJe7 17 0-0-0 l::t hf8 18
example, 1 5 �e3 ttJe7 16 ttJe2 (or 16 g6+ hxg6 19 h6 gxh6 20 �xh6 l::t h 8 21
�xa7 �c6 planning 17 ... �b7) 16 ...ttJdS ttJe2 "g4 2 2 f3 exf3 2 3 l:.df1 ttJfS 24
17 ttJC3 ttJxe3+ 18 fxe3 �b4 with win­ 'ii'xf3 'ifxf3 2 S l::t xf3 �f8 26 ttJg3 �xh6+
ning chances for Black. 2 7 'ito>d1 �g7 28 :thf1 �xd4 29 c3 �es
9 e6?
.•. 30 ttJxfS gxfs 3 1 l::txfS+ 'ito>e6 0-1
A serious mistake. H e shoul d play So is this line playable for Black?
9 .. :iVd7! intending 10 ... 0-0-0 when Was 1 M Panchenko following some
White looks busted as 10 'ii'x b7 l:r.b8 1 1 analysis he prepared years ago and
ttJxc7+ �d8 costs h i m a piece. forgot what to do after the inferior 9
10 'ii'x b7 exd s ttJxdS ? Or was he feeling in spired at
The best chance is 10 ... �d7, but the board, and the in spiration ran out
simply 11 ttJc3 should be winning for after eight moves? I can 't an swer those
White. two questions, but 4 ... dS ! ? looks to be
11 "xc6+ 'ito>f7 in good sh ape from what I can see !

36
 Chapter Two

W h ite Pl ays 2 l2JC 3

1 d4 fS 2 lDc3 can't cause Black as much grief as with

2 c4.
Let's now turn to 1 d4 fS 2 lDC3.
Once again White has blocked in his c2-
pawn . On the other hand, he is threat­
ening to seize space with 3 e4 - if he
can pl ay this unopposed then there can
be no criticism of 2 lDC3. For example,
after 2 lDC3 d6 ? ! 3 e4 fxe4 4 lDxe4 we
h ave a kind of mirror image of the Sicil­
ian Defence with 1 e4 cS 2 lDf3 e6 3 d4
cxd4 lDxd4. In the Sicilian version
In the Queen 's pawn opening, after Black's queen and bishop on f8 have
1 d4 dS, the move 2 lDC3 (The Veresov open lines, and he can ch allenge the
Opening) has never become particu­ white knight on d4 with 4 ... lDc6. Things
larly popular for White. It is well known are much poorer for Black in the Dutch
that he gain s the most profit by attack­ version due to the fragility of his king
ing the black pawn centre with 2 c4 or and the fact that his queen and dark­
2 lDf3 and then 3 c4, and putting the squared bishop are still passive.
horse on c3 gets in the way of this plan . Therefore, in contrast to the Sicilian,
Of course White doesn't stand worse after 1 d4 fS 2 lDC3 it is importa nt th at
after 2 lDc3; it merely mean s that his B lack pu t up an obstacle to Wh ite's 3 e4
strategic option s are more limited. He adv ance.

37
Play t h e D u t c h

W h i c h va riation t o choose? So after 2 ... liJf6 Black has a reduced

One obvious method of stopping 3 e4 is capacity to m ake effective pawn
2 ....�Jf6. The knight is bound to go to f6 breaks. Therefore I want to recommend
at some point, so why not play it there 2 d S in this ch apter, and after 3 .i.f4,
•••

straightaway? A typical sequence is 3 the little pawn move 3 a61 .

.•.

.i.g 5 d5 4 .i.xf6 exf6 5 e3.

In contrast to White's 2 liJc3, Bl ack

White might then engineer c2-c4 avoids blocking in his c-pawn with
after all with .i.d3 and liJce2, or try for ... liJc6. He intends to build up with
an attack as Bl ack often castles queen­ ... liJf6, ... e7-e6, ... c7-c5 and only then
side. Black has a lot of resources in ... liJc6. If he succeeds he h as a big g er
these variations, and m any strong centre than White.
Grandm asters have defended them Such a strategy, with its multiple
with success. The bishop-pair and a pawn moves, l ooks risky. However,
solid centre are not to be sneezed at, Black is trustin g in the solidity of the
and I g ave 2 ... liJf6 my support in Sta rt­ Stonewall centre and the fact that
ing Out with the Du tch. White cannot easily arrange a pawn
H owever, in this book the emphasis break. The move 3 ... a6 actually m akes
i s on dynamism. I find the position s the bl ack centre safer as it rules out an
after the exch ange .i.xf6 and the recap­ attack on it based on liJb5 followed by
ture ... exf6 a little static for Bl ack. The c2-c4.
pawn break ... c7-c5 would leave the d5-
pawn weak after d4xC5, while advanc­ A word on the
ing the king side pawn clump is prob­ Stonewa l l Formation
lematical. We occasion ally see a g ame In this book I've referred to any struc­
in which Black man ages to arrange ture as a Stonewall in which Black ad­
.. .f5-f4 to get the pawn s rolling, but it vances ... d7-d5 so th at his pawns on d5
requires some help from White ! and f5 give him a grip on the central

38
 W h i t e Plays 2 ltJ C 3

light squares. In particular, White's e2- centre. From a strategic point of view
e4 space-gaining move is prevented or he has two options: play a violent e2-e4
made difficult to arrange. White's breakthrough or else arrange c2-c4 af­
light-squared bishop is al so reduced in ter all .
scope, as on g2 it would be staring at a
wall on ds, or on d3 at a wall on fs . 50
The Immedia te
White's attacking chances are on the
Ciambit: 3 e4
whole reduced.
So the good news for Black is that
he has equal space in the centre and is 1 d4 f5 2 lDC3 d 5 3 e4 dxe4 4 f3 e 5 !
solidly entrenched on the light squares.
The m ain drawback is that Black has
renounced setting up a mobile pawn
centre with ... d7-d6 and ... e7-e s . In­
stead the es-square is a hole in the
black centre, a perfect post for a white
knight, and h as to be carefully watched
over by the black pieces.
Perh aps the fundamental strategic
decision Black h as to m ake in the Dutch
is: shoul d I set up a Stonewall centre
(with ... d7-ds) or a mobile centre (with Bl ack i s at least equal after this free­
... d7-d6 and ... e7-es). Black doesn 't al­ ing move, which explains why highly­
ways h ave a choice - as in the 2 lDc3 rated players prefer to play 3 .i.f4 to
variation, where he is virtually obliged rule it out and only after 3 ... a6 go 4 e4
to set up a Stonewall to prevent White (not that it does them much good in
gaining space with an 'easy' e2-e4. the g ames in this ch apter).
5 dxe5
Wh ite's strategy Black has opened the centre at a
Turning to the specific position after 2 bad time for White, as his knight on g l
ltJc3 ds, Black is planning to seize a is denied the f3 -square. I n fact this has
large share of space in the centre and, proved the downfall of White in all the
if left alone, will complete his devel­ g ambit games discussed here - he sac­
opment with a safe and active g ame. rifices a pawn to speed up his devel­
The weakness of the es-square isn't opment, only to find that it has made it
enough on its own to cause him any harder, not easier, to mobilize his king ­
trouble. White therefore h as to devise a side pieces.
plan of action to undermine the black 5 ... 1i'xd1+ 6 �xd1

39
Play t h e D u tch

After 6 lLlxdl lLlc6 7 f4 lLlb4!... defend g 2 : for instance if 1 2 ':'g l .ltcs,

etc. In P.Raineri de Luca-F. Peralta, Cas­
telldefel s 2005, White g ave up the ex­
ch ange but eventually lost after 13 :e2
.ltg4 14 lLlf2 .ltxe2+ 1 5 �xe2 when
ls ... lLlxg 2 was simplest.
A curious point: after the move or­
der 1 d4 fs 2 lLlC3 ds 3 e4 dxe4 4 .ltf4
should Black play 4 ... a6, or find a more
'productive' move? I think we should
stick with 4 ... a6. After all, in the g ames
that follow it helps Black destroy a
... Black already h ad the initiative in couple of top players in the move order
S.Tikhomirov-M.Grunberg, Buch arest 3 .ltf4 a6 4 e4.
2002.
6 ... lLlc61 7 .ltf4 lLlge7 8 lLlh3 .lte61 9 fxe4
The Delayed Ciambit:
0-0-0+
3 i.f4 a6 4 e4
Bl ack has responded to White's
pawn sacrifice with a double-pawn
offer in order to speed up his develop­
V.Ma lakhatko-N.Firman
ment and embarrass the white king .
Germ a n League 2008
1 0 .ltd3 h6!
Threatening 11 ... gs when the es­
pawn is sure to drop. 1 d4 fs 2 lLlC3 ds 3 .ltf4 a6 4 e4
11 exfs lLlxfS 12 :e1 lLlh4! White tries to prove that 3 ... a6 is an
irrelevant, self-indulgent move by
starting a fight in the centre. H owever,
as we shall see, in a fast-moving battle
the fact that 3 ... a6 prevents lLlbs or
.ltbs proves valuable.
4 dxe4
•..

Every Dutch player needs to know

that in this type of position 4 .. .fxe4?
runs into 5 "iWh s+ and 6 "ii'x ds, leaving
the black centre ruined.
5 f3 lLlf6!
And suddenly White's position is Very sen sible. H avin g taken a liberty
collapsing as there i s no good way to with 3 ... a6, we shouldn't push our luck

40
 W h i t e Plays 2 tD c 3

too far. Rather than speed up White's i n disposing of the fs-pawn, m aking
development with s ... exf3 6 tDxf3, the path more smooth for the bishop
Black brings his own knight into the that follows in its wake.
game.

11 'iVd2 e6 12 0-0-0
6 fxe4 fxe4 Mal akhatko h as made a lot of ag­
The black pawn on e4 looks ugly, gressive moves, but it is Firman who
but just as ugly is the fact that the has the more dynamic chances th anks
white knight on g l can 't go to f3. And to his steady and preci se play.
ugliest of all from a strategic perspec­ 12 il.b4 13 h3 0-0 14 g4 iLg6 15 'ife3
•••

tive is the fact that White h as granted as!

an easy development to the bishop on Black already h as an excellent g ame
c8, Bl ack's worst piece in 1 d4 openings thanks to his grip on the centre. Now
for the past 500 years. the wonderful a-pawn is called on to
7 iLc4 tDc61 lead the attack again st the white king .
Preparing to hunt down White's ex­ 1 6 'ifg3 'ifd7 17 h4 h S !
cellent light-squared bishop. You will
notice thi s plan is possible due to the
service of the a6-pawn in preventin g
tLlbS .
8 tDge2
The alternative 8 iLes is examined
in the next g ame.
8 tDa s 9 iLb3 tDxb3 10 axb3 iLfS
•.•

This bishop always seem s super­

charged once the obstruction on fS is
removed. Perhaps it is because White
has h ad to soften up his light squares A crucial move t o break u p the

41
Play t h e D u t c h

white attacking front and prevent the Of course if 3 0 'iVC2, then 3 0... :a1+
bishop being driven backward with 18 31 'iltb2 .l:ita2+ win s the white queen .
hS. 30 l:.a6 3 1 :g2 :c6+ 3 2 ':C2 liJg3 !
..•

1 8 gxh 5 .1l.xh 5 19 11dg1

It appears at first glance that
White's assault is as promising as
Black's queen side play. However, he
can't conquer the g7-point, whereas
Bl ack can break through along the a­
file where the attackers far outnumber
the defenders.
19 ... a4
This is not even a sacrifice as both
20 liJxa4? .1l.xe2 and 20 bxa4 .1l.xe2 2 1
liJxe2 .l:itXa4 (but not 2 1 . . .'ifxa4??) are The entry of the knight decides mat­
bad for White. ters. If now 33 .:tel Black can get a king
20 .1l.e5 axb3 21 cxb3 .1l.xe2 22 liJxe2 and pawn endgame three pawn s up:
liJh5! 33 ... liJe2+ 34 liexe2 'iVxe2 3S ':xc6
'iVxb2+ 36 �xb2 bxc6.
33 lixc6 liJe2+ 34 'ifxe2 'ifxe2 35 ':xC7
'iVu 36 ':'h3 d4 37 :g3 'ii'a 1+ 0-1

I.Lysyj-M.Narciso Dublan
E u ropea n C h a m pio n s h i p,
Plovd iv 2008

1 d4 f5 2 liJC3 d 5 3 .1l.f4 a6 4 e4 dxe4 5

f3 liJf6 6 fxe4 fxe4 7 .1l.C4 liJc6 8 .1l.e5
The knight takes over the defence of White defends his d4-pawn with his
g 7 to free the bl ack queen for deci sive bishop as he is evidently unh appy
action on the queen side. about 8 liJge2 liJas ! as in the g ame
2 3 'ii'g 2 'iVc6+ 24 liJC3 ':f3 2 5 d 5 exd 5 26 above. If now 8 ...liJas White could al­
'iltb1 .1l.xC3 27 .1l.xC3 .l:[xc3 ways keep his bishop with 9 .1l.e2 ! ? -
Simultaneously destroyin g White's not that there is anything great for him
hope of an attack g 7 and wrecking his in the resulting position. In stead N ar­
king's defences. ciso Dublan prefers to increase the
28 bxc3 'ifxc3 29 'ii' b 2 'ifd3+ 30 'iltC1 pressure on the white centre:

42
 W h i t e Plays 2 lLl c 3

8 ... lLlg4! 12 'ili'C4?

Black would h ave a useful initiative
after 12 'ikd2 e6 ! . Therefore White tries
to continue in attackin g vein, but with
disastrous results.
12 ... lLlxC2+ 13 'iti>e2 e61
Al so good enough was 13 ...lLlxal,
but Black didn't want to give White an
attack after 14 �f7+ 'iti>d7 1 5 lLlh 3 .
1 4 �xb7 'ifg5 !
Decisive, a s 1 5 �xa8 'ikxg 2+ 16 'iti>dl
lLle3+ win s the white queen .
And why not? Bl ack h as just as 15 �c6+ 'iti>f7 16 �xe4 lId8!
much dynamism as White in this posi­
tion - he doesn't h ave to be awed by
his opponent's attacking gestures. Now
besides the double capture on e 5 White
has to watch out for a fork on e3. In­
deed, 9 lLlge 2 ? ? lLle3 would win a piece.
9 �d 5 �f5!
Black develops simply and leaves
White to sort out his mess. Once again
the plan of king side development with
10 lLlge2? falls apart: 10 ... lLlxe5 11 dxe 5
lLle3 12 'ifd2 lLlxg 2+ 1 3 �1 e6! and the So that if 17 l:td1 'ike3+ and mate in
bishop on d5 is pinned. two moves.
10 'ife2 lLlgxe5 11 dxe5 lLld4 17 �XC2 'ii'x g2+ 18 'iti>el 'ii'x hl 19 �xf5
White is now threatening m ate in
one so Black has to play with a little
care.
19 :WWx gl+ 20 'iti>e2 'i!i'xh2+ 21 'iti>f3
.•

'ikxe5 22 :fl �e7 2 3 lLle4 �f6 24 'iti>g2

l:td4 25 lLlg5+ �xg5 26 �xe6+ 'iti>e7 27
1:[f7+ 'iti>d8 28 'ifxa6 l:td2+ 29 'iti>fl l:tdl+
30 'iti>f2 'ike3+ 0-1

In these l ast two g ames we h ave

seen players rated 2 6 3 3 and 2 5 9 5 lose

43
Play t h e D u tc h

with White again st players rated 2 5 2 5 knight m anoeuvre is decidedly suspect

and 2 509 respectively. The problem for - he spends two moves to exchange it
White is that he can't develop his on c6, which merely strengthens
knight to f3, while .i.c4 and ttJge2 runs Black's centre and open s the b-file for
into the awkward ... ttJa5 ! exchanging Bl ack's heavy pieces; still, White is al­
off the important bishop. ready in an awkward situation as after
say 10 1:[g l 0-0 he has to reckon with a
... d4 pawn advance) 10 ... 0-0 1 1 'ii'd 2
White Plays ttJes
1:[e8 12 ttJxc6 bxc6 13 .i.e2 .i.d6 (secur­
ing b8 for his rook) 14 .i.xd6 'iix d6 1 5
We shall now consider g ames which 0-0-0 ':'b8 and Black had the attack i n
feature a more positional approach by T. Reiss-M. Bartel, Wattenscheid 2009.
White. After 3 .i.f4 a6 4 e3 ttJf6 5 ttJf3 5 e6 6 ttJe5
..•

e6 he has two strategic strings to his

bow: the hole on e 5 and the possibility
of undermining the black pawn struc­
ture along the c-file.

K.Sa kaev-A.Volokitin
E u ro pea n C l u b C u p,
O h rid 2009

1 d4 f5 2 ttJc3 d5 3 .i.f4 a6 4 e3 ttJf6 5

ttJf3 At the first opportunity the white
White can also delay developing his knight takes possession of the hole on
knight in favour of immediate king side e5.
action with 5 h 3 , whereupon after the In stead White can play solidly with
routine 5 ... e6?! the pawn lever 6 g4! 6 .i.d3 c5 7 dXc5 .i.xC5 8 0-0, aiming to
worked out well in V.Epishin­ hit the d5-pawn with a quick c2-c4.
V.Malaniuk, Tashkent 1987. In a later Incidentally, this is the approach advo­
g ame Bartel struck back with the im­ cated by Richard Palliser in Play 1 d4!.
mediate 5 ... c 5 : 6 dxc5 ttJc6 7 ttJf3 e6 8 After 8 ... ttJc6 9 ttJe2 0-0 10 c4, Glenn
g4 (the consistent move, though it Flear recommends 10 ... ttJb4 ! ? with un­
seem s to leave White's position too clear pl ay.
loose; perh aps he should play 8 ttJa4 6 ttJbd 7 !
•..

when 8 ... ttJd7 9 c4 ttJxC5 is bal anced) Immedi ately challenging i t s oppo­
8 ... .i.xc5 9 gxf5 exf5 10 ttJe5 (White's site number. Now Volokitin intends

44
 W h i t e Plays 2 ttJ C 3

... i.. d 6 and ... 0-0, which would leave pawn endgame. For the record here are
White in a positional dead-end. After the remaining moves:
all, how can he improve his position, as 15 .l:.gl 'ike7 16 'ikf4 i.. d 7 17 ttJd4 'ii'f7
f2-f3 can be answered by ... ttJh s, h ar­ 18 c4 ':g8 19 l:txg8 'ii'x g8 20 cxd 5 cxd 5
assing the bishop on f4? Perhaps the 21 'iti>bl 'it'g5 22 'it'h2 .l:.c8 2 3 h4 'it'g7 24
best ch ance would be ttJb1, ttJd2 and i.. d 3 'iti>b6 2 5 .:tgl 'ii'e 7 26 h 5 'ikb4 27 f4
ttJdf3, but this convoluted m anoeuvre 'iti>a7 28 'ii'f2 'ii' b 6 29 'ii'd 2 i.. e 8 30 i.. e 2
is hardly a vote of confidence in 2 ttJc3. i.. b 4 3 1 'iVdl i.. C 5 3 2 'iVd2 i.. a 4 33 i.. d l
In stead Sakaev tried to force m at­ i..x d4 34 'ii'x d4 'ii'x d4 3 5 exd4 i..x dl 3 6
ters: ':'xdl ':'g8 3 7 'iti>C2 :g4 38 :fl 'iti>b6 39
7 g4 ttJxe5 8 dxe5 ttJxg4 9 h 3 ttJh6 10 'iti>d3 :g3+ 40 'iti>d2 11g2+ 41 'iti>c3 'iti>b5 42
i.. x h6 gxh6 11 'ii' h 5+ 'iti>d7 12 0-0-0 1:[cl :h2 43 'iti>b3 ':'xh 5 44 ':'C7 l:th3+ 45
Threatening 13 ttJxds ! . 'iti>c2 .l:.h4 46 .l:.xb7+ 'iti>C4 47 .l:.a7 .l:.xf4 48
1 2... 'ii'g 5! 13 'ii'f3 c6 .:txa6 ':f2+ 49 'iti>bl 'iti>xd4 50 ':xe6 .:te2
51 a4 .l:.xe5 52 1:[f6 'iti>e3 53 'iti>C2 d4 54
b4 d3+ 55 'iti>C3 f4 56 .l:.d6 'iti>e2 57 .l:.xd 3
l:te3 58 ':xe3+ fxe3 0-1

So the immediate 6 ttJe s got no­

where. But we should see what hap­
pens if White waits a move with 6 i.. d 3
and only after 6 . . . cs plays 7 ttJes.

Formerly speaking, White h as a

huge l ead in development, but there is
no good way to break through . In the
Dutch we often see the resilience of the
Stonewall centre and the feebleness of
the white pawn s as an attacking force.
14 ttJe2 'iti>C7
Black h as m an aged to flee with his
king, after which his dark-squared Then 7 ... ttJbd7 ! ? still seem s okay: for
bishop, solid centre and fairly useful example, 8 0-0 ttJxes 9 i.. x es i.. d 6 looks
extra pawn give him the advantage. equal or critically 9 dxe s ttJd7. The
Volokitin was eventually able to ex­ black centre seem s to be holding firm
change down into a winning rook and as 10 i.. xfs ? doesn't work for White

45
Play t h e D u tc h

after 10 ... exf5 11 liJxd5 liJb6 ! . That okay in this position. However,
means that Bl ack will have time for 7 ... liJbd7 ! ? makes me feel a lot more
10 ... it.e7 and 11 ... 0-0 with a good game. confident about Black's chances.
Instead White can try 6 it.d3 c5 7 Thus it appears that White can't get
0-0 liJc6 8 liJe5, but 8 ... liJxe5 tran sposes l asting benefit through putting his
to the 7 ...liJbd7 8 0-0 liJxe5 line above. knight on e5.
White could al so play 6 it.e2 (rather
th an 6 it.d3) but I don't think thi s helps
White Tries for
him. For example, 6 ... C5 7 liJe 5 (7 0-0
Queenside Adion
will be seen in our next illustrative
g ame) 7 ... liJbd7 8 it.h 5+ g 6

F Elsness M Bartel
.
-
.

E u ropea n Tea m
C h a m pions h i p, Novi Sad 2009

1 d4 f5 2 liJc3 d5 3 it.f4 a6 4 liJf3 liJf6 5

e3 e6 6 it.e2 c5 7 0-0 liJc6

9 it. e 2 (if 9 liJxg 6 h x g 6 10 it.xg 6+

<l;e7 1 1 dXc5 liJxC5 and the Stonewall
centre protects the black king) 9 ... liJxe 5
10 it.xe5 (after 10 dxe 5 liJd7 the pawn
on e5 can be assailed with ... it.g7)
10 ...it.d6 and playing ... g 7-g6 doesn't
really seem to have hurt Black.
Incidentally, in my book Sta rting Black has almost completed the
Out: th e Du tch I was rather di smissive plan of development he envisaged with
of the plan of 2 ... d5 because I was too 3 ... a6. H owever his centre is still some­
impressed by the g ame F.Ljubicic­ what fragile. Elsness hopes to exploit
M.Zelic, Split 2000, where White was this by l ashing out at the c5-pawn .
allowed to weaken the black pawns 8 liJa4 cxd4
after 6 it.d3 c5 7 liJe 5 liJc6? ! 8 0-0 it.e7 9 Instead 8 ... C4 looks sounder, but 9
b3 0-0 10 liJxc6 bxc6 1 1 liJa4! etc, al­ b3 g ave White some edge and he man ­
though in fact Black is probably still aged t o win i n I.Sokolov-M.Bartel,

46
 W h i te P l ays 2 lD c3

European Ch ampionship, Warsaw 16 11b1 :a8 17 'iVe2 �f7!

2005. In his preparation for the present The decision of a seasoned Dutch
game Bartel h ad come up with a more Defence player. The obvious move was
dynamic plan for Black. 17 ... 0-0, but Bartel sees it is a g ood idea
9 exd4 lDe4 10 lDe5 to set the king to work in defendin g the
Even so, the position l ooks awkward e6-pawn. In doing so he frees the black
for Black. After 10 ... lDxe5 11 .ltxe 5 he queen for aggressive action, whereas
has to reckon with the di sruptive 12 otherwise she would have been tied to
i.h 5+ (as 12 ... g 6 drops h8). Meanwhile e6 by White's l atent threat of f2-f3,
f2-f3 is hanging over his head: once the driving away the knight, followed by
knight i s driven back from e4, the en­ 'ii'x e6.
ergy in Black's set-up would begin to 18 .ltd3
fade and his positional weaknesses Giving back the pawn . In stead the
come to the fore - a backward pawn on g ame might h ave ended 18 f3 lDf6 19
an open file on e6, and dark-square b4! lDh 5 ! 20 g 3 (20 a4? lDf4 win s the
holes on c5 and e 5 . bishop) 20 ... lDxg 3 2 1 hxg3 'iVxg 3+ 22
1o ... .ltd6 ! �h l 'iVh 3+ 2 3 �g l 'ii'g 3 + and Black
gives perpetual check, as intervening
with the queen costs White the bishop.
18 .. J:txa2

Bartel plays the move he wants to

play, even though it costs him a pawn .
11 lDxc6 bxc6 12 .ltxd6 'iVxd6 13 lDb6
l:tb8 14 lDxc8 l:txc8 15 i.xa6 l:tb8 Bl ack now has a clear edge and
The pawn sacrifice h as increased wrapped up the endg ame with some
the size of Black's centre and removed sharp moves.
from the board his passive bishop on 19 .ltxe4 dxe4 20 c3 l:tb8 21 f3 exf3 22
c8. The white knights that were putting 1:txf3 g6 2 3 'ii'f2 c5 24 dXc5 l:.bxb2! 25
pressure on the c5 and e 5 dark squares "1Wxb2
have al so vanished. Instead 25 l:txb2 l:tal+ 26 'it'fl

47
Play t h e D u t c h

'iVxC5+ is similar t o the g ame, and after moves. In fact, it was preparation for a
2 5 cxd6 l:1xbl+ 26 'ii'fl ':'xfl+ 27 'it>xfl nasty trap as 30 f41 followed.
�e8 Bl ack will pick up the d6-pawn
with a winning endgame.
2 5 :ii'xc5+ 26 �hl l:txb2 27 l:txb2 e5 28
.•

l:tb7+ 'itf6 29 l:txh7 e4 30 l:tfl e3 3 1 :b7

e2 3 2 l:tel 'iVf2 3 3 lIbbl �e5 34 c4 �d4
0-1
White h as had enough of his para­
lysed position, and resigned before
Bartel h ad the chance to demon strate
the win by advancing his king side.

I 'm most impressed by Bartel 's After 30 ...'ii'x e3 31 :f3 1 'ii'x cl 3 2

move 17 ... �7 ! . It is all too easy to get 'ii'x e6+ the e6-pawn, the linchpin of the
caTTied away with an attack and forget black pawn structure, h ad collapsed.
about the weakness of e6. Your author White grabbed a lot of pawn s before
had the following bitter experience: regaining the rook:
32 �f8 33 'iVf6+ �e8 34 'iVh8+ �d7 3 5
•..

'ii'x h7+ �d8 3 6 'ii'g 8+ �e7 3 7 'ii'g 7+

�d8 38 'iVf8+ �d7 39 'iVf7+ �d8 40
'iVxd 5+ �e7 41 'ii'e 5+ �d8 42 'iVd6+
�e8 43 'ii'x g6+ �d8 44 'ii'f6+ �e8 45
l:txc3 l:txc3 46 'iVxc3 'iVb2 47 'ii'c 8+ �e7
48 �h3 lDd4 49 'ii'C 7+ �e6 50 'ii'e 5+
�d7 51 g6 lDe6 52 'iVxf5 �e7 5 3 .lid S
lDg7 54 'iVe5+ 1-0
In stead I should have played the
'Bartel' move 29 ... �f7 ! defending the
The diagram position was reached e6-pawn, and only then thought about
in Hoang Than h Trang-N.McDonald, doubling rooks along the c-file. The
Budapest 2003. White played 29 �h2 Dutch i s an opening that is unforgiving
whereupon I confidently replied of n atural moves. Black pushes so
29 l:tfc8? doubling up rooks on the c­
••. m any pawns that he h as to keep his
file. I was convinced I h ad a good posi­ eyes open for sudden tactics. Of course,
tion and that there was n o danger fac­ the same problem faces White - he
ing me - I took 29 �h 2 as an indication also pushes a lot of pawns, and so is
that White h ad run out of con structive vulnerable to sudden tactics.

48
 W h i te Plays 2 tD c 3

O r 4 i.h4 g s 5 e3 tDf6 (in stead

S ... g xh4 6 'ifh S+ �d7 7 tDf3 l ooks risky
White Plays
for Black, though it might be worth a
2 liJC3 d 5 3 .i.g5
try) 6 i.g3 i.g7 7 tDf3 0-0 8 tDes, tran s­
posing to the note to White's 6th, be­
We should n ow consider what to do low.
if White plays 3 i.gs, hoping to tran s­ 4 tDf6 S e3 gs
•••

pose to the 2 tDC3 tDf6 3 i.g s dS varia­

tion.

S.H uerta-A.Ciraf
Merida 2006

1 d4 fs 2 tDc3 d s 3 i.gs h6
Played in the spirit of 2 i.g s h 6 as
seen in Chapter Three. But in those
lines the intention i s to build a small
centre with ... d7-d6, whereas here we 6 i.es
are committed to a Stonewall centre A challenging move. The threat i s 7
with ... d7-dS . The upshot is that once i.xf6, doubling our pawn s, which
White's bishop is chased to g 3 , it will would be bad enough anyway without
enjoy an open diagonal and access to the disruptive queen check after
the es-square. Do we care? Let's see 7 ... exf6 by 8 Vh s+.
how Graf, a 2600-rated pl ayer, m akes it If White had played more peaceably
work for Black. with 6 i.g3 I assume th at Graf would
have developed his king side normally:
6 ... i.g 7 7 tDf3 0-0 8 tDe s, but now, de­
spite being an advocate of ... tDe4 in the
Stonewall set-up, I have to say that
8 ... tDe4 i s prem ature and bad, as White
h ad an obvious advantage after 9 tDxe4
dxe4 10 i.C4+ e6 11 'ili'd2 'ili'e8 12 h4 in
R.Geisler-K. Renner, German League
1994.
More appropriate is the immediate
advance 8 ... cS to attack the white cen­
4 i.f4 tre.

49
Play t h e D u tch

n o good way to strengthen his attack.

9 ... cxd6 10 .i.xf6 'iVxf6

For example, 9 dXc5 'iVa5 10 'iVd2

lLlc6 intending ... 'iIi'xc5 or ... lid8 as ap­
propriate, and Black is active. Alterna­ Bl ack has a huge centre that pro­
tively, if 9 h4 we can counterattack tects his own king and can power for­
with our favourite centre-busting wards to cause problem s for the white
move: 9 .. .f4 ! ? 10 exf4 (10 hxg 5 fxg 3 11 monarch .
g xf6 gxf2+ 1 2 'itxf2 ':xf6+ is al so good 11 .i.d3 lLlc6 12 'iVh 5+ 'ite7 13 c3 e5 14
for Black, so the best of a bad lot is the 'ii'd 1 .i.e6 15 lLle2 e4 16 .i.c2 f4 17 f3
meek 10 .i.h 2) 10 ... cxd4 1 1 'ili'xd4 gxf4 exf3 18 gxf3
12 .i.xf4 lLlg4! with an awkward pin on Black h as dangerous passed pawn s
e5, including ideas of ... .l:.xf4 followed for the exchange after 18 .i.xh 7 fxg 2 19
by ... .i.xe 5 . :g l fxe3 (threatening m ate on f3) 20
In the above analysis both ... C7-C 5 ! l:txg 2 'ii'f3 ! 21 lLlf4! 'ili'xdl+ 2 2 'itxdl
and .. .f5-f4! ate away at the white cen ­ g xf4.
tre. Whereas after 8 ... 1L1e4? in the 18 .:g7 19 'ili'd2 fxe3 20 'ili'xe3 l:tf8
.••

Geisler-Renner g ame the black pawn s

became a static clump in the centre.
Maintaining the vitality of his pawns is
essential for Bl ack - you might call it
guarding the dynamic health of the
bl ack position.
6 ... e6 7 1L1b5 llh7!
An economical move as it breaks the
pin on f6 and defends C7.
8 .i.e2 .i.d6 9 1L1xd6+
It m akes a bad impression to rid
Black of the hole on e5, but White had Bl ack stands well as f3 is weaker

50
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
In a certain system of schools once known to me, the boys had prizes
of money on certain occasions, but the successful girls at those times
received simply a testimonial of honor for each; “the committee
being convinced,” it was said, “that this was more consonant with the
true delicacy and generosity of woman’s nature.” So in the new
arrangements for opening the University of Copenhagen to young
women, Karl Blind writes to the New York Evening Post, that it is
expressly provided that they shall not “share in the academic
benefices and stipends which have been set apart for male students.”
Half of these charities may, for aught that appears, have been
established originally by women, like the ten Harvard scholarships
already named. Women, however, can avail themselves of them only
by deputy, as the Alp-climbing young lady is represented by her dog.
It is all a beautiful tribute to the disinterestedness of woman. The
only pity is that this virtue, so much admired, should not be
reciprocated by showing the like disinterestedness toward her. It
does not appear that the butchers and bakers of Copenhagen propose
to reduce in the case of women students “the benefices and stipends”
which are to be paid for daily food. Young ladies at the university are
only prohibited from receiving money, not from needing it. Nor will
any of the necessary fatigues of Alpine climbing be relaxed for any
young lady because she is a woman. The fatigues will remain in full
force, though the laurels be denied. The mountain-passes will make
small account of the “tenderness and delicacy of her sex.” When the
toil is over she will be regarded as too delicate to be thanked for it;
but, by way of compensation, the Alpine Club will allow her to be
represented by her dog.
 XVIII.
THE GOSPEL OF HUMILIATION.

“The silliest man who ever lived,” wrote Fanny Fern once, “has
always known enough, when he says his prayers, to thank God he
was not born a woman.” President —— of —— College is not a silly
man at all, and he is devoting his life to the education of women; yet
he seems to feel as vividly conscious of his superior position as even
Fanny Fern could wish. If he had been born a Jew, he would have
thanked God, in the appointed ritual, for not having made him a
woman. If he had been a Mohammedan, he would have accepted the
rule which forbids “a fool, a madman, or a woman” to summon the
faithful to prayer. Being a Christian clergyman, with several hundred
immortal souls, clothed in female bodies, under his charge, he thinks
it his duty, at proper intervals, to notify his young ladies, that,
though they may share with men the glory of being sophomores, they
still are in a position, as regards the other sex, of hopeless
subordination. This is the climax of his discourse, which in its earlier
portions contains many good and truthful things:—
“And, as the woman is different from the man, so is she relative to him. This is
true on the other side also. They are bound together by mutual relationship so
intimate and vital that the existence of neither is absolutely complete except with
reference to the other. But there is this difference, that the relation of woman is,
characteristically, that of subordination and dependence. This does not imply
inferiority of character, of capacity, of value, in the sight of God or man; and it has
been the glory of woman to have accepted the position of formal inferiority
assigned her by the Creator, with all its responsibilities, its trials, its possible
outward humiliations and sufferings, in the proud consciousness that it is not
incompatible with an essential superiority; that it does not prevent her from
occupying, if she will, an inward elevation of character, from which she may look
down with pitying and helpful love on him she calls her lord. Jesus said, ‘Ye know
that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are
great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; but
whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will
be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of man came, not to
be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ Surely
woman need not hesitate to estimate her status by a criterion of dignity sustained
by such authority. She need not shrink from a position which was sought by the
Son of God, and in whose trials and griefs she will have his sympathy and
companionship.”
There is a comforting aspect to this discourse, after all. It holds out
the hope, that a particularly noble woman may not be personally
inferior to a remarkably bad husband, but “may look down with
pitying and helpful love on him she calls her lord.” The drawback is
not merely that it insults woman by a reassertion of a merely
historical inferiority, which is steadily diminishing, but that it
fortifies this by precisely the same talk about the dignity of
subordination which has been used to buttress every oppression
since the world began. Never yet was there a pious slaveholder who
did not quote to his slaves, on Sunday, precisely the same texts with
which President —— favors his meek young pupils. Never yet was
there a slaveholder who would not shoot through the head, if he had
courage enough, anybody who should attempt to place him in that
beautiful position of subjection whose spiritual merits he had been
proclaiming. When it came to that, he was like Thoreau, who
believed resignation to be a virtue, but preferred “not to practise it
unless it was quite necessary.”
Thus, when the Rev. Charles C. Jones of Savannah used to address
the slaves on their condition, he proclaimed the beauty of obedience
in a way to bring tears to their eyes. And this, he frankly assures the
masters, is the way to check insurrection and advance their own
“pecuniary interests.” He says of the slave, that under proper
religious instruction “his conscience is enlightened and his soul is
awed; ... to God he commits the ordering of his lot, and in his station
renders to all their dues, obedience to whom obedience, and honor to
whom honor. He dares not wrest from God his own care and
protection. While he sees a preference in the various conditions of
men, he remembers the words of the apostle: ‘Art thou called being a
servant? Care not for it; but, if thou mayst be free, use it rather. For
he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman;
likewise, also, he that is called being free, is Christ’s servant.’”[4]
4. Religious Instruction of the Negroes. Savannah, 1842, pp. 208–211.
 I must say that the Rev. Mr. Jones’s preaching seems to me
precisely as good as Dr. ——’s, and that a sensible woman ought to be
as much influenced by the one as was Frederick Douglass by the
other—that is, not at all. Let the preacher try “subordination”
himself, and see how he likes it. The beauty of service, such as Jesus
praised, lay in the willingness of the service: a service that is serfdom
loses all beauty, whether rendered by man or by woman. My
objection to separate schools and colleges for women is, that they are
too apt to end in such instructions as this.
 XIX.
“CELERY AND CHERUBS.”

There was once a real or imaginary old lady who had got the
metaphor of Scylla and Charybdis a little confused. Wishing to
describe a perplexing situation, this lady said,—
“You see, my dear, she was between Celery on one side and
Cherubs on the other! You know about Celery and Cherubs, don’t
you? They was two rocks somewhere; and if you didn’t hit one, you
was pretty sure to run smack on the other.”
This describes, as a clever writer in the New York Tribune declares,
the present condition of women who “agitate.” Their Celery and
Cherubs are tears and temper.
It is a good hit, and we may well make a note of it. It is the danger
of all reformers, that they will vibrate between discouragement and
anger. When things go wrong, what is it one’s impulse to do? To be
cast down, or to be stirred up; to wring one’s hands, or clench one’s
fists,—in short, tears or temper.
“Mother,” said a resolute little girl of my acquaintance, “if the
dinner was all spoiled, I wouldn’t sit down, and cry! I’d say, ‘Hang
it!’” This cherub preferred the alternative of temper, on days when
the celery turned out badly. Probably her mother was addicted to the
other practice, and exhibited the tears.
But as this alternative is found to exist for both sexes, and on all
occasions, why charge it especially on the woman-suffrage
movement? Men are certainly as much given to ill temper as women;
and, if they are less inclined to tears, they make it up in sulks, which
are just as bad. Nicholas Nickleby, when the pump was frozen, was
advised by Mr. Squeers to “content himself with a dry polish;” and so
there is a kind of dry despair into which men fall, which is quite as
forlorn as any tears of women. How many a man has doubtless
wished at such times that the pump of his lachrymal glands could
only thaw out, and he could give his emotions something more than
a “dry polish”! The unspeakable comfort some women feel in sitting
for ten minutes with a handkerchief over their eyes! The freshness,
the heartiness, the new life visible in them, when the crying is done,
and the handkerchief comes down again!
And, indeed, this simple statement brings us to the real truth,
which should have been more clearly seen by the writer who tells this
story. She is wrong in saying, “It is urged that men and women stand
on an equality, are exactly alike.” Many of us urge the “equality:” very
few of us urge the “exactly alike.” An apple and an orange, a potato
and a tomato, a rose and a lily, the Episcopal and the Presbyterian
churches, Oxford and Cambridge, Yale and Harvard,—we may surely
grant equality in each case, without being so exceedingly foolish as to
go on and say that they are exactly alike.
And precisely here is the weak point of the whole case, as
presented by this writer. Women give way to tears more readily than
men? Granted. Is their sex any the weaker for it? Not a bit. It is
simply a difference of temperament: that is all. It involves no
inferiority. If you think that this habit necessarily means weakness,
wait and see! Who has not seen women break down in tears during
some domestic calamity, while the “stronger sex” were calm; and
who has not seen those same women, that temporary excitement
being over, rise up and dry their eyes, and be thenceforth the support
and stay of their households, and perhaps bear up the “stronger sex”
as a stream bears up a ship? I said once to an experienced physician,
watching such a woman, “That woman is really great.”—“Of course
she is,” he answered: “did you ever see a woman who was not great,
when the emergency required?”
Now, will women carry this same quality of temperament into
their public career? Doubtless: otherwise they would cease to be
women. Will it be betraying confidence if I own that I have seen two
of the very bravest women of my acquaintance—women who have
swayed great audiences—burst into tears, during a committee-
meeting, at a moment of unexpected adversity for “the cause”? How
pitiable! our critical observers would have thought. In five minutes
that April shower had passed, and those women were as resolute and
unconquerable as Queen Elizabeth: they were again the natural
leaders of those around them; and the cool and tearless men who sat
beside them were nothing—men were “a lost art,” as some one says—
compared with the inexhaustible moral vitality of those two women.
No: the dangers of “Celery and Cherubs” are exaggerated. For
temper, women are as good as men, and no better. As for tears, long
may they flow! They are symbols of that mighty distinction of sex
which is as ineffaceable and as essential as the difference between
land and sea.
 XX.
THE NEED OF CAVALRY.

In the interesting Buddhist book, “The Wheel of the Law,”

translated by Henry Alabaster, there is an account of a certain priest
who used to bless a great king, saying, “May your majesty have the
firmness of a crow, the audacity of a woman, the endurance of a
vulture, and the strength of an ant.” The priest then told anecdotes
illustrating all of these qualities. Who has not known occasions
wherein some daring woman has been the Joan of Arc of a perfectly
hopeless cause, taken it up where men shrank, carried it through
where they had failed, and conquered by weapons which men would
never have thought of using, and would have lacked faith to employ
even if put into their hands? The wit, the resources, the audacity of
women, have been the key to history and the staple of novels, ever
since that larger novel called history began to be written.
How is it done? Who knows the secret of their success? All that any
man can say is, that the heart enters largely into the magic. Rogers
asserts in his “Table-Talk,” that often, when doubting how to act in
matters of importance, he had received more useful advice from
women than from men. “Women have the understanding of the
heart,” he said, “which is better than that of the head.” Then this
instinct, that begins from the heart, reaches the heart also, and
through that controls the will. “Win hearts,” said Lord Burleigh to
Queen Elizabeth, “and you have hands and purses;” and the greatest
of English sovereigns, in spite of ugliness and rouge, in spite of
coarseness and cruelty and bad passions, was adored by the nation
that she first made great.
It seems to me that women are a sort of cavalry force in the army
of mankind. They are not always to be relied upon for that steady
“hammering away,” which was Grant’s one method; but there is a
certain Sheridan quality about them, light-armed, audacious, quick,
irresistible. They go before the main army; their swift wits go
scouting far in advance; they are the first to scent danger, or to spy
out chances of success. Their charge is like that of a Tartar horde, or
the wild sweep of the Apaches. They are upon you from some wholly
unexpected quarter; and this respectable, systematic, well-drilled
masculine force is caught and rolled over and over in the dust, before
the man knows what has hit him. But, even if repelled and beaten off,
this formidable cavalry is unconquered: routed and in confusion to-
day, it comes back upon you to-morrow—fresh, alert, with new
devices, bringing new dangers. In dealing with it, as the French
complained of the Arabs in Algiers, “Peace is not to be purchased by
victory.” And, even if all seems lost, with what a brilliant final charge
it will cover a retreat!
Decidedly, we need cavalry. In older countries, where it has been a
merely undisciplined and irregular force, it has often done mischief;
and public men, from Demosthenes down, have been lamenting that
measures which the statesman has meditated a whole year, may be
overturned in a day by a woman. Under our American government
we have foolishly attempted to leave out this arm of the service
altogether; and much of the alleged dulness of our American history
has come from this attempt. Those who have been trained in the
various reforms where woman has taken an equal part—the anti-
slavery reform especially—know well how much of the energy, the
dash, the daring, of those movements, have come from her. A
revolution with a woman in it is stronger than the established order
that omits her. It is not that she is superior to man, but she is
different from man; and we can no more spare her than we could
spare the cavalry from an army.
 XXI.
“THE REASON FIRM, THE TEMPERATE
WILL.”

It is a part of the necessary theory of republican government, that

every class and race shall be judged by its highest types, not its
lowest. The proposition of the French revolutionary statesman, to
begin the work of purifying the world by arresting all the cowards
and knaves, is liable to the objection that it would find victims in
every circle. Republican government begins at the other end, and
assumes that the community generally has good intentions at least,
and some common sense, however it may be with individuals. Take
the very quality which the newspapers so often deny to women,—the
quality of steadiness. “In fact, men’s great objection to the entrance
of the female mind into politics is drawn from a suspicion of its
unsteadiness on matters in which the feelings could by any
possibility be enlisted.” Thus says the New York Nation. Let us
consider this implied charge against women, and consider it not by
generalizing from a single instance,—“just like a woman,” as the
editors would doubtless say, if a woman had done it,—but by
observing whole classes of that sex, taken together.
These classes need some care in selection, for the plain reason that
there are comparatively few circles in which women have yet been
allowed enough freedom of scope, or have acted sufficiently on the
same plane with men, to furnish a fair estimate of their probable
action, were they enfranchised. Still there occur to me three such
classes,—the anti-slavery women, the Quaker women, and the
women who conduct philanthropic operations in our large cities. If
the alleged unsteadiness of women is to be felt in public affairs, it
would have been felt in these organizations. Has it been so felt?
Of the anti-slavery movement I can personally testify,—and I have
heard the same point fully recognized among my elders, such as
Garrison, Phillips, and Quincy,—that the women contributed their
full share, if not more than their share, to the steadiness of that
movement, even in times when the feelings were most excited, as, for
instance, in fugitive-slave cases. Who that has seen mobs practically
put down, and mayors cowed into decency, by the silent dignity of
those rows of women who sat, with their knitting, more
imperturbable than the men, can read without a smile these doubts
of the “steadiness” of that sex? Again, among Quaker women, I have
asked the opinion of prominent Friends, as of John G. Whittier,
whether it has been the experience of that body that women were
more flighty and unsteady than men in their official action; and have
been uniformly answered in the negative. And finally, as to
benevolent organizations, a good test is given in the fact,—first
pointed out, I believe, by that eminently practical philanthropist,
Rev. Augustus Woodbury of Providence,—that the whole tendency
has been, during the last twenty years, to put the management, even
the financial control, of our benevolent societies, more and more into
the hands of women, and that there has never been the slightest
reason to reverse this policy. Ask the secretaries of the various
boards of State Charities, or the officers of the Social Science
Associations, if they have found reason to complain of the want of
steadfast qualities in the “weaker sex.” Why is it that the legislation
of Massachusetts has assigned the class requiring the steadiest of all
supervision—the imprisoned convicts—to “five commissioners of
prisons, two of whom shall be women”? These are the points which it
would be worthy of our journals to consider, instead of hastily
generalizing from single instances. Let us appeal from the typical
woman of the editorial picture,—fickle, unsteady, foolish,—to the
nobler conception of womanhood which the poet Wordsworth found
fulfilled in his own household:—
“A being breathing thoughtful breath,
A traveller betwixt life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will;
Endurance, foresight, strength and skill;
A perfect woman, nobly planned
To warn, to comfort, to command,
And yet a spirit still, and bright
With something of an angel light.”
 XXII.
“ALLURES TO BRIGHTER WORLDS, AND
LEADS THE WAY.”

When the Massachusetts House of Representatives had “School

Suffrage” under consideration, the other day, the suggestion was
made by one of the pithiest and quaintest of the speakers, that men
were always better for the society of women, and therefore ought to
vote in their company. “If all of us,” he said, “would stay away from
all places where we cannot take our wives and daughters with us, we
should keep better company than we now do.” This expresses a
feeling which grows more and more common among the better class
of men, and which is the key to much progress in the condition of
women. There can be no doubt that the increased association of the
sexes in society, in school, in literature, tends to purify these several
spheres of action. Yet, when we come to philosophize on this, there
occur some perplexities on the way.
For instance, the exclusion of woman from all these spheres was in
ancient Greece almost complete; yet the leading Greek poets, as
Homer and the tragedians, are exceedingly chaste in tone, and in this
respect beyond most of the great poets of modern nations. Again no
European nation has quite so far sequestered and subordinated
women as has Spain; and yet the whole tone of Spanish literature is
conspicuously grave and decorous. This plainly indicates that race
has much to do with the matter, and that the mere admission or
exclusion of women is but one among several factors. In short, it is
easy to make out a case by a rhetorical use of the facts on one side;
but, if we look at all the facts, the matter presents greater difficulties.
Again, it is to be noted that in several countries the first women
who have taken prominent part in literature have been as bad as the
men; as, for instance, Marguerite of Navarre and Mrs. Aphra Behn.
This might indeed be explained by supposing that they had to gain
entrance into literature by accepting the dissolute standards which
they found prevailing. But it would probably be more correct to say
that these standards themselves were variable, and that their
variation affected, at certain periods, women as well as men.
Marguerite of Navarre wrote religious books as well as merry stories;
and we know from Lockhart’s Life of Scott, that ladies of high
character in Edinburgh used to read Mrs. Behn’s tales and plays
aloud, at one time, with delight,—although one of the same ladies
found, in her old age, that she could not read them to herself without
blushing. Shakspeare puts coarse repartees into the mouths of
women of stainless virtue. George Sand is not considered an
unexceptionable writer; but she tells us in her autobiography that
she found among her grandmother’s papers poems and satires so
indecent that she could not read them through, and yet they bore the
names of abbés and gentlemen whom she remembered in her
childhood as models of dignity and honor. Voltaire inscribes to ladies
of high rank, who doubtless regarded it as a great compliment, verses
such as not even a poet of the English “fleshly school” would now
print at all. In “Poems by Eminent Ladies,”—published in 1755 and
reprinted in 1774,—there are one or two poems as gross and
disgusting as any thing in Swift; yet their authors were thought
reputable women. Allan Ramsay’s “Tea-Table Miscellany”—a
collection of English and Scottish songs—was first published in 1724;
and in his preface to the sixteenth edition the editor attributes its
great success, especially among the ladies, to the fact that he has
carefully excluded all grossness, “that the modest voice and ear of the
fair singer might meet with no affront;” and adds, “the chief bent of
all my studies being to attain their good graces.” There is no doubt of
the great popularity enjoyed by the book in all circles; yet it contains
a few songs which the most licentious newspaper would not now
publish. The inference is irresistible, from this and many other
similar facts, that the whole tone of manners and decency has very
greatly improved among the European races within a century and a
half.
I suspect the truth to be, that, besides the visible influence of race
and religion, there has been an insensible and almost unconscious
improvement in each sex, with respect to these matters, as time has
passed on; and that the mutual desire to please has enabled each sex
to help the other,—the sex which is naturally the more refined taking
the lead. But I should lay more stress on this mutual influence, and
less on mere feminine superiority, than would be laid by many. It is
often claimed by teachers that co-education helps not only boys, but
also girls, to develop greater propriety of manners. When the sexes
are wholly separate, or associate on terms of entire inequality, no
such good influence occurs: the more equal the association, the
better for both parties. After all, the Divine model is to be found in
the family; and the best ingenuity cannot improve much upon it.
 THE HOME.

“In respect to the powers and rights of married women, the law is
by no means abreast of the spirit of the age. Here are seen the old
fossil footprints of feudalism. The law relating to woman tends to
make every family a barony or a monarchy or a despotism, of which
the husband is the baron, king, or despot, and the wife the
dependent, serf, or slave. That this is not always the fact, is not due
to the law, but to the enlarged humanity which spurns the narrow
limits of its rules. The progress of civilization has changed the family
from a barony to a republic; but the law has not kept pace with the
advance of ideas, manners, and customs.”—W. W. Story’s Treatise
on Contracts not under Seal, § 84,—third edition, p. 89.
 XXIII.
WANTED—HOMES.

We see advertisements, occasionally, of “Homes for Aged

Women,” and more rarely “Homes for Aged Men.” The question
sometimes suggests itself, whether it would not be better to begin the
provision earlier, and see that homes are also provided, in some
form, for the middle-aged and even the young. The trouble is, I
suppose, that as it takes two to make a bargain, so it takes at least
two to make a home; and unluckily it takes only one to spoil it.
Madame Roland once defined marriage as an institution where
one person undertakes to provide happiness for two; and many
failures are accounted for, no doubt, by this false basis. Sometimes it
is the man, more often the woman, of whom this extravagant
demand is made. There are marriages which have proved a wreck
almost wholly through the fault of the wife. Nor is this confined to
wedded homes alone. I have known a son who lived alone, patiently
and uncomplainingly, with that saddest of all conceivable
companions, a drunken mother. I have known another young man
who supported in his own home a mother and sister, both habitual
drunkards. All these were American-born, and all of respectable
social position. A home shadowed by such misery is not a home,
though it might have been a home but for the sins of women. Such
instances are, however, rare and occasional compared with the cases
where the same offence in the husband makes ruin of the home.
Then there are the cases where indolence, or selfishness, or vanity,
or the love of social excitement, in the woman, unfits her for home
life. Here we come upon ground where perhaps woman is the greater
sinner. It must be remembered, however, that against this must be
balanced the neglect produced by club-life, or by the life of society-
membership, in a man. A brilliant young married belle in London
once told me that she was glad her husband was so fond of his club,
for it amused him every night while she went to balls. “Married men
do not go much into society here,” she said, “unless they are regular
flirts,—which I do not think my husband would ever be, for he is very
fond of me,—so he goes every night to his club, and gets home about
the same time that I do. It is a very nice arrangement.” It was
apparently spoken in all the fearlessness of innocence, but I believe
that it has since ended in a “separation.”
It is common to denounce club-life in our large cities as
destructive of the home. The modern club is simply a more refined
substitute for the old-fashioned tavern, and is on the whole an
advance in morals as well as manners. In our large cities a man in a
certain social coterie belongs to a club, if he can afford it, as a means
of contact with his fellows, and to have various conveniences which
he cannot so economically obtain at home. A few haunt them
constantly: the many use them occasionally. More absorbing than
clubs, perhaps, are the secret societies which have so revived among
us since the war, and which consume time so fearfully. There was a
case mentioned in the newspapers lately of a man who belonged to
some twenty of these associations; and when he died, and each
wished to conduct his funeral, great was the strife! In the small city
where I write, there are seventeen secret societies down in the
directory, and I suppose as many more not so conspicuous. I meet
men who assure me that they habitually attend a societymeeting
every evening of the week except Sunday, and a church meeting then.
These are rarely men of leisure: they are usually mechanics or
business men of some kind, who are hard at work all day, and never
see their families except at meal-times. Their case is far worse, so far
as absence from home is concerned, than that of the “club-men” of
large cities; for these are often men of leisure, who, if married, at
least make home one of their lounging-places, which the secret-
society men do not.
I honestly believe that this melancholy desertion of the home is
largely due to the traditional separation between the alleged spheres
of the sexes. The theory still prevails largely, that home is the
peculiar province of the woman, that she has almost no duties out of
it; and hence, naturally enough, that the husband has almost no
duties in it. If he is amused there, let him stay there; but, as it is not
his recognized sphere of duty, he is not actually violating any duty by
absenting himself. This theory even pervades our manuals of morals,
of metaphysics, and of popular science; and it is not every public
teacher who has the manliness, having once stated it, to modify his
statement, as did the venerable President Hopkins of Williams
College, when lecturing the other day to the young ladies of Vassar.
“I would,” he said, “at this point correct my teaching in ‘The Law of
Love’ to the effect that home is peculiarly the sphere of woman, and
civil government that of man. I now regard the home as the joint
sphere of man and woman, and the sphere of civil government
more of an open question as between the two. It is, however, to be
lamented that the present agitation concerning the rights of woman
is so much a matter of ‘rights’ rather than of ‘duties,’ as the reform of
the latter would involve the former.”
If our instructors in moral philosophy will only base their theory of
ethics as broadly as this, we shall no longer need to advertise “Homes
Wanted;” for the joint efforts of men and women will soon provide
them.
 XXIV.
THE ORIGIN OF CIVILIZATION.

Nothing throws more light on the whole history of woman than the
first illustration in Sir John Lubbock’s “Origin of Civilization.” A
young girl, almost naked, is being dragged furiously along the ground
by a party of naked savages, armed literally to the teeth, while those
of another band grasp her by the arm, and almost tear her asunder in
the effort to hold her back. These last are her brothers and her
friends; the others are—her enemies? As you please to call them.
They are her future husband and his kinsmen, who have come to aid
him in his wooing.
This was the primitive rite of marriage. Vestiges of it still remain
among savage nations. And all the romance and grace of the most
refined modern marriage—the orange-blossoms, the bridal veil, the
church service, the wedding-feast—these are only the “bright
consummate flower” reared by civilization from that rough seed. All
the brutal encounter is softened into this. Nothing remains of the
barbarism except the one word “obey,” and even that is going.
Now, to say that a thing is going, is to say that it will presently be
gone. To say that any thing is changed, is to say that it is to change
further. If it never has been altered, perhaps it will not be; but a
proved alteration of an inch in a year opens the way to an indefinite
modification. The study of the glaciers, for instance, began with the
discovery that they had moved; and from that moment no one
doubted that they were moving all the time. It is the same with the
position of woman. Once open your eyes to the fact that it has
changed, and who is to predict where the matter shall end? It is sheer
folly to say, “Her relative position will always be what it has been,”
when one glance at Sir John Lubbock’s picture shows that there is no
fixed “has been,” but that her original position was long since altered
and revised. Those who still use this argument are like those who
laughed at the lines of stakes which Agassiz planted across the Aar
glacier in 1840. But the stakes settled the question, and proved the
motion. Pero si muove: “But it moves.”
The motion once proved, the whole range of possible progress is
before us. The amazement of that formerly “heathen Chinee” in
Boston, the other day, when he saw a woman addressing a
missionary meeting; the astonishment of all English visitors when
young ladies hear classes in geometry and Latin, in our high schools;
the surprise of foreigners at seeing the rough throng in the Cooper
Institute reading-room submit to the sway of one young woman with
a crochet-needle—all these simply testify to the fact that the stakes
have moved. That they have yet been carried half way to the end, who
knows? What a step from the horrible nuptials of those savage days
to the poetic marriage of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett—
the “Sonnets from the Portuguese” on one side, the “One Word
More” on the other! But who can say that the whole relation between
man and woman reached its climax there, and that where the past
has brought changes so vast the future is to add nothing? Who knows
that, when “the world’s great bridals come,” people may not look
back with pity, even on this era of the Brownings? Probably even
Elizabeth Barrett promised to obey!
At any rate, it is safe to say that each step concedes the probability
of another. Even from the naked barbarian to the veiled Oriental,
from the savage hut to the carefully enshrined harem, is a step
forward. It is another step in the spiral line of progress to the
unveiled face and comparatively free movements of the modern
English or American woman. From the kitchen to the public lecture-
room, from that to the lecture-platform, and from that again to the
ballot-box,—these are far slighter steps than those which have
already lifted the savage girl of Sir John Lubbock’s picture into the
possession of the alphabet and the dignity of a home. So easy are
these future changes beside those of the past, that to doubt their
possibility is as if Agassiz, after tracing year by year the motion of his
Alpine glacier, should deny its power to move one inch farther into
the sunny valley, and there to melt harmlessly away.
 XXV.
THE LOW-WATER MARK.

We constantly see it assumed, in arguments against any step in the

elevation of woman, that her position is a thing fixed permanently by
nature, so that there can be in it no great or essential change. Every
successive modification is resisted as “a reform against nature;” and
this argument from permanence is always that appealing most
strongly to conservative minds. Let us see how the facts confirm it.
A story is going the rounds of the newspapers in regard to a
Russian peasant and his wife. For some act of disobedience the
peasant took the law into his own hands; and his mode of discipline
was to tie the poor creature naked to a post in the street, and to call
on every passer-by to strike her a blow. Not satisfied with this, he
placed her on the ground, and tied heavy weights on her limbs until
one arm was broken. When finally released, she made a complaint
against him in court. The court discharged him on the ground that he
had not exceeded the legal authority of a husband. Encouraged by
this, he caused her to be arrested in return; and the same court
sentenced her to another public whipping for disobedience.
No authority was given for this story in the newspaper where I saw
it; but it certainly did not first appear in a woman-suffrage
newspaper, and cannot therefore be a manufactured “outrage.” I use
it simply to illustrate the low-water mark at which the position of
woman may rest, in the largest Christian nation of the world. All the
refinements, all the education, all the comparative justice, of modern
society, have been gradually upheaved from some such depth as this.
When the gypsies described by Leland treat even the ground trodden
upon by a woman as impure, they simply illustrate the low plane
from which all the elevation of woman has begun. All these things
show that the position of that sex in society, so far from being a thing
in itself permanent, has been in reality the most variable of all factors
in the social problem. And this inevitably suggests the question, Are
we any more sure that her present position is finally and absolutely
fixed than were those who observed it at any previous time in the
world’s history? Granting that her condition was once at low-water
mark, who is authorized to say that it has yet reached high-tide?
It is very possible that this Russian wife, once scourged back to
submission, ended her days in the conviction, and taught to her
daughters, that such was a woman’s rightful place. When an
American woman of to-day says, “I have all the rights I want,” is she
on any surer ground? Grant that the difference is vast between the
two. How do we know that even the later condition is final, or that
any thing is final but entire equality before the laws? It is not many
years since William Story—in a legal work inspired and revised by his
father, the greatest of American jurists—wrote this indignant protest
against the injustice of the old common law:—
“In respect to the powers and rights of married women, the law is by no means
abreast of the spirit of the age. Here are seen the old fossil footprints of feudalism.
The law relating to woman tends to make every family a barony or a monarchy, or
a despotism, of which the husband is the baron, king, or despot, and the wife the
dependent, serf, or slave. That this is not always the fact, is not due to the law, but
to the enlarged humanity which spurns the narrow limits of its rules. The progress
of civilization has changed the family from a barony to a republic; but the law has
not kept pace with the advance of ideas, manners, and customs. And, although
public opinion is a check to legal rules on the subject, the rules are feudal and
stern. Yet the position of woman throughout history serves as the criterion of the
freedom of the people or an age. When man shall despise that right which is
founded only on might, woman will be free and stand on an equal level with him,—
a friend and not a dependent.”[5]

5. Story’s Treatise on the Law of Contracts not under Seal, p. 89, § 84.
We know that the law is greatly changed and ameliorated in many
places since Story wrote this statement; but we also know how
almost every one of these changes was resisted: and who is
authorized to say that the final and equitable fulfilment is yet
reached?
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