Andrew Soltis The Stonewall Attack Chess Digest 1993 PDF

Copyright 1993 Andrew Soltis
This is a revised edition of 11ze Stonewall Attack by Andrew Soltis

(1987 Chess Digest, Inc).
All rights reserved under Pan American and lnten1aLional
Copyright conventions.
ISBN: 0-87568-165-4
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any fonn, or by any means: electronic, electro-
static, magnetic tape, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without prior and current pennission from the publisher.
Author: Andrew Soltis

Computer Typesetting: Elaine Smith
Cover: Elaine Smith
Editor: Ken Smith (F.I.D.E. 2365)
Proofreaders: John Hall, David Leinback & Ken Smith
Final Preparation & Diagrams: Ken Smith
Publisher: Chess Digest Inc., 1601 Tantor, Dallas, TX 75229
Send the publisher $2.00 for the New Chess Guide that catalogs
every book and chess item for general sale in the United States. You are
given publishers, page counts, notation, and a review of the book. Also
included is a free Chess Improvement Course for beginners up tltrough
Master level players.
Stonewall Attack: Index
INDEX
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 7
Azzien Mohanuned-GM Arnold Denker, 7
U.S. Open 1992
With the Cotnplete Games:
Trenchard-Walbrodt, Vienna 1898 10
Kujoth-Crittendent Milwaukee 1949 11
Gunsberg-Tchigorin, Match 1890 14
Klinger-Kallai, Lenk 1990 16
CHAPTER ONE: 20
The Matter Of Move Order
With the Complete Games:
Parr-Baxter, British Champ. 1962 20
Yusupov-Anand, Linares 1991 25
CHAPTER TWO: 30
Stonewall Strategies
(I) Simple Kin&side Attack 30

With the Complete Game:
Capablanca-Ilia, Exhibition 1911 30
(2) Good vs Bad Bisho_ps 36

Ware-Weiss, Vienna 1882 36
Ufimtsev- Vaiser, Kyakhstan Team Ch. 1965 41
(3) Queenside Play: 45

The Open and Half-Open c-file 45
Maroczy-Janowski, Vienna 1902 46
Christensen-Becker, Olympiade 1939 50
4 Stonewall Attack: Index
Page
(4) The Pawn ReCaptured on d3 52
Sultan Khan-Mattison, Prague 1931 52
Marshall-Suchting, Vienna 1908 55
Trenchard-Schlechter, Vienna 1898 58
(5) The Double Stonewall 60

Chajes-Rotlervi, Karlsbad 1911 60
Lee-Mason, London 1899 63
(6) The Advance of the e-Pawn 66

Fogolevich-Lapin, Moscow 1928 66
CHAPTER THREE: 69
The "Theoretically Best .. Defense 69
1 d4, d5
2 e3, Nf6. .. 2 ...Nc6 69
3 Bd3, Nc6 3...Bg4 70
4 f4 4 c3, 4 c4 72
4..., Nb4 4...Bg4 73
5Nf3 74
Yates-Schlechter, Pistyan 1902 78
CHAPTER FOUR: 81
The Traditional Defense
1 d4, d5
2 e3, Nf6 2 ...c6 2... e6 81
3 Bd3, c5 3... c3 83
3...Nbd7 84
Stonewall Attack: Index
Page
SECTION (A) 87
Black Plays e6
1 d4, d5
2e3,Nf6
3 Bd3, c5
4 c3, e6
5 f4, Nc6 5...Nbd7 5...Qc7 87
6Nd2 6Nf3 6Qf3 88
6... Bd6 89
7 Qf3 7 Nh3 90
7... Bd7 7...0-0 7...h5 91
8~3 ~
SEC'fiON (8) 93
Black Develops His QB
1 d4, d5 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, c5
4 c3, Nc6 4...Qc7 93
5 f4 5 dxc5 in note 94
5NO ~
5... Bg4 94
6Nf6 6Qc2 94
6 ...e6 6 ...Ne4 94
7Nbd2 95
Summary & Editor's Note 96
CHAPTER FIVE: 101

Black Fianchettoes
1 d4, Nf6
2 e3, g6 2...d6 2... b6 102
1. Jonsson-T. Herrstrom, U.S. Open 1985 103
Variation A 104
3 f4, Bg7 104
4 Nf3 4 Bd3, d5 104
5 Nd2, c5
6 c3, Qc7 6...Nbd7
4 ...0-0 4...d5 106
5 Bd3 5 Be2, 0-0 106
6 0-0, c5 6 ... b6 106
6 Stonewall Attack: Index
5..d5 5...d6 5...c5 108

6 0-0 6 Nbd2 6 c3 108
6...c5 6...Ne8 108
7 c3 7 Nbd2 109
7...b6, 7... cxd4, 7... Nc6, 7... Nbd7 109
8 Nbd2 8 Bd2 8 Qe2 111
8...Bb7 111
Variation B 114
Form of The Colle
1 d4, Nf6
2 e3, g6
3 Nf3, Bg7
4Be2
ILLUSTRATIVE GAME SECTION 117

The Complete Games of:
1. Sultan Khan-Rubinstein, 117
Prague 1931
2. Marshall-Rubinstein, 124
Vienna 1908
3. Horowitz-Amateur. 130
New York 1950
4.RJnoch-Nagy, 137
Budapest 1926
5. Santasiere-Adams. 142
u.s. 1940
6. Lipke-Zink, 145
Leipzig 1894
7. LipkeSchiffers, 149
Leipzig 1894
8. PillsburyHanham, 153
New York 1893
Introduction: Stonewall Attack 7
INTRODUCTION
How often do you see something like this happen in the flfst round
of a major open tournament? In U1ose ftrst rounds, there are mismatches of
several hundred ratings points, and the better players usually finish their
opponents in an hour or two.
But then there are games Iike this, between a grand1naster and a
1700-playcr.
Azziem Mohammed-(jM Arnold Denker

U.S. <>pen 1992
l d4 Nf6
2e3 dS
3Bd3 e6
4Nd2 Nbd7
5 f4! c5
6c3 b6
7Qf3 Bb7
We would prefer to develop the Knight at h3, from where it can go

togS. But White still has an ~xcellent- and advantageous - position.
8Ne2 Be7
9 Bc2 ReS
10 0-0 Rc7
8 Stonewall Attack: Introduction
11 g4! Qa8
12Ng3 0-0
13g5 Ne8
Things like this should not occur: White, vastly outrated, has the
makings of a powerful attack. With a few preparatory moves such as 14
Khl he will command a dangerous auack force with little direct counter-
play by Black. A more direct assault results frorn 14 Qh5! and if 14..g6,
then 15 Qg4 followed by 16 h4 and 17 h5. White can also try 15 Qh3, with
ideas such as Nd2-f3-e5 or 15 f5!, exf516 NxfS (since 16... gxf5? 17 Bxf5 is
too dangerous).
But White lost this game and tbe reason may be that he was over-
confident(!). His position is so promising that White played 14 Bxh7ch?!,
Kxh7 15 Qh5ch, Kg8. Now 16 Rf3looks powerful, because of the threat of
17 Nf5 !, exf5 18 Rh3. But 16..g6! 17 Qh6, Ng7 kills the attack.
White actually continued 16 NfJ, g6 17 Qh6, Ng7, but after 18

NeS, NxeS 19 fxe5, Qd8 20 Rf6!?, ReS! 21 Bd2, Bf8 he was already lost.
The 1700-player resigned on the 32 move.
But once again the point had been made: The Stonewall, once a
mighty weapon in the hands of a Frank Marshall or a Jose Capablanca, is
very much alive. And it is an opening well worth adopting.
The Stonewall is unique in the realm of chess openings. It is one of

the simplest to play and yet it's one of the rarest to be found in tournaments-
-at least on the master level. It was once very popular but its tilne of promi-
nence was exceptionally brief. No strong master used the Stonewall before
the 1880s-and no strong master has used it consistently since the 1920s.
Yet it has been used by amateurs of all strengths since its heyday.
In that heyday, it was adopted by attacking starts such as Frank

Marshall and Edgar Colle--but it was also adopted by posilionaltnasters
such as Geza Maroczy and Jose Capablanca. It was used by people, such as
Gyula Breyer and Harry Bird, who broke new, theoretical paths, and also by
those, such as Sultan Khan, who just wanted to get into the middlegame
without having to learn a lot of book moves. The Stonewall's bold features
and simple strategies attracted bold planners such as Harry Pillsbury. And
while its positional disadvantages have been regularly cited in opening
books they did little to dissuade such a dogmatician as Siegbert Tarrasch
from using it.
But eventually Lbe Stonewall lost favor. Sotne of today's opening

books suggest this occurred because of the discovery of an easy
"equalizing .. system for Black. But the equalizer doesn't necessarily equal-
ize, as our Chapter Three suggests. The real reason the Stonewall lost its
position in the family of openings was the ernergence of the rival Queenside
strategy, Pillsbury's attack in the Queen's Gambit Declined, which offered
White attacKing potential wilh few positional de1neri1S.
Today the Stonewall has a poor reputation. A reputation based

largely on the mediocre results it produced around the tum of the century.
But those results are deceptive. As the stronger masters gave it up for the
Queen's Gambit, lhe Stonewall appeared primarily in the games of lesser-
known masters. And when the lesser masters got clobbered by the super-
stars, it was explained by the annotators that it was all due to the Stonewall.
(Of course, when occasionally a superstar adopted the Stonewall and won,
it was explained that he won because he was a superstar.)
An illustration of why the Stonewall's reputation suffered was

what happened at the Vienna Toun1runent of 1898: The Stonewall was
played only seven titnes, six of tltcm by tbe unheralded Englishman H.W.
Trenchard, who managed only two draws with the opening. But Trenchard's
problem wasn't the Stonewall, it was Trenchard. He was simply outclassed
as a player. A look at some of Trenchard's positions after 20 moves, how-
ever, is encouraging:
VIENNA 1898
TRENCHARD-WALBRODrf
ld4 d5
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 e6
4 f4! cS
Sc3 Nc6
6Nd2 Bd7
7 NhJ!? Bd6
80-0 Qc7
9 Nf3 h6
tONeS Ne7
Black's maneuvering is questionable, but it is difficult to suggest a

clearcut plan for him. He is afraid of a Kingside attack if he castles King-
side. So he prepares to block White's active Bishop by occupying e4.
11 Nil! Bc6
12 Nfg4 Ne4
13 Nxc6 bxc6
14Bxe4 dxe4
15Nf2 rs
16 dxcS! BxcS
17b4 Bb6
18c4! c5
19 bS! 0-0
20Bb2
White has an excellent grune. His terrible Queen Bishop has seized
a fme diagonal while its opposite nutnber has been reduced to the status of a
big pawn. Only a tnistaken plan of exchanging Queens on 1nove 24 de-
prived White of a tretnendous middlegame position.
What the Stonewall does is to build a fortress of dark-squared

pawns for a sitnple attacking machine. The machine consists of only a few
pieces--the White Queen. King Bishop and King Knight and perhaps a
Rook or the other Knight. But it only takes a few pieces to deliver tnate:
R. KUJOTH-R. CRIT1,ENDEN
MILWAUKEE 1949
1 d4 d5
2e3 Nf6
For the weak 2Bf5 see Illustrated Game #4.
3Bd3 e6
4C4 Nbd7
5Nd2!
So far Black has made one minor error of omission. He missed his
chance to organize a counter-Stonewall with 4 Ne4! and SfS. But he
soon makes two serious errors of ommission, after which Whites advantage
just grows and grows.
s... cS
6c3 cxd4?
7 exd4! Be7
8Ngf3 b6
9NeS! NxeS?
10 fxeS!
Black was understandably concerned after 9 NeS about White's

clear plan of Ndf3-g5, attacKing r7 and h7 in coordination with a Queen
and Bishop. The White King Rook could also get into action by way of
Rf3-g3 or h3.
However, the exchange of pawns and Knights has only eased

White's task. His donnant Queen Bishop, which was locked in by pawns at
e3 and f4 only a few moves ago, can now join the olher forces in ag . .
gression:
10... Nd7
11 0-0 aS
12Qg4 g6
13 Bc2 BgS
14Nc~
14... dxc4
On 14Bxc1 White wins with 15 Nd6ch. After the text, White has
a forced win, as all his pieces take part in the attack.
15 BxgS Qc7
16 Rxt7! Kxl7
On 16Nxe5 White continues 17 Rxc7, Nxg4 18 h3!, h6 19

Bxg6ch, Kf8 20 Rfich, Kg8 21 Bd2 White wins.
17 Rflch Kg7
18 Bh6cb! Kxb6
19Rl7 Qd8
20 Rxh7ch! Kxh7
21 Qxg6mate
In essence, lhe Stonewall then consists of:

A Bishop at d3
One Knight at eS and the other at f3 (or h3 so that Whiters Queen

can occupy f3).
The points of attack are Blackrs castled position at h7 and f7. The
White Queen Bishop is the problem piece of Ibis opening and sotnetitnes it
plays no role in the first 10-15 moves. Often the Bishop has to Lake the
overland route of Bd2-el-h4 in order to find a good diagonal. But t11ere are
instances when that is insufficient and White must give the Bishop a greater
role in the middlegame by playing b2-b3 and Bb2. Or, when White plays a
different move order and achieves a belated f2-f4, then the g7 square can
become the chief target for White. For instance, one of the most famous
games of the last century went:
I. GUNSBERG-M. TCHIGORIN
MATCH 1890
1 d4 dS
2Nf3 e6
3e3 Be7
4Bd3 Nf6
s b3!? Nbd7
6Bb2 0-0
7Nbd2 Re8
8Ne5 Nf8
9 f4! c5
White's pieces coordinate quite well. Black is anticipating an at-

tack on h7 and Lhat is why he's placed a Knight on 18. But that configura. .
tion of forces makes ittnore difficult to protect the gJ square, and Ibis fact
influences White's next few moves.
100-0 a6
11 Rf3! b5
12 dxc5! BxcS
13Rg3 Ng6
14 h4! Qb6
lSNfl Nxh4
The threat was 16 hS, NxeS 17 BxeS followed by Bxf6 or

Rxg7cb!. Black's last move, however, allows the de1nolition of his King-
side. His King is chased westward until it reaches lhe end of the board.
16 Nxl7!, Kxf7 17 Bxf6, gxf6 18 QhSch, Ke7 19 Qxh4, Bd7 20

Rg7ch, Kd6 21 Qxr6, Bxe3cb 22 Nxe3, QxeJcb 23 Kfl, Rad8 24 Ret,
Qd2 25 Re2, Qclcb 26 Kf2, Kc6 27 Rxh7, Rf8 28 Rxe6ch!, Kc7 29
Rc6cb!, Kb7 30 Rb6ch Black Resign.
Another illustration of how strong White's reputedly feeble Queen ..

side can become with sorne accurate preparation.
Klinger-Kallai
Lenk 1990
ld4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3BdJ g6
4f4 Bg7
5Nf3
This is a rare, modem example of a "pure" Stonewallinove-order

in a grandmaster game.
5.. 0-0
6 0-0 cS
7c3 b6
8 Qe2 aS
Black has learned the lesson of the good and bad Bishops. Since
White's eighth move was designed to stop 8.Ba6, Black's replay is his way
of insisting. Now 9Ba6 cannot be stopped.
However, there is a slight positional price to be paid. The squares

bS and c6 can become highly vulnerable in the late middle game.
9 a4 Ba6
10 Bxa6 Nxa6
11 b3!?
White varies frotn the standard development plan (Bd2-eJ . .Iz4) be-
cause an important change has taken place on the Queenside. He intends
planting his Queen Knight on bS along with a Bishop on a3 or b2 and a
Rookatcl.
11... Ne4
12 Bb2 e6
13Na3 Qe7
14 Rfcl
This a rare case of this Rook swinging to the opposite wing in a

Stonewall. The rea-;on is partly tactical: 14 Racl, Rfc8 JS Rc2, cxd4 15
exd4- similar to the game- would allow 15 Nxc3! (16 Bxc3, Qxa3).
Of course, in that case, White could recapture at move 15 with the

c-pawn. But...
14... Rfc8
15 Rc2 cxd4?
16 exd4!
Far superior to the c-pawn capture, whcih would give b4 to Black's
Knight and lead to a symmetrical position in which Black would have the
upper hand because of his better Bishop.
Now Black finds that he cannot double Rooks smoothly on the c-
file, as he planned (16... Rc7 17 Nb5, 16... Rc6 17 Racl. Rac8?? 18 Qxa6).
He has already gone astray since a better idea was 15Nd6 and 16..c4.
Now his game begins to deteriorate.
16 Nc7
17 Racl Ne8
18Nb5 N8d6
19 c4!
You might (incorrectly) conclude that Black still stands well be-
cause the pawn structure is nearly symmetrical and it is White with the infe-
rior Bishop. However, the Bishop will be soon exchanged off, leaving the
Rooks as the most important pieces. White has the better heavy pieces.
19... NxbS
20 cxbS! Rxc2
Not much better was 20.Qb7 21 NeS and Rc6. The vulnerability
of c6 costs Black the game.
21 Qxc2 Qb4
22Qd3 Nd6
23 Rc6 ReS
24Rxb6 Nc4
25 bxc4!
This corrects the Queenside pawn structure. Eveu at the expense of

the a-pawnt White wins easily now as the c-pawn can't be stopped.
25 Qxb2
26cS Qalch
27Ktl Qxa4
28Rb7 Qb4
29c6 a4
30c7 Bf8
Otherwise 31 Rb8, Qf8 32 Rxc8 and 33 b6 tnust win.
31 b6 Bd6
32 Kg3!? QaS
33Qc2 a3
34 Rb8!
This wins because White can even allow Black to protnote his a-
pawn.
34... Rxb8
35 cxb8(Q)ch 1Jxb8
36Qc8ch Kg7
37 Qxb8 a2
38 b7 al(Q)
39Qe5ch f6
40Qd6
Leading to a cute finish.
40... QScJ
41 Qe7ch! Kh6
42 Kh4!
Black Resigns.
To stop 43 Qf8 mate, Black must play a Queen to a3, after which
White exchanges one pair of Queens and protnotes again.
In short, the Stonewall packs a deceptive punch that many tnodem

players do not know how to dodge.
20 Stonewall Attack: Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
THE MATTER OF MOVE ORDER
The ancient Stonewall wilh its rigid pawn fonnation and narrow
purpose has one thing in common with flexible, modem systetns such as the
Kings Indian Reversed. Just as the K.I.R. is essentially a system of devel-
opment that can come about from 1 g3 or 1 Nf3 or 1 e4 or 1 dJ, the
Stonewall is a system of development that can come about frotn several dif-
ferent move orders.
In this book we'll consider the most conunon sequence: 1 d4 fol-

lowed by 2 e3 and then 3 Bd3 and 4 f4 (or 3 f4 and 4 Bd3) But the
Stonewall has materialized in quite a variety of sequences, including 1 f4 in
the hands of Bent Larsen, Gideon Stahlberg and Harry Bird, or even 1 NO.
Knowing the features of the Stonewall allows White the flexibility

to adapt to his opponent's plans. For example, suppose White plays his first
few moves as if he intends a Colle System. The opening popularized by the
Belgian master in the 1920s.
PARR-BAXTER
BRffiSH CHAMPIONSHIP 1962
1 NO d5
2 d4 Nf6
3e3 e6
4Bd3 c5
Sc3 Bd6
Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order 21
Black has played the position in the way often thought to equalize
against the Colle System, an opening similar to the Stonewall but different
because of pawn intentions. In the Colle, White strives for e3-e4 to liberate
his pieces. On 6 Nbd2 Black might continue with Nbd7 followed by
....b7-b6, .Bb7 and Qc7 with all of his pieces cooperating with one an-
other. After White breaks in the center with e3-e4; there will follow a series
of exchanges that blunt Whites attacKing potential and grant Black active
counterplay.
But White crosses hitn up:
6Ne5 Nbd7
7 f4!
Now Black should realize tl1at the anti-CoJJe develop1nent he in-

tended will fail miserably against the quite different Stonewall White has
established. For this reason Black should counter his opponent's shift in
strategy with a shift of his own--7.Ne4! followed by 8.0-0 and 9rs.
7... 0-0?!
8Nd2 b6
9 0-0 Bb7
lOQfJ Qc7
11 g4!
Charge! Black has developed his pieces logically but has done
nothing that will allow him to answer the simple attacking plan of 12 gS
and 13 Qh5. For example, 11 Rac8 12 gS, Ne8 13 Bxh7ch, Kxh7 14
QhSch, Kg815 Rf3 and 16 Rh3 (15../616 g6!) or lt Rfd812 gS, Ne8 13
Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 14 QhSch, Kg815 Qxt7ch and 16 Rf3.
Black tries instead to exchange off an attacker and then clear his
second rank.
ll BxeS 12 fxe5, Ne8 13 QhJ, g6 14 NfJ, f6 15 Bd2, fxeS? 16

NgS, Rxflch 17 Rxfl, Nef6 18 Qh6, ReS 19 Nxh7! Black resigns. (It's
mate after 19...Nxh7 20 Qxg6ch.)
The traditional order of tnoves is 1 d4, dS 2 eJ so that White gets

his Bishop to d3 before Black can challenge the diagonal witb ... B5. (If
Black plays the immediate 2... Bf5 the Bishop's absence from the Queenside
is felt after 3 c4! and 4 Qb3). There is a great deal of subtlety in the order of
moves chosen by each side.
For example, after 1 d4, d5 2 eJ, Nf6 J Bd3 Black can elitninate
the White attacking Bishop with 3... Nc6 because he threatens 4e5 as well
as 4Nb4 5 Be2, Bf5!. White may choose, therefore, to play an early Nd2
in place of BdJ, as Capablanca used to do with l d4, dS 2 e3, Nf6 3 Nd2.
But then 3Bf5 is an obvious response for Black since the trans-
position to a Queen's gambit now with 4 c4 has much less strength (4... c6 5
Qb3, Qb6). And on 4 Ngf3, e6 S NeS continuing the Stonewall plan, Black
can play S...Nfd7! 6 Ndf3, NxeS 7 NxeS, Nd7! 8 Nxd7, Qxd7 (Marshall-
Chapter One: 'fhe Matter of Move Order 23
Euwe, Karlsbad 1929). Without Knights the Stonewall beco1nes a wall that
only serves to entrap Bishops.
During U1e 1870s and '80s there was an Alnerican tnaster nruned
Preston Ware who used the sequence of 1 d4 and 2 f4?!, regardless of what
Black did. But this is inferior because it concedes the e4 square too early
and allows Black to seize the weakened light squares with Bf5! for exam
ple: 1 d4, d5 2 f4, BfS J NfJ, e6 with an easy garne for Black: 4 eJ, Nf6 5
Bd3, Bg6 6 0-0, cS 7 c3, Nc6 8 a3, Bxd3 9 Qxd3, c4! 10 Qe2, Bd6 11
Nbd2, 0-0 12 NeS, Ne7 (Ware-Mason, Vienna 1882) or 4.c5 S BbSch,
Nc6 6 0-0, Qb6 7 Bxc6ch, bxc6 8 c3, Nf6 9 Qa4, BdJ 10 Rel, Bd6 11
dxcS, BxcS 12 b4, Bd6 13 Nd4, ReS (Ware-Englisch, Vienna 1882).
In the 20th century the Stonewall becrune more sophisticated. Sui..

tan Khan chose a delayed fonn of Stonewall which allowed him to play the
Queen's Gambit depending on what Black did: 1 d4, dS 2 Nf3, cS 3 e3 and
now on 3 e6 he would continue 4 NeS!, Nf6 S Nd2, and fl-f4. The Indian
master's game with Akiba Rubinstein from Prague 1931 saw Black play
S...Nbd7 6 f4, Bd6 7 c3, b6 8 Bd3, Bb7 9 Qf3, hS to restrain g2-g4. But
Black wa4i soon in trouble (10 Qg3!, Kj8 11 0-0. 11412 Qh3, Rc813 Ndf3,
Ne4 14 Bd2, Nxd2 15 Nxd2, Nf6 16 NdfJ, ll<:7 17 Ng5). See Illustrative
Grune #1.
These finesses becmne 1nore important in tlte 1920s when Black

began to adopt Indian syste1ns witl1 t ... Nf6 and 2e6. Since it is not en
tirely desirable for Black to lock in his QB with e7-e6 in tl1e Stonewall,
many a good player has been tricked into an inferior game while tl1inking
he was getting a superior version of the Queen's Indian Defense.
For example after 1 d4, Nf6 2 Nf3, e6 the Hungarian master Gyula
Breyer liked to play 3 Nbd2 with the apparent "tltreat" of 4 e4!. fiis oppo-
nents would often continue 3.d5 to stop the e-pawn' s advance and then
discover after 4 eJ, cS 5 c3, Nbd7 6 Bd3, Be7 7 0-0, 0-0 8 NeS! that they
were headed into a Stonewall with 9 f4!. So after 8 NeS! we have this posi-
tion:
Note that Black has been denied the opportunity of creating a

counter-Stonewall with Ne4 because of Breyer's move order. In Breyer-
Maroczy, Berlin 1920 Black saw f2-f4 coming and he hurried to capture
oneS before White could retake with his f-pawn.
8... NxeS
9dxe5 Nd7
10 r4 rs
Designed to stop 11 e4 but now White can achieve a superior pawn
structure by capturing en passant and then advancing the e-pawn:
11 exf6 Rxf6
12 e4! Nf8
13 Nf3 Ng6
14 eS Rf8
15 Qc2! Qe8
16 c4 d4
17 h4!
Having secured a solid position in the center, White can casually

roll up his Kingside pawns. Black is soon in a quandary over h4-h5 and
NgS.
17... Kh8
18g3 Rg8
19 h5 Nf8
20g4 g6
21 hxg6 Nxg6
Chapter One: rfhe Matter of Move Order 25
22 gS!
Target: h7. Black is helpless against the threat of bringing heavy

pieces to the h-file and Nh2-g4-f6.
22 Bd7 23 Qh2, Rg7 24 QhJ, Bc6 25 Nh2, NxeS 26 fxe5, BxgS

27 Ng4, hS 28 Rf8ch!, Qxf8 29 QxhSch, Kg8 30 BxgS, QfJ 31 Nf6ch, Kf8
32 QxfJ Black resigns.
Another common method of "Stonewalling" occurs in quiet varia-

tions of the Queen's Indian Defense. A recent illustration of this occured in
a super-tournament.
Yusupov-Anand
Linares 1991
1 d4 Nf6
2Nf3 e6
3e3 b6
4Bd3 Bb7
5 0-0 dS
Black's last move was awarded a "?!'' for its dubious nature by
Black. Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, presumably because it al-
lows the conversion to the Stonewall:
6Ne5! Nbd7
7f4 g6
8b3
This last move by White is not part of our system because we will
be developing White's Bishop via d2. However, many of the basic themes
of the opening remain the same when the Bishop is fiauchettoed. The one
principal difference is that here White is not opposed to the exchange of his
d-pawn.
8. Bg7
9Nd2 cS
l0Bb2 0-0
11 QfJ Ne8
12 Qb3! Nd6
13 Ndf3 ReS
14Ng5
Chapter One: 1,he Matter of Move Order 27
These are the almost tnechanical White attacking moves of the

Stonewall. By using the key dark squares such as g5 and the d3-h7 attack-
ing diagonal, White has built a fine assault force. He does not feat the po-
tential pawn fork with f7 -f6 because of:
14 Nf8
15 dxcS bxc5
16 Radl! f6
17 Nxh7! Nxh7
l8Nxg6 Qc7
l9Rf3 Ne4!
Black must act precisely, as 19c4 allows 20 Ne7ch!, Rxe7 21

Bxh7ch, Kf8 22 Rg3 after which the attack has gained too much steam. As
often happens, the defender 1nust do something to close the key dJ-h7 di-
agonal
20Bxe4 dxe4
21 Rg3 Rad8
22 Rxd8 Qxd8
23Qg4 QdS!
24 h4 Qf5
25Qdl QdS
26Qg4 QfS
27Qdl QdS
28 Qe2!
Correctly playing for a win and avoiding the third repetition of the
position.
28... Bc8
29 h5 Kt7
30 Qg4 Ng5!
Stonewall Attack: Chapter One
31 fxg5?
Winning quickly was 31 Ne5ch!, fxeS 32 QxgS. The text allows

Black to return a piece to close the Kingside a bit.
31... f5!
32 Qel Bxb2
33c4 Qd6
34 Qxb2 eS
35 Rh3? f4!
36 Rh4 fxe3
37 Kh2?
It usually takes several errors to lose such a favorable position. At

move 35 White should have played 35 Qcl, and here, 37 Rxe4 or 37 Qe2
were to be preferred.
37... Bf5!
J8Qe2 Qdl
39Qfl Ke6!
40 Rxe4?! Bxe4
White resigns.
It took two blunders by White to lose this game (31 Ne5ch! would
have won).
In this book we'll concentrate on the move order of 1 d4 and 2 e3.

Chapter One: The Matter of Move Order 29
In the next chapter we will consider the strategic themes of the

Stonewall--the plans and ploys for both sides.
In Chapter Three we'll consider the "equalizing" variation, 1 d4,

dS 2 eJ, Nf6 3 Bd3, Nc6!?.
Chapter Four is an examination of Black's traditional defenses,

with an early c7-c5.
And in the final chapter, we will exmnine the most difficult line for
White, the fianchetto of Black's King Bishop.
Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
STONEWALL STRATEGIES
There are a variety of themes that occur in all Stonewall pawn
formations, regardless of opening sequence. Before we get to specific varia-
tions, it's important to get to know what White is playing for.
Cll SIMPLE KINGSIDE ATTACK
The idea behind the Stonewall is elementary: White keeps the

center closed by denying Black e6-e5, secures the e5 square for his
Knight, and creates a protective housing for his Bishop at d3. All of this en-
ables him to carry aggression to the Kingside.
This is possible because when the center is closed, Black has great
difficulty bringing Queenside forces to the defense of such key squares as
h7 and g7. The White Knight on e5, in addition, observes f7 and, if the
Knight is captured on eS, the attack on f7 can be carried out by Rooks fol-
lowing fxe5. The Bishop on d3 coordinates with heavy pieces to attack h7
(Qj3-h5 or Rf3-h3). If need be, White can drive away Black's best defensive
piece with g2-g4-g5.
In other words, White's most primitive thoughts when playing the

Stonewall are ''/play Bd3, Ne5, move out my Queen--and deliver mate."
Even the greatest players have been tempted by the simplicity of this naive-
-but often effective--strategy .
JOSE CAPABLANCA-ROLANDO ILLA

EXHffiiTION GAME, BUENOS AIRES 1911
1 d4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Nd2 e6?!
A little explanation is in order here. Why, if Black so often gets

into trouble by closing in his QB, does he do it so often in Master Games?
Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 31
One answer has to do with the widespread assumption that Black's

counterplay comes from .c7-c5 in tbis and comparable Stonewall posi-
tions. But if Black plays 3c5 White may complicate his life with 4 dxcS,
threatening to keep the pawn witb b2-b4 or Nb3.
Black could, of course, make certain of getting the pawn back with
4Qa5 and S QxcS. But the Queen loses time in this way and that is
enough to dissuade some good players from 3cS, and to push them to-
wards e7-e6.
4Bd3 c5
5 c3 Nc6
6 f4! Bd6
7Nh3
White has a choice of reasonable developing moves at this point

and only one--the most natural of all--deserves criticism. That move is 7
Ngf3, which allows Black to open the c-file with 7cxd4! (since 8 exd4
hangs the f-pawn). The opening of the c-file generally favors Black, so we
will focus on tbe alternatives at move seven.
White could, of course, develop his KN at e2. But the Knight has
little future there, or, for that matter, on g3. So, h3 is the natural point of
entrance, because this allows the Knight to go to g5 (in coordination with
Bd3 to attack h7 or with Ndf3-e5 to attack j7), or to go to fl. On ll the
Knight promotes the advance of the e-pawn, a plan that succeeded spectac-
ularly in the game Marshall- Rubinstein, Vienna 1908:
7 QfJ, Bd7 8 Nh3, Qb6 9 Nfl, 0-0-0 10 0-0, Kb8, 11 e4!, dxe41l
Nfxe4, Nxe4 13 Nxe4, Be7 14 dxc5, BxcSch 15 NxcS, QxcSch 16 Bel,
~QaS 17 a4!, Ne7 18 b4, Qc7 19 Bd4, f6 20 Qll, Nc8 21 Rfel, Rhe8 22
.Qg3, Bc6 23 bS, BdS 24 aS, Bc4 25 b6!,
t
with a decisive attack.
7... 0-0
80-0 Ne7
This Knight may be heading for f5 and then d6, while Black tries
to exchange off his QB with Bd7-b5.
9Khl Bd7
10Nf3
White is considering the attacKing plans of g2-g4-g5 or Ne51Ng5

and Rf3..h3 but meanwhile he bas to make sure Black does not blunt his at-
tacking potential by establishing a double Stonewall with .Ne4 and 17-fS.
With his last move Capa prepares to meet 10Ne4 with 11 Bxe4, dxe4 12
NeS with an excellent game, e.g. 12Bxe5 13 fxeS and Nf4 (or Qh5/Ng5)
and 12Bc6 13 Nxc6, Nxc 6 14 NgS.
10... Bc6
11 NeS Qe8
Preparing to exchange off his bad Bishop for White's good one,
with 12.Bb5.
12a4!
A very fine move which preserves his good Bishop and also per-
mits a Queenside expansion, such as with 12...Ne4 13 dxcS, BxcS 14 b4
and 15 bS. In response to this, Black now begins a Queenside push of his
own which, however only turns out to be weakening.
12... a6
13 b3 bS
14axb5 axbS
15 Rxa8 Qxa8
16 dxcS!
The most common attacking plans of the Stonewall see White

keeping the center closed while he uses a few Kingside pieces to deliver
mate. A typical example of this theme was Pillsbury-Hanham, New York
1893:
1 d4, dS 2 e3, e6 3 Bd3, Nf6 4 14, Bd6 S NCJ, b6 6 0-0, 00 7 cJ,

c5 8 NeS, Qc7 9 Nell, Nc6 10 RfJ!, Bb7 11 Rh3, cxd4? 12 Bxh7ch!. See
Illustrative Game #8.
In the current game, however, we see White voluntarily dissolving

the strong point he's built at d4 in the center. Capa's method bas a deeper
point: he will open up tbe diagonal that leads to gT with his next series of
moves.
16... BxcS
17 Qe2! b4
If he defends the b-pawn with 17Rb8 he also has trouble from 18

NgS, Be8 19 Ng4.
18cxb4 Bxb4
19Bb2 Qd8
This was Black's last chance for Ne4! The move played allows
White to win a pawn, at the cost of permitting Bishops-of-opposite color,
with 20 Nxc6, Nxc6 21 Qc2 followed by Bxf6 and Bxh7ch. But Capa-
blanca's procedure works much better. White plays for mate and it is hard to
fmd a superior defense from this point on.
34 Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two
20Ng5! Ba8
Or 20h6 21 Nxc6, Nxc6 22 Bxf6 which wins: 22...Qxf6 23 Nh7

or 22gxf6 23 Nh7, ReS 24 Qg4ch, Kh8 25 QhS, Kg7 26 RfJ and RgJch.
21 Ng4! Ng6
Black was probably hoping to play 21 Ne4 but this fails to 22

Bxe4, dxe4 23 Bxg7!!, Kxg7 24 Qb2ch and wins (24 ... Kg8 25 Nh6 mate;
24...Kg6 25 Qf6ch; 24.-fo 25 Nxe6ch).
22Bxf6 gxf6
23Nb6ch Kg7
24 Nhxli! Qe8
The threat was 25 Nxe6ch. Now, however, White's Queen makes

its presence fell
25 QhS! fxg5
26Qh6ch Kg8
Or 26Kxli 27 Qxh7ch, Kf6 28 Bxg6 followed by fxgSch or

Bxe8 winning, e.g. 28Qxg6 29 fxgSch, KeS (29... Kxg5 30 h4ch) JO
Qc7ch, Ke4 31 Rxf8, QhS 32 Qf4ch, Kd3 33 Qd4ch, Ke2 34 Rxa8.
27Nxg5
Black resigns
The threat of Qxh7 mate leads to a winning liquidation to the

ending. For example 27Qe7 28 Bxg6, hxg6 29 Qxg6ch, Qg7 30 Qxg7ch
and 31 Nxe6ch.
<2> GOOD vS. BAD BISHoPS

In Stonewall formations White, and sometimes Black as well, is
plagued with a problem Bishop, hemmed in by the wall of pawns. Some-
times this is compensated by the joys of his other Bishop, which has consid-
erable range.
The task then is to maximize the effect of your "good" Bishop and
minimize, perhaps through exchange, the problem of the "bad" one. When
Black has also played rs (see double Stonewall below), we have a clear-
cut case in an exchange of one, and only one set of Bishops, often means an
advantage. If White, for instance, can trade his pawn-lx>und QB for Black's
excellent KB, that will leave him with a superior light-squared B against
Black's limited B.
But how to trade Bishops without weakening the center pawn

wedge that makes the Stonewall a wall of stone? One of the basic themes is
illustrated by the games of Preston Ware, a late-19th century American am
ateur who pursued a simple plan with the White pieces. He established the
Stonewall early, then played Bd2-el-h4. And even when it didn't lead to
mate, it often led to a positionally solid middlegame:
PRESTON WARE (U.S.) MAX WEISS

VIENNA (AUSTRIA) 1882
1 d4 dS
2f4 e6
Not a good plan, as Black will be unable to exploit with his QB the
light-squares on the Kingside and in the center (g4, e4, /5) that White has
just weakened.
3NfJ Nf6
This denies Black the opportunity to set up a counter-Stonewall

with rJ.fS. Another of Preston Ware's games from his tournament vs.
Meitner, saw Black delay the KN's development but then create the double
wall when Whites attack got rolling: 3...b6 4 e3, Bb7 5 Bd3, Bd6 6 0-0,
Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 37 .
Nd7 7 Bdl, Ngf6 8 Bel, cS 9 c3, a6?! 10 Bh4!, Qc7 11 Nbd2, c412 Bc2,
Ng413 Qe2, fS 14 h3, Ngf615 NeS, 0-0. The natural consequences of rJ.
f5 is to give White a sure-fire method of opening up the Kingside, with al
g4. He continued 16 a3, bS 17 Ndfl, Nb6 18 g4!, Ne4 19 gxfS, exf5 20
Kh2, Be7 21 Bxe7, Qxe7 22 Rgl, Be8 23 Rg2, Qf6 24 Ragl. Having ex-
changed off his bad Bishop and maximized his strength on the board's only
open line, it is not surprising Ware won.
Later in the tournament A. Schwarz varied with 9Qc7 against

Ware. but also got in a difficult position after 10 Bh4, b6 11 NeS, 0-0 12
Nd2, Rfe8 13 Ret, a6 14 Qe2, bS 15 g4, Ne4 16 Qg2, fS 17 Ndf3, Nf8 18
gxf5, exf5 19 Khl, c4 20 Bbl, Be7 21 Rgl, Bxh4 22 Nxh4, Bc8 23 Rcfi,
Qe724RfJ.
4e3
4 Bd6
In yet a later round Johannes Zukertort. then a World Champi-

onship caliber player, continued 4c5 5 cJ, Be7 which avoids forks on eS
after White plays NeS and Black captures it with his QN. The Bishop on e7
also avoids pins on the h4-d8 diagonal when White's QB completes its la-
borious, overland trek. The Ware-Zukertort game went 6 Bd3, Nc6 7 0-0, 0
0 8 Bd2 and Black began a Queenside attack that was aided by White's ea-
gerness to open lines there: 8c4 9 Bc2, bS 10 Bel, aS 11 b3?, b4! 12 NeS,
Qc7 13 bxc4, dxc4.
And now 14 Nxc4 runs into 14Ba6, so White continued his er-
rant ways and ran into further trouble with 14 Qe2, Ba615 Nd2 (better 15
Ba4) bxcJ 16 Ndf3, NdS 17 Be4, Ncb4 18 a3, f6 19 Ng5?, fxg5 20 axb4,
axb4 with an avalanche of Black pawns gathering speed on the Queenside.

White could, however, have played 19 axb4, fxe5 20 bS!, Bxb5 21 NxeS
with quite a reasonable game.
In a later game (Ware-Hruby) Black delayed castling but this only

got bim into a different kind of trouble on the Kingside: 7c4 (instead of
7...0-0) 8 Bc2, b5 9 NeS, Qc7 10 Bd2, aS 11 Bel, Bd7 12 Bh4, b413 Nd2,
Rb8 14 Rb1, NxeS? 15 fxeS, Ng816 Qg4, Bf817 Qf3, Bc618 e4, Nh619
g4!, gS! 20 Bg3.
5Bd3 cS
6c3 Nc6
7 0-0 a6
Black doesn't need this move at all if he plans to expand on lhe

Queenside. In another round, the World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz,
played the aggressive 70..0 8 Bd2, c4 9 Bc2, bS 10 Bel, aS 11 Bh4, b4.
However, White exploited the Kingside pin with enough energy to distract
Black from the Queenside: 12 Nbd2, Rb8 13 NeS, Na7 14 e4!, Be7 15
exdS, exd5 16 fS, Rb617 QCJ, NbS 18 Rael, bxc3 19 bxc3. White eventu-
ally won by pushing his Kingside pawns.
B 1-;.~- J.tt ~. rB
t (_,. J.:. i :t i
,y,'
t~~{Ata
;;i .t ,'
', 1t ft
:ft.Q.:ft~
ft ,ft ft ft
a~~* a'lt>
8Bd2
Beginning the circuitous Bishop shift to h4. White decides against

trying to use the Bishop on another diagonal, such as after b2-b3 and Ba3,
because of the weakening of the central pawn barrier that White has labored
so long to build.
The next stage of lhe game was characterized by White's applica-

tion of his tried-and-true fonnula compared with Black's vacillation:
8... 0-0
9a3 b6
10h3 Bb7
11 Bel Ne4
12Nbd2 Nxd2?
13 Qxd2 NaS
14 Radl Nc4
15Qe2 NaS
16 Bh4! Qc7?
Black's failure to play the thematic 12...fS! and his stumbling at-
tempts to find the right mixture of Queenside moves have left White with a
free hand on the Kingside. Notice how few are Black's defensive pieces
near the King.
17 NgS!
White could already have played for the brilliancy prize with that
old combinational idea, 17 Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 18 Ng5ch, for example: (A)
18... Kg8 19 QhS, Rfc8 20 Qh7cb, Kf8 21 fS! and the f-file is decisively
opened, (B) 18 ... Kg6 19 fSch, exf5 20 Rxf5! (20... Kxf5 21 Qg4ch and 22
Ne6ch), or (C) 18 ... Kh6! 19 f5, exf5 20 RxfS, g6 21 Rf6 with a powerful
attack.
The text, with its threat of capture on h7, insures some penetration
of White pieces. Steinitz examined the defense of 17...g6 and considered
White to be winning after 18 Nxh7!, Kxh7 19 Bf6, e.g. 19 Kg8 20 RfJ,
Be7 21 DeS, Bd6 22 Rg3, BxeS 23 dxeS followed by Qg4 and Rfl. Even
stronger for white is 20 Qg4 (rather than 20 Rj3) because of the forcing line
20...Be7 21 BeS, Bd6 22 Bxg6!, BxeS 23 Bxl7cb, Kxl7 24 fxe5ch, Ke8 25
Rxf8cb, Kxf8 26 ROch, Q17 27 Qxe6!. The Queen beats the uncoordinated
pieces in this endgame.
17". h6
18QhS
18... Nc4
There was no defense because of the impending Nh7! The Tour-

nament book gives:
(A) 18...Bc8 19 Nh7!, Re8 20 Nf6ch!, gxf6 21 Bxf6 and a Queen

check, or 19...Rd8 20 Bxd8, Qxd8 21 Ng5!, hxg5 22 fxg5, Ra7 23 Qh7cb,
Kf8 24 Qh8ch, Ke7 25 Rxf7ch! and wins;
(B) 18 ... Rfe8 19 Nxf7!, Qxf7 20 Bh7ch, Kf8 21 Bg6, Qd7 22 f5!;
(C) 18 ...Rae8 19 Nh7 winning the exchange;
(D) 18...Be7 19 f5, Bxg5 20 Bxg5, f6 21 fxe6 (2l . .fxg5 22 Qg6).
Back to the game.
19 Nxe6! fxe6
20Qg6
And the threat of 21 Qh7ch, Kf7 22 Bg6 1nate leads to a massacre.

Notice how both the White Bishops have secured diagonals. Th~ game
ended with:
20... RfS
21 Qxe6ch Rl7
22Qg6 Kf8
23Qh7 Ke8
24Bg6 Bf8
2s rs Kd7
(Desperation-but 26 f6 would have won in any event) 26 Bxf7,

Nxe3 27 Be6ch, Kc6 28 Qg6, Bd6 29 Rfel, Nxdl 30 Rxdl, c4 31
BxdScb!, KxdS 32 Qe6cb, Ke6 33 Qxc4cb, Kd7 34 Qe6ch, Kc6 35 dSch,
KbS 36 Qe2ch, Ka4 37 Qclch, KbS 38 a4ch.
Black resigns.
And what about the other Bishop? It almost goes without saying
that Black will try to exchange off the light-colored Bishops as soon as
White play BdJ.
A common method for Black to try for Ibis trade is shown in the
following:
UFIMTSEVVAISER
KAZAKHSTAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 1965
1 d4 Nf6
2N13 e6
3Nbd2 dS
4e3 cS
5Ne5 Bd6
614
As mentioned earlier, this is the Breyer move order leading to a

delayed Stonewall. Black needs to develop his Queen Bishop and so be
chooses to play:
6... 0-0
7Bd3 b6
8c3 Ba6
9Bc2!?
42 . Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two
And White is willing to take extreme measures to avoid the ex-

change of light-squared Bishops. Implicit in this decision is the willingness
to forego castling. White is saying: "I know where your King lives. With the
center closed, I can go all out to attack it and not pay attention to where my
King is."
Black recognizes this and takes measures of his own:
9 Nbd7
tom Bxe5!?
11 dxeS Ne8
12Qh5 rs
13Nf3
When Black blocks the key d3-h7 diagonal, White's choice of

continuing the attack usually comes down to Ibis: taking en ..passant or
opening the g-ftle with g2-g4xf5.
Sometimes the en-passant option is superior because then White

can attack the weakened e6-square. Here, however, White wants to open the
g-ftle only.
13... Qe7
14Bd2 Nc7
15g4
It turns out that the White King is well-placed after all. It would be
misplaced on gl even if castling had been legal because White will open the
gflle and play Rgl.
15... g6
16Qb3 Bb7
17Rbgl Qg7
18gxf5 exfS
19Rg3 Bc8
20Ragl c4
Black's last move is a gesture of frustration: He has no counter-

play. Wbite can simply retreat the Bishop, but he already is thinking of
forcing a win such as the endgame after 21 Qb5, gxhS 22 Rxg7ch, Kb8 23
BxfS! (23 ...Rxf5 24 Rg8 mate).
21 QhS! Rli
22 Rxg6! hxg6
23Rxg6 Nf8
24 Rxg7ch Rxg7
2SBxf5 BxfS
26Qxf5
Black bas fmally managed to exchange off the Bishops, but of

course, positional niceties no longer matter. The game ended shortly after
26.Nfe6 27 h4, Rf8 28 Qh3, NcS 29 NgS, Ne4ch 30 Nxe4, dxe4 31 Qbl!.
C3l QliEENSIDE PLAY: THE QPEN

ANn HALF-oPEN C-file
The Stonewall is not monolithic: White is not limited to winning
by means of Qh5-Qxh7 mate. In general, be would like to keep the Queen-
side quiet, but this is not always possible. For example, there are times
when tbe c-fJ.le becomes open, full or part way. Black can open it part way
with c7-cSxd4:
White must choose between the two pawn recaptures. In most

cases, it pays for him to retake with his e-pawn because (A) his bad Bishop
then improves in scope on the Kingside, (B) he may be able to use the extra
two squares along the e-file that a Rook on el will now control. and (C) be
keeps Black from exploiting the board's only open file (as he might after
cxd4).
But these are not the only guidelines for the middlegame. There
are times in which White either is forced, or opts from a free choice, to play
cxd4. Then attention may shift from the King's wing to the Queen's because
of the openess of the position there. White should not assume that the en-
emy has the better Queenside prospects, as the following indicates:
GEZA MAROCZY (Hungary)-DAVID JANOWSKI (France)

VIENNA 1902
1 f4 dS
2e3 c5
3d4 e6
4Bd3 Nc6
5c3 Nf6
6Nd2 Bd6
7Ngf3 cxd4!
After this alert capture White must open the C file since the alter-
native, 8 exd4, surrenders the f-pawn without compensation (9... Bxf4).
8cxd4 Bd7
The battle for the board's only open file begins. Black threatens
9Nb4! followed by penetration on c2 (after 10 Be2, ReB) or on d3 (after
10 Bbl, Bb5!). He cannot seize those square immediately because 8 Nb4 9
Bel, Bd7 allows White a breath and be uses it to play 10 a3!, forcing Black
backward.
9a3! ReS
10Qe2 Qb6
110-0 Ne7
Black wants to solve the problem of his QB by way of Ba4 or

.a6 and Bb5, as well as winning control of e4 with a later Nf5-d6-e4.
But he achieves these goals more directly--and without allowing White to
expand on the Queenside--with the superior ll .aS!, followed by 12.Na7

and 13.Bb5!
12NeS Bc6
13b4 Ba4
14Bb2 Bc2
15 Racl BxdJ
16Qxd3
Black has achieved his strategic goal: the light-squared Bishops

are off the board. But there has been some cost, a good deal of lost time.
Moreover, White can use this time to reinforce some of the excellent dark
squares of the board beginning with e5 and c5.
16 0-0
17Nb3 BxeS?
Black should begin trading Rooks, not more minor pieces. He ex-
pects to reach an endgame in which White's bad Bishop will be a chronic li-
ability, but underestimates the initiative he grants the ene1ny.
18 dxeS!
An occasion when White does not benefit much from the half-
opened f-file, particularly because if White were to launch a Kingside at
tack there would be plenty of enemy counterplay along the c-file. However,
by recapturing with the d-pawn White clears d4 for his other Knight and
makes the QB into an expansionist piece from b2. In lhe next few moves .
Maroczy establishes control of the c-file and this frees him for action on
either wing.
18... Ne4
19Bd4 Qd8
20 Rxc8 Nxc8
21 NcS! NxcS
22Bxc5 ReS
23f5!
White threatens 24 f6 after which Black's g7 will never be secure.

Now Black makes concessions on the Queenside, diminishing control of
what appears to be an insignificant square at c6.
23... b6
24Bd4 exfS
25 QxfS Qc7
26Qf3 Qd7
27 bS! Rf8
Or 27 Qe6 28 Qg3!, Kh8 29 Rcl! with play as in the game.

White's next move threatens 29 Qxg7cb!, Kxg7 30 e6ch.
28Qg3 Rd8
29 Rcl g6
30Rc6 ReS
31 e6!
A beautiful clearance sacrifice which allows his Rook to penetrate

at c7 in the coming endgame.
31... Rxe6
32Qc7!
There is nothing certain about 33 Rc7, Qe8. But the endgame now
forced by White finds Black in a remarkable bind.
32... Qxc7
33Rxc7 Re8
34a4!
Black's Knight is stalemated since he cannot afford to lose the a-

pawn that anchors his Queenside. Since the Knight is tied to c8, the Black
Rook cannot go far from e8, and his King is limited to the vicinity of g8.
This means White's King has uninterrupted progress ahead of him.
34... Kf8
35 g4 g5
Black could not afford the paralyzing 35 g5, but now he has an-
other pawn on a dark square, and to defend it be will place another on a
dark square, b6.
36 Kfl h6
37 Kel Kg8
38Kd3 Rf8
39Rd7 Kb7
40Rxd5 ReS
Black's opportunities are pitifully slim because he cannot afford to

trade Rooks: 40Kg6 41 Rd7, f6 42 Kc4, Rl7 43 Rxf7, Kxl7 44 KdS and
the White King invades on the light squares.
41 Rd7 Re7
42 Rd8!
Black Resigns
The end would be 42.Rc7 43 Rh8ch, Kg6 44 Rg8cb, Kh7 45

Rg7ch, Kb8 46 Rxl7 discovered check and death.
Compare this with the following:

CHRISTENSEN-BECKER
BUENOS AIRES, OLYMPIADE 1939
1 f4 d5
2Nf3 Nf6
JeJ g6
4d4 Bg7
5Bd3 0-0
60-0 c5
7Nbd2 Ng4?!
8Rel Qc7
9c3 cxd4
10 cxd4 Nc6
11 a3! Kh8
12b4
With Black's Queen about to face a White Rook along the open c-
ftle, White appears to have come out of the opening well. For instance,
12b6 13 h3, Nf6 14 Bb2, Bb7 15 Ret, a6 16 a4 and the threat of 17 bS
gives White an edge.
Black, perhaps appreciating this, gambles on a Knight sacrifice

that gives him three pawns:
12.. Nxe3?!
13Rxe3 Qxf4
14Nb3 Nxd4
15Nfxd4 Bxd4
16Nxd4 Qxd4
17 Rbl e5
Black's center could be impressive. But it will inevitably come un-

der rue from the heavy White pieces. The advance of either centerpawn will
benefit one of the two White Bishops.
18 Qe1 f6
19Bb2 Qb6
20 Khl d4?
21 Rxe5!
Not a hard combination to find (2l ...fxe5 22 Qxe5ch, Kg8 23 Qxd4

or 22.. Qj6 23 Bxd4) but consistent with White's plan of pressuring the
pawns until they break.
The rest was mop-up: 2l Bg4 22 ReS, Qe6 23 Qxe6, Bxe6 24

Ret, Rae8 25 Kg1, Kg7 26 BbS, Re7 27 Bc4, Rfe8 28 Rxe6 and wins.
(4l THE PAWN RE-CAPTuRE ON d3

White's attack works best--as we've seen--when his light-squared
Bishop bas free rein from d3. Black, then, needs counter-plans. One is to
capture the Bishop (... b61. ..Ba6xd3, or ... Bf5xd3 or ... Nc6-b4xd3). The sec-
ond, considered in the next section, is to limit the Bishop's range with f7.
f5.
Most of tl1e opening authorities believe Wbites attack is dead once

his light-squared Bishop goes off the board. Wbats wors~, they say, is that
White must have the inferior game from the positional point of view be-
cause Black will then have access to previously off-litnits squares, such as
c4 and e4.
However, White has a remedy. In most instances it is to his benefit

to recapture on d3 with a pawn. This does several good things. Among
them: (A) It regains pawn-control of e4, (B) it takes the sting out of the ad-
vance of Black's c-pawn, and (C) it gives White some prospects along the
half-open c-file.
SULTAN KHAN H. MATTISON

PRAGUE 1931
1 d4 Nf6
2Nf3 e6
3e3 b6
4Bd3 Bb7
5 Nbd2 dS?!
Black is worried about e3-e4-e5 so he takes steps to restrain the

enemy center. But this allows White to adopt the Stonewall in a most favor-
able version. Black should have played S.cS and keep the dS-square free
for his pieces.
6Ne5! Bd6
7 f4! 0-0
8Qf3
White declares his intentions--checkmate, plain .aod. sim.~;-~AJ;..~

ready Black is in trouble. His-best antidote no~:~-~&~-~~~;;.~~
since White bas somewhat less cbance of a ~~1iW;k~.t \ - . . '
pieces, even after g2-g4-g5.- Black decides ~ .tO/~~~

Stonewall and later realizes he also needs .Ba6. His--in~~*
the game.
8... Nfd7?
9Qh3 rs
10Ndf3 Nf6
11 Bd2 Ba6
Black is understandably concen1ed about White's opening of the g-

flle and d3-h7 diagonal, with g2-g4. He might have done better to cootinue
with the typical shift of Knights to e4 and f6, but this is bard to acbieve:~
ll Ne4 12 Bxe4, dxe4 13 NgS attacKing h7 and e6. Perhaps best was
lt Qe8.
12Rgl Bxd3
13cxd3! Qe8
54 Stonewall Attack: Chapter 1,wo
14 Ke2!
It's been said that because castling was not legal in his native India,
Sultan Khan's games often show his King remaining in tbe center for many
moves, if not the entire game. Here the e2 square is a much better house for
it than can be found on the usual wing squares. On gl it would have inter-
fered with the Kingside attack and on cl or bl, it might be vulnerable once
Black opens the c-file with c7-c5. But on e2 the King defends d3 against
the threatened 14QbS.
Note the effect of the White pawn on d3. it keeps "l.he encn1y
Knight out of e4 and allows White to consider Qucet,side actions against
J
the c6 bole.
14... Nbd7
15 Qh4 cS
This only shortens the game, by allowing White to open the c3-g7
diagonal. But what was Black to do in the virtual absence of alternative
counterplay. Where would his QN go, for example?
16 Bc3 cxd4
17Bxd4 NcS?
18g4!
The attack plays itself. White begins to make threats, such as 19

gxf5, exfS 20 Rxg7ch!!, Kxg7 21 Rglch, Kh8 22 Ng6ch.
18 Bxe5
Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies
19NxeS fxg4
20Nxg4 Nxg4
21 Rxg4 g6
Black is oubnallned if he tries to defend g7 with heavy pieces
(2l ... Rj7 22 Rag1, Qd7 23 Qh6)
22Ragl
Black resigns!
There is no defense to 23 Rxg6ch, hxgei 24 Qh8ch and mate next.
Another theme of the exchange on d3 is the ability of Wbite to at-

tack on both wings. It is rare to see White win as simply in the endgame as
he does in the following:
MARSHALLSUCHTING
VIENNA1908
1 d4 dS
~'i3 .:: Nf6
~~d3' , Nc6
4 faf ::. . Nb4
5Nf3 Nxd3c"
6cxd3 e6
7Nc3 b6
800 cS
9Ne5
9... bS!?
10Bd2 Bd7
11 QO Rc8
12 Bel.
It's sometimes surprising how quickly a maneuver such as Bd2-el
can spring a Bishop to life.
12 Be7
13Ne2 cxd4?
14Nxd4 BcS
15 Bc3! bS?!
16a3 a6
17Qg3 Kf8
18 Racl Rh6
19 Nb3!.
White now demonstrates there is more tJ1an one string to his fiddle.
Black's 15th and 16th moves looked logical, but they have created occupi. .
able holes at squares such as c8, cS, aS and b6. Having been effectively, if
temporarily, stopped on the Kingside, White's attention is directed to his
left:
19... Bd6
20Qg5 Be7
21 BaS! Qe8
22Qg3 Ng8
23 Nxd7ch Qxd7
24 Rxc8ch Qxc8
25 Ret Qa8
26Nd4
Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies
Black now realizes tbat his defensive measures (...K/8, .. h7-h5, .

Rh6) have left him with few forces to fight a battle on tbe Queenside. He :
cannot now resist an invasion on the c-file.
26... h4
27Qil Nf6 .
28Qc2! Bd6
29Qc6! Qxc6
30Rxc6 Ne8
31 Rxa6
This fust fruit. White forced resignation now without much resis-
tance.
31... eS
32NfS! Re<i
33Nxd6 Rxd6
34Rxd6 Nxd6
35Bb4!
Black Resigns.
It is important to appreciate the source of strength. from ad3.

Some players mistakenly assume that the existence of two d-pawos allows
White the freedom to exchange the forward one of them and then advance
tl1e otbcr to d4. But this is usually a grave error, which saaifices strength
on tbe light squares for the appearance of "a solid center."
A disastrous case of this was:

TRENCHARD-SCHLECHTER
VIENNA 1898
1 d4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 Nc6
4f4 Nb4!
5Nf3 Nxd3ch
6cxd3 e6
70-0 Be7
8Ne5 0-0
9Nd2 cS
For a full discussion of this variation, see Chapter Three.
lOdxcS BxcS
11 d4?
A horrible idea, maKing his remaining Bishop the worst piece on

the board and handing over the light squares to Black. White bad to play
something such as 11 Nb3, Bb612 Khl (and 12...d4 13 e4).
11~ Bd6
12 Rf3 Bd7
13 Rh3 ReS
14 g4 g6!
After this fine defensive move, stopping 15 gS, N-somcwhere 16

QhS, Black now is virtually un-mateable.
15 gS NbS
16Ng4 fS!
17 Nb6ch?
And here 17 NeS was better. Black's advantage grows over Atbe:
next few moves as White pursues the chimera of attack. The eDd.;was.Oot~
long in coming:
,
17...Kh8 18 Nf3, Qb6 19 Khl, Qa6! 20 Bell?, Qdl! ~l~~N,~~

Bxe5 22 fxeS, Ba4 23 Qxa4?, Qxdl 24 Qa3, Retch 25 Rxct, ~lcb26-
Kai2, Qdlch 27 Kgl, Qelch 28 Kgl,' Qe2ch 29 Kgl, ReS 30 b3,.Q41ch~
31 Kg2, Rclmate. 0-1
White's eleventh move wa~ horrible.

so Stonewall Attack: Chapter Two
(5) DOUBLE STONEWALL
One of the simplest attempts at equalizing for Black is bnitation.

Black moves his own King Knight to the e-file outpost, and reinforces it
with 17-fS. This kills the range of the attacking enetny Bishop at d3 rutd
gains valuable real estate on the Kingside. The double-Stonewall policy was
a favorite of Jose Capablanca's and he used it effectively in games with
Frank Marshall. The policy has been imitated by tnany lesser tnastcrs be-
fore and since then.
OSCAR CHAJES G.A. ROTLEWI

KARLSBAD 1911
1 d4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 cS
4c3 e6?!
s f4!
White now has the usual good version of the Stonc\vall wiU1
Black's QB shut in.
5-. Nc6
6Nf3 Bd6
70-0 0-0
8Ne5
8... Ne4!
9 Nd2 fS!
The pawn structure is transformed into near-symmetry. But it isn't

exactly symmettical: Black will be able, with cS-c4 and b7-b5-b4, to
roll up the Queenside while White is trying to extract something from 112
g4.
10 Rf3 Bd7
11 RhJ l\e8!
12 NdfJ Qe7
13 Bd2 c4!
WiU1 his last few moves Black has secured the Kingside and begun
operations on the opposite wing. A new set of questions arises:
It is likely, but not inevitable, that tbere will be captures on e4 and

eS. How should the two sides recapture, with f- or with the d-pawns? By
using the f-pawn, White opens the f-file half way and secures f4 for his
pieces. The other capture is more desirable, however, if you can use the va-
cated square. For example, Black would like to vacate dS (after
Nxe41. ..dxe4) when he can play Bc6 and possible QdS.
In the next stage White complete's Ware's Bishop shift and

straightens his center a biL But the absence of targets for his pieces on the
Kingside leaves him with nothing to do while Black is gaining momentum
on the otJ1er wing:
14Bc2 b5
15 Bel Bxe5
16 dxe5 aS
17Bh4 Qd7
18Nd4 Nxd4
19exd4 b4
208el Qb7
21 Rbl Qe7
22Qe2 Rab8
23Bh4 Qd7
248el Bg6!
25Qe3 Rb7
26Bxe4 fxe4
Black retakes with the f-pawn so that his Rooks can operate on tvlo
wings--against the f4 square or along the b-file.
27Ral Qa4
28Qcl Rbt7
29Bd2 Rb7
30 g4? e3!
The opening of this diagonal is decisive, since it tne,uls that the

opening of the b-file will allow Black's Rooks to penetrate at hl. White
should have kept the diagonal closed with 30 Be3!
31 Bxe3 be
32 Qxc3
Or 32 be, RibS and a crushing 33.Rbl! or 33.. Rb2: e.g. 33 Kf2,

Rb2ch 34 Kg3, Rc2 35 Qel, Rbb2.
32.. RibS
Now 33 Bel allows Black's Queen to invade at dl, followed by

Bd3 or Qxg4. At this point, White's pawn advantage hlL'\ no rncaning so
he returns some material to bring his KR back into play.
33 fS!? exf5
34 gxfS l~xf5
35 Rf3 l\e4
36 Rtl Rb6!
Now the Kingside is turned over to Black and his attack there
proves overwhclrning: 37 Br4, Rg6ch 38 Bg3, Qd7! 39 Rf4, Qh3 40 Rxe4
(or 40 Qd2, Rxb2! 41 Qxb2, Rxg3cll! and wins) dxe4 41 Qc4cb, Kb8 42
Qc3, hS! 43 Rcl, h4 44 Qd2, hxg3 45 Khl, g2ch 46 Kgl, RIB White re
signs.
Witltout Knights, the Stonewall usually loses much of its strength

since the remaining pieces--the R<Xlks and Bishops--are blunted in scope.
But this is not always so.
A devastating example of a KnightJess double Stonewall is the

following:
F.J. LEE-JAMES MASON

LONDON 1899
1 d4 d5
2e3 Nr6
3Bd3 Nc6
4f4 Bg4!?
5Nf3 e6
6c3 Ne4?
7Nbd2 rs
8Qb3!
To support his Knight Black was forced into 7. rs but now the
weakness on his various squares is apparent 8 Nd6 9 NeS or 8 _.Rb8 9
BbS, tl1reatcning Ne5.
(But compare this with Colle-Johner, Karlsbad 1929-givcn in

Chapter Four for this strategy working for Black)
8... Nxd2
9Bxd2 Bxf3?!
10gxf3 Rb8
11 Ke2!
Again, the King in the center. Black could have forced White to
move his King with Qh4ch but it would only have lost time. Black's
Queen may be needed to watch the light squares.
In this case the pawn structure is not quite syJnmetrical but all the
differences are in White's favor. White has the g-file to work with and
Black must content himself with the distant prospect of something happen-
ing along the c-file. White, moreover has a light-squared Bishop whose
scope can be widened with e3-e4 or c3-c4. Black, on the other hand, has a
Knight, which should be an asset in a closed center. But U1anks to his cap-
ture at move nine, he cannot occupy the only square where the Knight
would really count--e4.
The next stage of the game is easy to underst.1n~; at least fro~ :

White's point of view:
11 Be7
12 Ragl 0-0
13Rg2 bS
14Qdl NaS?
15 b3! Rf7
16h4 c6
17h5 Nb7
18 Qgl! Kh8
19e4 Nd6
20e5! Nb7?!
Chapter Two: Stonewall Strategies 65.
It is now time for White to do something with his considerable ad-

vantage. There is nothing to be gained from 21 h6, g6! and White sees tbat .
tripling the heavy pieces on the g-flle (Rh3-g3) can:be handled simply by
Bf8. White could try to exchange off his bad Bishop with Bel-b4. But
Lee has another plan.
21 Rg6!! Qd7
Nol2l bxg6 22 bxg~b, Kg8 because: of 2~ Qbl!
2l{h~!:
I
.
. .
This forces the full opening of the g-fue wbich must be decisive
(22 .. gxh6 23 Rhxh6, Nd8?? 24 Rg8 mate).
22... Rg8
23Bxf5!
A fme killer, based on 23Rxf5 24 bxg7ch and 23~xg6... 24

Qxg6 threatening 25 Qh7 or 25 hxg7, both mate. Tbe rest of tbe game was
iateresting only from the technical aspect:
23exf5 24 e6, Qe8 25 exl7, Qxf7 26 hxg7ch, Rxg7 27 Rxg7,

Qxg7 28 KdJ, Q17 29 Qe3, Bf6 30 Rel, Nd8 31 Bel!, Qd7 Jl Ba3, Ka7
33 Be7, Kl7 34 Bxf6, Kxf6 35 QeScb, Kt7 36 Rgl, Qe6 37 Rg7ch, Kf8 38
Rxh7, QxeS 39 fxeS Black resigns.
(6) THE ADVANCE OF THEe-PAWN
If Black does not adopt the Double Stonewall, he tnay allow White
one other option, the opening of the center by way of e3-e4. Since Black
does not want to concede the severe spatial advantage of the pawn reaching
eS, he will exchange on e4. White can then use that square ac; a jumping-off
spot for his attacking pieces.
FOGOLEVICH-LAPIN
MOSCOW 1928
1 d4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 c6
4Nd2 Nbd7?
In connection with his third move, this constitutes a serious error

since it leaves Black with little central play once Se5 is prevented. Black
should at least try 4Bg4.
S f4! e6
6Ngf3 Bd6
7 Ne5 0-0
80-0 ReS
9Qf3 Nf8
10 c3 N6d7
11 Qh3 Qe7
Once again we see an extreme defensive posture adopted by Black.

He will simply not allow a successful attack on h7 (9..Nj8) and be prepares
to oust the eS-Knight with f7.f6.
However, chess is not that simple. If your opponent takes away

one plan in the middlegame, he must be giving you something else."'Your-
job is to fmd what that plan is.
In this case, White sees the square Black has abandoned: e4.
12e4! dxe4
13Nxe4 f6
14Bd2! fxeS
lSfxeS BxeS
Black now sees that 15Bc7 allows 16 BgS!, trapping his Queen.
16dxeS NxeS
17Bg5 Qc7
Black appears to have emerged relatively unscathed and with an

.,.extra pawn. But. ..
18 Nd6!! Qxd6
19 Rxf8ch! Kxf8
Of course, not 19Rxf8 (or 19... Qxj8) 20 Qxh7ch and 21 Bp

mate.
20ROch Nn
21 Bg6! Qc5ch
22Khl Re7
23 Qxh7! Ke8
24 Rdl!
White could have taken the Queen at any time (Bxe7 and I~xj7).
But he plays for mate. The Black King is not allowed to escape to U1c
Queenside. This pretty little game ended wiU1:
24... Rd7
25 Qg8ch Qf8
26 Bxt7ch Rxf7
27Rd8
mate 1-0
Chapter Three: "Theoretically Best" Defense 69
CHAPTER THREE
THE ''THEORETICALLY BEST'' DEFENSE
Of the modem opening books that analyze the Stonewall--and
some, such as "Batsford Chess Openings" do not--it is usually stated with
authority that Black can equalize as early as the third move. He can equal-
ize, supposedly, if he finds the right third move.
The third move in question is hardly new: it was known and de-
bated at the tum of the century, and the conclusions drawn then have been
repeated with some regularity ever since. But the evidence doesn't seem to
support those conclusions.
This is not to say that startling new moves have been found to im-
prove White's chances. It is simply that White's chances were never really
taken seriously, even when many of the best players in the world (Siegbert
Tarrasch, Frank Marshall, Geza Maroczy) were building walls of stone.
Before going on to the popular, but somewhat inferior lines of

1890-1910, or to tlte modern fianchetto defenses for Black, we'll examine
the variation that theoreticians have generally given their blessing to.
1 d4 d5
2e3
2 Nf6
Mikhail Tchigorin, the pre-Soviet champion of Russia, had no

quahns about blocking his c-pawn with a Knight and in this position be
70 Stonewall Attack: Chapter rrhree
liked the 2 Nc6!?. It does threaten 3 e5, but in the ahscncc of a White
Bishop on d3 to attack, Tchigorin's move scctns a hit prcrnaturc.
Since 3 c4 (after 2... Nc6) allows Black to reach a t~tvorablc version

of Tchigorin's variation of the Queen's Gambit witll 3 e5, we'll consider
the normal Stonewall move, 3 f4. Two of the Russian chrunpion's gruncs
from the London International of 1899 went 2 Nc6 3 f4, Nh6!? 4 Nf3, a6
with Black trying hard to control the e5 square.
Neitl1er of the grunes would make 1nuch itnprcssion on a tnodcnl

positional player:
Tinsley-Tchigorin went 5 Be2, e6 6 0-0, 1Je7 7 n3, 0-0 8 Nc3, fS 9

NeS, NxeS 10 dxeS, bS 11 Bf3, Bb7 12 Ne2, cS 13 c3, Qe8 after which
White secured a slight edge with 14 b4!, ReS 15 be, IJxcS 16 Qd3 and 17
Nd4.
Showalter-l''chigorin varied with: 5 c4, e6 6 Nc3, l'h4 7 14d3, o..

0 8 0-0, Ne7 9 c5?!, c6 10 NgS, g6 11 Qel, f6 12 Nf3, Kg7 13 h3, Nl7 14
a3, BaS 15 Bd2, Bc7 16 Ne2, Bd7 17 Bc3, Ng8 18 Khl, Qe7 19 g4, Rne8
20 Qh4, e5 with U1e advantage to Black. Showalter's aversion to e3-c4 at
some point is hard to explain.
In any event White should stand better after the sitnple 5 c4, e6 6
a3 and Bd3. Black then has difficulty achieving either of the two freeing
moves he needs, c7-c5 or ..e6-e5.
3Bd3
3.. Nc6!?
Chapter 'rhree: ....rheoretilally l'est" J)efense 71
Given an cxclmnation point by Reuben Fine in "Practical Chess

l)JJenings" and various other sources. Black's Knight threatens to go to b4,
where it harasses d3 and c2, or to support 4e5.
11te theoretical stamp of approval on 3Nc6 has obscured the

rncrit of a sound altentativc. Since Whites last move has denied Black
3 .115, the second player should consider other ways of activating his QB,
and those ways start with 3.1Jg4.
If While plays 4 f3--or 4 Ne2 and a later 12-fJ--tbc Black Bishop

finds an excellent square at h5, frorn where it can later go to g6 to neutral-
ize While's best auacking diagonal. If instead 4 Nf3 Black should equalize
with 4.e6 and 5c5.
Two of the very few gcuncs to feature 3.. 11g4 were played at the
Vienna Tournament of 1898 by the hapless W.U. Trenchard. They
continued 4 Ne2, e6 5 f3, BhS 6 Ng3, Bg6 and now:
(A) 7 e4 indirectly protects the d-pawn ( 7... d,e4 8 fre4, Qxd4?? 9

Rb5ch) hut leaves t11e White center somewhat loose. After 7c5 8 cJ, Nc6
9.,..114, dxe4 10 fxe4, h5 11 e5, Bxd3 trenchard tried 12 exf6 against Halprin
ruul received tactical opportunities after 12 Bxbl 13 fxg7, Bxg7 14 Rxbt,
QdS 15 0-0, cxd4 16 c4!, Qc5 17 Ne4. But the direct ll Bg6 should leave
Black with an edge.
(B) 7 f4, c5 8 c3, Bd6 9 0-0 is truer to U1c spirit of the Stonewall.
White plans on f4-f5, regardless of whether the light-squared Bishops ~e
on tl1e board. In Trenchard-Tarrasch Black sought to delay the f-pawns ad-
vance with 9 Qc7 10 Na3, a6 and was rewarded by 11 Nc2?, c4 12 Bxg6,
Stonewall Attack: Chapter ]"hree
hxg6 13 Qf3, Qc6! 14 Bd2, Nbd7 15 b3, bS 14 b4, Nb6 after which all
hopes of e3-e4 will be stopped and Black can play on the Qucensidc with
. a7-a5. This is a simple case of the bad Bishop tnaking a bad grune for
White.
A simpler way for White to play for advantage after 3 ..Bg4 is 4

Ne2, e6 5 f3, BhS 6 Nf4 followed by 6Bg6 7 Nxg6, hxg6 8 Nd2 and
either c2-c3/plus e3-e4 or f3-f4 and Nf3-e5.
(After 3... Nc6)
4f4
4 c3 allows 4 e5! with a fine grune for Black, e.g. 5 Ne2, lld6 6 0-
0?, e4 7 Bc2, Bxh2ch! 8 Kxh2, Ng4ch or 6 h3, 0-0 7 0-0, e4 8 Bc2, Ne7 9
Nf4, c6 10 f3, Bc7 11 fxe4, Nxe4 12 Nd2, fS as in Ffinsley-Schlechter,
London 1899. ,
By establishing the Stonewall, White conunits his center. Black

would seetn to be able to take advantage of this ilntnediately with 4.. Nb4,
and if 5 Be2, then S..BfS!, and a later .c7-c5. But t11c hattJc for the center
is not that easy to resolve.
There is one ot11er idea for White here and it is 4 c4!?, eS 5 Ne2 as
used by the imaginative Gyula Breyer in the period just after World War I.
His games went 5 Bb4ch 6 Nbc3, dxc4 7 Bxc4, 0-0 8 0-0, exd4 9 exd4,
Ne7 10 BgS, Ng611 f4!? with double-edged play (vs. Asztalos, 1918).
4 . Nb4
Chapter Three: "Theoretically Best" Defense 73
4e6?! leaves Black's QN misplaced. Tchigorin, who didn't be-

lieve such things mattered, once won a fine game after S a3!?, Bd6 6 NfJ,
0-0 7 Nc3, b6 8 NeS, Bb7 9 QCJ, Nd7 10 Qh3, fS 11 Nxd7, Qxd7 12 g4!,
Ne7 13 Ne2 de~pite White's promising position (Lee-Tchigorin, London
1899).
Instead of 4e6 there is something to be said for 4Bg4 5 NIJ, e6.
Even though the Black QN continues to block the c-.pawn, it can be shifted
to e7 and later 15. White might consider 6 c4 to take advantage of the
Knight but 6 c3 has been the rnove most often played. The White Queen
heads for a4 or b3. Black has plenty of choice:
(A) Trying to set up the double Stonewall with 6Ne4 7 Nbd2, fS

tlk'lkcs 8 Qb3 attmctive. The threat of Qxb7 or Bb51Ne5 should be met by
8 .a6! (so that 9 Qxb7?? is met by 9...Na5) after which 9 h3, BhS 10 g4
leads to obscure complications. But 8...Nxd2? 9 Bxdl, BxrJ only improves
White's pawn structure, as in the Lee-Ma..~on game of Chapter Two's section
on the double Stonewall.
(B) 6Bd6 is rcasonable9 e.g. 7 h3, BfS! 8 Bxrs, exfS 9 Ne5, Ne7
or 8 Qc2, Ne7 9 g4, Bxd3 10 Qxd3, c6 11 Nbd2, Qc7 12 NeS, 0-0 13 Rgl,
cS as in Lee-Showalter, U.S.-England Cable Match 1900, wbicb contin-
ued 14 Nfi?, Ne4 15 Bd2, (6 16 Nf3, eS 17 dxeS, fxeS 18 15, c4. White
should be playing 14 g5 in the last line, or, earlier the direct 7 Nbd2 fol-
lowed by Qc2 and NeS.
(C) 6Be7 has the merit of allowing Black to capture a Knight

when it reaches eS without allowing the pawn fork that occurs when Black's
Bishop is developed on d6. But it has tl1e demerit of blocking the shift of
tJ1e Black QN to e7. After 7 Nbd2, 0-0 White ha~ chances from 8 e4 or 8
Qc2.
74 Stonewall Attack: Chapter 'rhree
5Nf3
The English Master F.J. Lee and the Atneric(Ul Jackson Showalter
preferred 5 Bd2 when they chose the StonewaJI at the tun1 of tl1c century.
The idea was to clear the c. . file for a Rook at cl and prepare h2-h4, which
restricts Black's chief liberating break, the advance of his c-pawn.
After 5 Bd2, Nxd3ch 6 cxd3, e6the rnost interesting rnovc is 7

b4!. At London 1899 Karl Schleeter responded 71Je7 8 NfJ, 0-0 9 0-0.
Bd7 10 NeS, Be8 11 Bc3, Nd7 with double-edged chances until White in-
judiciously played 12 Nxd7? and found his dpawn under sudden attack
(12 ... Qxd7 13 Nd2?!, Qc6! and 14 Rei, Qa6 15 Nb3, Bb5).
Another Lee game (vs. Loman, London 1900 quoted in "Cook's

Compendium") saw White delay castling with 9 Bc3, 1Jd7 10 Ne5, 1Je8 11
0-0 and now lt Nd7 12 NO, rs 13 Nbd2, h6 14 a4, gS 15 g3, Kh7 16
Khl, gxf4? 17 gxf4, BhS 18 Ng5cb! worked well for hitn. However, Black
was overreaching himself and could have achieved a safer position with
13c6 and ..b6 in preparation for c5.
White can also improve and t11e obvious Jnctbod would be a t.lelay
in Ne5 until the outpost Knight can be reinfprced wit~t.Nbd2-f3.
. .
When confronted with 7 b4 in one of his match gatncs with

Showalter, Harry Pillsbury sought to regain control of c5 with 7aS!? 8 ba,
cS and now 9 Nf3, cxd4 10 Nxd4, DeS 11 Nb3, Bd6. After 12 d4?, 0-0 13
0-0, Ne4 14 Nc3, Nxd2 15 Qxd2, Bd7 16 Rf3, g6 17 Kh 1, Bb4 Black had a
good game. But White's 12th move is a positional horror, ceding e4 to
Black. He should continue with Bc3 and Nld2-f3 witJ1 an excellent game.
That extra pawn on aS should not be underestimated!
Instead of 7 b4 White can also restrict Black's c-pawn with 7 Qc2,

which Showalter preferred. After 7Be7 8 Nf3, 0-0 9 0-0, Nd7 10 b4!
White bas a promising position and in Showalter-Pillsbury, l..,ondon 1899
Black got into trouble when he tried to push his c-pawn witJ1 10.b6 (11
Qc6!, Rb8 12 Rcl, Bd6 13 Qa4, a6 14 Nc:3, c:5 15 be, be 16 Ne2. c4? 17
Ba5!, Bc7 18 Bxc7 and 19 dc4).
If there is one bid to refute 5 Bd2 it is 5 Bg4 6 NfJ, e6 leaving tJ1c

capture on d3 until later. Black's c-pawn is ready to advance and his Ql\ is
Chapter Three: "rfheoretically Best" l)efense 75
well developed on g4 (7 h3, Bh5 8 g4, Bg6 9 Ne5, Nd7). But, White can rid
hilnsclf of his bad Bishop with 7 Bxb4, Bxb4ch 8 c3, Bd6 9 Nbdl. The
notable game in which this line was played, Showalter-Lasker, London
1899, went 9 0-0 10 Qc2, cS 11 NeS, BhS 12 0-0, Rc8 13 Ndf3, Qe7 14
h3, Bxf3 15 Rxf3, g6 16 g4 and White stood well. He later overplayed his
hand and lost an endgame he needn't have.
5... Nxd3ch
6cxd3
White's pawn structure is now corrected and he denies Black the

access to e4 that he needs. For some reason, the Yugoslav "Encyclopedia of
Chess Openings" prefers 6 Qxd3, with the idea of c2-c4, and gives this
continuation: 6 e6 7 0-0, Be7 8 b3, 0-0 9 c4, b6 10 NcJ, Bb7 11 Bbl, cS
12 Racl, ReS 13 NeS, Ne4 (Gottschall-Schlechter, Munich 1900) which
is said to be equal. Black might try to improve with 10Ba6, to attack tbe
c-pawn.
6... e6
Black prepares for .c7-c5 and seeks to develop the Q~ at b7 or

d7 (and perhaps even at a6). There is no longer any merit to 6.Bg4
because of 7 Nbdl and 8 h3. On the other hand, 6 c5 could be tried, with
chances for both sides after 7 0-0, e6 8 Bd2! and 9 Bc3. White's minor
pieces are certainly as good 8S Black's.
One relatively unexplored plan is 6g6 7 Nc3, Bg7 as in the often-

quoted game Yates-Scblechter, Pistyan 1912. Reuben Fine said tbe fi-
anchetto was better than 6e6 because White has no Kingside attacking
Stonewall Attack: Chapter 1,hree
chances after 6g6. But White bas plenty of Queens ide attacking chances.
as the rest of Yates game, given at the end of tl1is chapter, will show.
70-0
White has a choice of plans after this, depending on how he uses

his QN. His KN has an excellent square at eS and his Bishop will be useful
on the d2-a5 line.
7. Be7
Black may not want to clear White's d4 outpost witJ1 7..c5 8 dxcS,
BxcS because of 9 Nc3 and Nb5-d4 (9... Qb6? /0 Na4. Bxe3ch? I 1 Khl).
But 9 d4?!, Bd6 10 Nc3 is suspect: 100-0 11 NeS, Ne4 12 Nxe4,

dxe4 and Black is comfortable (13 Qc2, f5 14 Rdl, Bd7 15 Qb3, Bxe5 with
equality due to the Bishops of opposite color-..1\'larshaii-Maroczy, Vienna
1908).
8Nc3
This was reconunended by Pillsbury in place of tbc d2 develop-

ment that was tried in the 1890s.
This opinion was reinforced by the influential game Tarrasch-

Tchigorin from Hastings 1895. White Uied 8 Nbd2, 0-0 9 Qc2, Bd7 10
Nb3 to exploit the Queenside lines and restrain Black's c-pawn. But it
quickly proved ineffective because of Black's accurate handling of the po-
sition: lOBa4! 11 Qc3, b6! 12 Qe1, cS and he already stands better.
Another idea was to shift White's QN to f3 in coordination with

NfeS. For example, 8 NeS, 0-0 9 Nd2 was Trenchard-Schlechter, Vienna
1898 and now 9c5 10 dxcS, BxcS 11 d4? got White into trouble 11 . Bd6
12 Rf3, Bd7 13 Rh3, ReS 14 g4, g6! 15 gS, NbS 16 Ng4, fS 17 Nh6ch?,
Kh8 and Black was in the saddle. Of course, 11 Nb3 is an obvious im-
provement, after which White stands well if he smoothly posts his QB on
c3.
8... 0-0
9Bd2 b6
Chapter Three: "Theoretically Best" I>efense 77
Played not only to provide a square t(,r the QB as to enable Black

to recapture with a pawn after ..cS/dxcS.
10 NeS Bb7
1OBa6 is pointless after 11 Qa4.
White has a good game but must choose between Kingsidc or

Queensidc . Among tbe reasonable moves here are 11 Rf3, 11 Qa4 and 11
Ret.
(A) Marshall played 11 Rf3 against Richard Teichmann at

Vienna 1908 and made his K.ingside intentions clear. After 11 Rf3, cS 12
Rh3 he was willing to accept a badly mangled pawn structure in tbe center
(12 ...cxd4 13 exd4) in return for security against the invasion there of en-
etny pieces and the threat of g2-g4-g5!.
He bad a promising attack after 12.Rc8 13 Qf3, a6 14 g4, g6 15

Rh6, Rc7 16 Ne2, Kg7 17 QhJ, Rh8 but now 18 Rfi was better than tbe
risky 18 Bc3, c4 19 gS, Ng8. And now 20 Nxl7?, Kxf7 21 Rxh7ch,
Rxh7cb 22 Qxh7ch proved insufficient after 22 Kf8 23 Qxg6, cxcl3 24
NgJ, Bc8 25 Rfi, Qe8!
(8) The alternative, Queenside plan of 11 Qa4 aims at b2-b4, Nc6

and Racl. After 11 .a6 12 b4 or 12 Nc6 Black runs into problems. But
ll cS is OK and if 12 dxcS, be 13 Ne2 Black controls d4 and tbe
Queenside lines: 13Qb6 14 Qc2, Rac8 15 b3, Ba6 16 Rf3, Rfd8. In the
Showalter-PUisbury, U.S. Championship Match 1897, White shifted to a
Kingside attack and was clearly worse after 17 Rb3, g6! 18 Qdl, Nd7.
78 Stonewall Attack: Chapter 1. hree
However White has a number of i.Jnprovcntcnts, such as 12 Ne2

and 12 dxcS, be 13 Nc6.
(C) 11 Ret is somewhat indirect but prepares to halt Black's plans

for c7-c5 with 12 Na4. If ll cS White continues 12 Ne2, ReS 13 Qa4.
White's pressure should not be discounted.
To appreciate how White's Queenside initiative can develop in this

kind of position we give:
YAT~:S-SCHLECHl'ER
PISTY AN 1912
The opening moves were: 1 d4, dS 2 e3, Nf6 3 1Jd3, Nc6 4 f4, Nb4
5 Nf3, Nxd3ch 6 cxd3, g6 7 Nc3, Bg7 8 0-0, 0-0 9 Ne2, b6 10 1Jd2, cS
Black must act on the Queensidc before White squelches his runbi-
tion with b2-b4.
11 Rcl Ba6
12 NeS Nd7
Black would like to play 12 Rc8 but 13 Qa4! would be iUlnoying.

With his last move he tries to increase his attack on d3 and docs not fear 13
Nc6, Qe8 14 Qb3, e6.
13 Qa4! Nxe5
14 Qxa6 Nd7
Chapter 'rhree: "l"heoretically llest" Defense 79
15 Rc2!
A silnple but bnpressive plan: White will pile up on the c-file and
not care what happens to his pawn structure after 15cxd4 16 Nxd4, Bxd4
17 exd4. The important factors then would be White's Rooks, Black's weak
nesses on the dark squares and the inability of lhe Black Knight to find a
square of merit.
15... e6
16 Rfcl Re8
17 b4!
Breaking the Black bottleneck on the c-file. Now after 17cxd4 be

should continue 18 Nxd4! as indicated above. Instead, he opts for the bold,
but risky idea of doubling Rooks on the seventh rank. The below 18th move
is a mistake.
17... cxd4
18 Qb7?! dxe3
19 Bxe3 d4!
~
A solid reply, based on 20 Bxd4, 1Jxd4ch 21 Nxd4, NcS! and
22 Qxd4ch.
20 Rc7! dxe3
21 Rxd7 Qf6
22 Rcc7 Rf8
23d4!
80 Stonewall Attack: Chapter 1"'hree
White had wanted to play 23 Rxt7, Rxt7 24 Qxa8ch, Rf8 25

Qxa7 but Black would then have a strong rejoinder in the fonn of
25Qalch: 26 Net, Bd4! or 26 Ret, Qb2 27 Ret, Qd2 28 Kfl, Rxf4ch!
23 Rad8!
Cleverly protecting the a-pawn and f-pawn (24 Qxa7, Ra8! 25

Qxb6, Rxa2 and Black threatens 26... Qxf4! 27 Nxf4, Ra 1ell and tnates).
24Qe4 Rxd7
25 Rxd7 Qh4
26g3 Qg4
27 Qxe3 e5!
Attacking the Rook on d7. Black now gains the upper hru1d and
White must use his ingenuity to bold the position. The rest of the grunc
went: 28 Rxa7, exd4 29 Qe4, Qc8 30 Qd3, Qe6 31 bS, ReS 32 Kf2, Qh3
33 Kgl, QfS! 34 Qc4!, d3 35 Nd4, d2!? (no better is 35... Bxd4cll 36 Qxd4,
Qc5 37 Qxc5, be 38 Rd7, c4 39 Kfl !) 36 NxfS, dl(Q)ch 37 Kfl, Qelch 38
Kf3, Qhlch 39m, Qxh2ch 40 Kf3, QhS 41 g4, Qhlch 42 Kg3, Qgl 43
Kf3, Qdlch 44 Kg3, Qelch 45 Kf3, Re6 46 Qc8ch, ReS 47 Qc4, Kh8 48
Qx17, Qc3ch 49 Kf2 and a draw was agreed.
The night after the game Schlechter was awaken wil11 the realiza-
tion that he had missed a win 40Qhlch 41 Kf2, Qelch 42 Kf3, Kh8! and
the Knight is lost (43 Nxg7, Re3ch and mates).
White should have played 18 Nxd4!

Chapter Four: l"he 'fraditional Defense 81
CHAPTER FOUR
THE TRADITIONAL DEFENSE
Despite the theoretical endorsetnent of the 2... Nf6/JNc6 de
fense, many players--whether or not aware of what the books say--will
choose a different approach with the Black pieces. In this chapter we will
examine the common-sense approach for Black, with an early c7-cS and
the development of the Black KB on e7 or d6.
1 d4 d5
2e3 Nf6
Black's last is the most flexible move and the one most readily
adopted by players unfamiliar with the Stonewall. They may be reluctant to
investigate the intricacies of 2c5 3 dxc5!? or the transposition into the
Queen's Gambit of 2BfS 3 c4!.
If Black is confident about transposition into 2c6 but then 3 Bd3

and 4 f4! leaves him vt.ithout the c7-c5 pawn tension that be needs for
counterplay in the Stonewall. On the other hand Black should not go out of
his way to stop the Stonewall with, say, 2c5 and if 3 Nf3, then 3c4? to
stop Bd3, because he has lost too much time for too weakening a plan (4
Nc3, f5 5 Ne5, Nf6 6 b3, cxb3 7 axb3 and White already has a clear edge--
lillsbury-MarshaU, Buffalo 1901).
Before we examine the main line, it is worth considering defensive
strategies for Black that do not involve an early .Nf6. There are several
advantages to delaying the development of the KN, for example, after 1 d4,
d5 2 e3, e6 3 BdJ, c5 4 c3, Nc6:
.
B B.l~ll,~.~-~---~.~
~-~~~ ~~,p-~ f~
.... -~4)~ t~ . . -~
~ ~~-~~~~~~
~~ ~---~1-l~~ ~~
~ ~~-~~-~~~ ~
'-~~Jl-~ . . J~-~ ~~--~
JJ.~ ~ ~ ~~1:~~
~~~*~~m~
82 Stonewall: Chapter I~,our
(A) When Black leaves his KN at horne, he finds an easier tin1c of

meeting a white Stonewall with its most natural antidote--a double
Stonewall. For example, 5 f4 can be met by 5 f5!? which should lead to
equality. Both sides have the out-post tl1ey want on the e-filc and, more-
over, Black has greater chances for a Queensidc initiative in view of his ad-
vanced c-pawn. For example, 6 Nf3, Nf6 7 Nbd2, Ne4 8 0-0, 1Je7 and now
9 BbS, Qb6 10 Bxc6ch, be 11 NeS, g6 12 Rf3, Bd6 was spirited hut even
in Showalter-Marco, Cambridge Springs 1904.
However, White should not rush into the f2-f4 that characterizes
the Stonewall. He has a good temporizing move in 5 Nd2, which hints in
the direction of 6 dxc5, Bxc5 7 e4. If Black continues 5 .Nf6 White re-
sponds 6 f4!. Best for Black is the counter-waiting move 5 .. Qc7.
(B) Another point of delaying the Knight's appc(uance is tbe avail-

ability of the flanking maneuver--g7 -gS--to attack the wall of stones
White has built on the dark squares. This was illustrated by Gcza Maroczy,
a Stonewaller himself on occasion, in his well-publicized grunc with Jack-
son Showalter from London 1899. After 5 f4, Maroczy boldly challenged
White's control of e5 with SgS.
If White ignores this thrust, Blac~ obtains g~~ play for liis Bish-
ops after 6 Nf3, gxf4 7 exf4, cxd4 and 7Bg7. (White would not stand
badly, however, with 8 cxd4, Bg7 9 Nbd2 and 10 Nb3.) Instead, Showalter
played 6 fxg5, QxgS 7 Nf3, offering his g-pawn as a sacrifice. But Black
correctly controlled the center and much of tbc rest of the board with
7 Qg4 8 Qe2, f5! and soon had superior play. The grune, worth studying,
continued:
9 Nbd2, Nf6 10 Nfl, Rg8 11 Rgt, Bd6 12 Bd2, Ne4 13 0-0-0,

Nxd2! 14 Nlxd2, c4! 15 Bc2, Bxh2 16 Rhl, Bd6 17 Rxh7, Bd7! (avoiding
the devilish trap 17.. Qxg2 18 Rgl!!, Qxe2 19 Rxg8cll, Bj8 20 Bdl!, Qxe3
21 Ne5, Nxe5 22 Bh5cll and wins) 18 Rgl, 0-0-0 19 Rh4, Qg7 20 g4, fxg4
21 Net, e5! 22 Qg2, QgS and wins.
(C) Similar example, Lee-Teicbmann, match 1901, showed

Black trying to attack on the Kingside with g7-g5. It went 1 d4, d5 2 e3,
e6 3 Bd3, Nc6 4 f4, gS!? 5 NIJ, gxf4 6 exf4, Nf6 7 cJ, Bd6 8 NeS, Bd7 9
Be3, Rg8 10 Qf3, Qe7 11 Nd2, 0-0-0 but the absence of c7-c5 denies
Black the Queenside play he should have.
Chapter }""our: Tbe rraditional Defense 83
(D) Another strategy for Black is to preserve f6 for a pawn, so as

to contest the eS square and perhaps advance his e-pawn. This was a fa-
vorite of Wilhelm Steinitz's. On one occasion as Black he played 5 f4, Bd6
6 NfJ, Nb6!? and had interesting chances following 7 0-0, Qc7 8 Ne5, g6!?
9 Nd2, f610 Nxc6, be. But in tJ1e game (Lee-Steinitz, London 1899) Black
overreached himself after opening the e-file and eventually lost
A silnilar case was (instead of 6 Nf3) c; Nh3, Qh4ch!? 7 Nil, Nb6

(Trenchard-Steinitz, Vienna 1898) and now despite the loss of time from
8 0-0, Bd7 9 Nd2, Qe7 10 Nf3, f6 11 Qc2, g6 12 Bdl, NfS 13 Rael, c4!
Black soon had a slight edge.
(E) Finally, it should be pointed out that there is also some reason
for Black to develop his KN at e7, so that it can later go to fS. The game
Kamyshov-UfiDltsev, Mosc-cow 1945 went: 1 d4, e6 2 Nd2, dS 3 e3, Bd6
4 f4, b6 5 c3, Bb7 6 Ng3, Nd7 7 NeS and now 7.Ne7 8 Bd3, NfS 9 QfJ,
BxeS!? 10 fxeS, QgS! 11 e4, Nh4! 12 Qg3, Nxg2ch 13 Kfl, Nf4 14 QxgS,
Nh3ch and wins.
After all these variations A, B, C, D and E are examined we rec. .
'i. ~ , 1 \i " I ,
oQ\fil.en~ Variation .',A wbe~e

. . 5 Nd2~ .
:White Wlys
3Bd3
If White delays tbis for one tnove, Black will seize the bl-h7 di-
agonaJ with 3Bf5. Transposition into tlte Queen's Gambit with, say, 3
Nd2, BfS 4 c4 is no longer dangerous for Black because he has ample de-
fenses of his d-pawn and Queenside (4... c6 5 Qb3, Qb6).
On the other band, Black cannot count on any transpositions be-

cause here the move 3~c6?! allows White to play ll-f4 with a favorable .
Stonewall since Black has delayed counterplay with Nc6 or c7-d. e.g.
3c6 4 Ndl, Nbd7 S f4!, e6 6 Ngf3, Bd6 7 Ne5, 0-0 8 0-0, ReS 9 QD, la
10 cJ, N6d711 Qh3,'Qe712 e4, dxe413 Nxe4, f614 Bd2!9fD515.fxeS~:
BxeS 16 dxeS, NxeSt7 BgS, Qc7 '18 Nd6!, Qxd6 19 Rlf8ch~~Kx1Bfl0
ROch, Nl7 21 Bg6! and wins (Fogolevich-Lapin, Moscow 1928). ;_
84 Stonewall: Chapter J:.,our
3... cS
3 Nbd7 has often been played but it unnecessarily compromises

Black's chances of developing his Queenside pieces after 4 f4! (or 4 Nd2
and 5/4!).
For example, 4 f4, cS 5 cJ, e6 6 Nd2, Bd6 7 Qf3!, Qc7 8 Nh3 and
now if Black tries to find Queenside squares for his QN with 8Nb6 he in-
vites harassment with 9 a4!, Bd7 10 aS, Nc8 11 0-0 and White has much
better piece play as in Nenarokov-Smorodsky, Soviet Championship,
Moscow 1924. In that game Black ended up maneuvering at loss of time to
get his Knight back to c6(!)--ll Ne712 Khl, h513 NgS, Nc6 and now 14
dxcS, BxcS 15 b4, Be7 16 e4!, eS 17 fS, d418 bS, NxaS 19 cxd4, Ng4 20
b6!, Qxb6 21 Nc4 and White won quickly.
Black can try the double Stonewall with S.Ne4 (which White
could have prevented with 4 Nd2). But even after 4 f4, cS S c3, Ne4 White
can try 6 Bxe4!?, dxe4 7 Nd2 witb good play, e.g. 7(5 8 Nh3, b6 9 Nxe4!?
fxe410 QhSch, g611 QdS, Rb812 Ng5 with a strong attack (Nenarokov
Grekov, Moscow 1928). Another old example of White play is Illustrative
Game#6.
If Black foregoes c7-c5 in favor of 4e6 S Nd2, Be7 6 Ngf3, he

fmds the only middlegame strategy left for him is double-Stonewall. But
6 .Ng4 7 Qe2, rs allows White to take the initiative on the Queenside in a
reversal of roles: 8 c4!, g6 9 0-0, c6 10 b3, 0-0 11 Bb2, Re8?! 12 c5, Bf6
13 b4 (Stablberg-Apscheneek, Kerneri-Riga 1939).
Chapter Four: The Traditional Defense
On the other band, if Black shifts his QN to tbe Kingside without

moving his c-pawn be may invite e3-e4! by the enemy. For example, 3 ...e6 :
4 Nd2, Bd6 5 f4, Nc:6?! 6 c3, Ne7 seems to make sense ber-ause the ceo~-~
is closed and Black will blunt tbe White Bishop's ~agonal with_ ~~g(;.
But this neglects other matters and allows \Vhite:~~~;-be~

needs: 7 Nb3, 0.0 8 0-0, Bd7?! 9.e4!, dxe410.Nxe4.aod(Dp4'~,_t
Bxe4 threatens 12 Bxb7 as well as 12 Bxh7ch! In Santasiere-Adams,u.s;
1940 Black ttied 10...Ng6 11 Nxf6dl, pf6 (to avoid 12~Ng5, h6:13 'Ni4l
and went down quickly~ See Dlu~~ve Game #S. ,
4c3
At this point we sbould .consider two sets of situations: tbQicJn~

which Black shuts in bis QueenBishop wiU. e6'andtbose.'ia~w*-llbO:~~~
velops it on rs or g4 before playing ...e6.
As mentioned earlier, it is generally poorpolic}';foc~~~

in the Bishop in the Stonewall. But often players. don't:rea~i~)IJOi~~
Stonewall. Many games played by the great masters. of ~~~
lesser names of today--began 1 d4, dS 2 e3, e6 3 ~' e5 4 ~~~5,lff.~ .... ,..,
.:J. ~ ) ~~r~
1 d4, dS 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, e6 4 f4! before Black realized-~~

himself into. Even as late as the 1930s players such as Aki~-~i!tAl
were getting into tbe ...e6 positions as Black (eve~ by way of the Queen'$
Indian Defense). .. .
:.. ~ ...
Also in the current position, Black often plays 4...e6 ~.~J.s
concerned about losing his unprotected c-pawn if he plays~ ~~e~-~.:~n;;.
For example, 4...Nc6 5 de!, and now if Black: plays 5.~5 ui.try.
rq;.~~~-
...... ' ~
his pawn, then White continues 6 BbS!, Bd7 7 b4,' e.g. 7."~4.8 BxcG.; .bC~:
9~xb4; e610 Bb2 (much better than 6 Nd2, e5! 7 Bb5, Bxc5 8 Ngf3, Qc7 9
~4.~0~l)"-JO~JJxc6, be and /l, ..Ba6 which gave-Black an edge in Capa-
._blanea-Verllmky, Moscow 1925).
.
fA~tBiaek Plays ~6
u :. Blaek Develops His QB
SECTION (A)
BLACK PLAYS ..e6
For the sake of argument we'll assume Black declares his inten-
tions and plays the critical move immediately with 4e6. A number of
games have continued with 4Nc6 (or 4... b6, 4..Nbd7) 5 f4 and then Se6.
One of Marshall's memorable wins transposes after 1 d4, dS 2 e3, Nd7 and
since it was no better for Black's QB to be blocked in by the Knight than by
a pawn, White had a good position with 3 f4!
4 .. e6
5 f4
This could be safely deferred in favor of S Nd2 in order to prevent

BJack from blocking the attacking lines with Ne4.
5. Nc6
On occasion, Black has developed his QN to d7, so that he can use

the c-file with cxd4 (and if exd4 then ... RL8, ... b5-4 and ...Nb6-c4). Or,
Black puts the Knight on d7 so as not to block his control of dS and e4 fol-
lowing .h6 and Bh7.
For example, by way of transposition SNbd7 6 Nf3, Bd6 7

Nbd2, h6 reaches Sultan Khan-Rubinstein, Prague 1931 (Illustrative
Game #1 )--one of the most famous modern victories of the Stonewall. After
8 NeS! White has tbe makings of a most promising position.
88 Stonewall: Chapter J..,our
The Rubinstein gmne continued 8 1Jb7 9 Qf3!, h5 (to avoid 10

g4!) 10 Qg3!, Kf8 11 0-0, h4 12 Qh3, ReS 13 Ndf3, Ne4 14 lld2, Nxd2
(else Belxh4) 15 Nxd2, Nf6 16 NdfJ ru1d White had a persistent attack with
NgS or f4-f5.
If Black releases tension in the center, White finds rutoLhcr plru1 in

the advance of his e-pawn, e.g. 8 .Bb7 9 0-0, c4? tO l'c2, Qc7 11 Qe2, h5
and now 12 e4!, Nb6 13 Nxl7!, Qx17 14 eS with advantage to White
(14 ... Bc7 15 exffi, gxf6 16 Bf5, Marshall-Wainwright, U.S.-I~ngland Ca-
ble Match 1899).
And if Black has played Qc7 rather t11an Nbd7 he could an ..

swer 8 NeS with 8 Ba6 so as to kill off White's attacking Bishop. But
White can then try 9 Bel!? even at the cost of cac;tling. For exmnple 9 ...0-0
10 Kf2 was tried in Ufimtsev-Vaiser, Alma Ata 1965 and White soon had
a well-focused position following tOBxeS 11 dxeS, Ne8 12 Qh5, fS 13
Nf3, Qe7 14 Bd2, Nc7 15 g4, g6 16 Qh3, Bb7 17 Rhg1, Qg7 18 gxfS, exfS
19 Rg3, Bc8 20 Ragl.
Similar was the case of Root-Whitehead, U.S. Junior Champi-

onship 1981: 1 d4, Nf6 2 Nf3, b6 3 Nbd2, Bb7 4 e3, cS 5 Bd3, dS 6 c3,
Nbd7 7 Ne5, e6 8 f4, Qc8! 9 Qf3, Ba6 10 Bc2, Be7 11 g4!?
This is more accurate than 6 Nf3, after Black can establish the
double Stonewall with 6 Ne4! 7 0-0, f5 e.g. 8 Ne5, Nxe5 9 fxe5, Bd7 10
Nd2, Be7 11 Nxe4, dxe4! 12 Bc4, bS 13 Bb3, c4! followed by l)c6 witJ1
advantage to Black (Marshali-Capahlanca, New York 1911 ).
Chapter J4"'our: The 'fraditional Defense 89
Another advantage of 6 Nd2 over 6 Nf3 is that it reserves the other

Knight for possible duty on h3/f2, e.g. 6 Bd6 7 QfJ, Bd7 8 Nh3 as in the
Marshall-Rubinstein given below in the note to White's 8th move. Marshall
was particularly critical of Rubinstein in that game for prematurely placing
his Bishop on d6, when he would have done better to consider Be7.
White bas some freedom of move order here and can also play 6
Qf3 followed by 7 Nd2. In Kbasin-Bykova, Moscow 1944 White chose 6
QfJ, Be7 7 Nd2, Bd7 8 Ne2 and then hit upon another attacking plan in the
fonn of 8 0-0 9 0-0, Rc810 Kbl, a611 Rgl with the g-pawn primed for
action.
6 1Jd6
This is played in the vast tnajority of gmncs, aiU1ougb it is proba-

t>ly ittfcri<>r.
Black may still delay development of his Bishop with 6...Qc7 as

used by Capablanca, e.g. 7 Ndf3?!, Ne4! 8 NeS, cxd4! 9 Bxe4, NxeS 10
fxe5, dxe4 11 exd4, fS! with equality (Marshaii-Capablanca, Match
1912, which was drawn after perpetual cbecks--12 exjO, gx.ffi 13 Qh5ch, (}j7
14 Qb5ch, Qd7 15 QIJ5ch, etc). Of course, White's seventh move can be
~eplaced with the more promising alternatives sucb as 7 QfJ or 7 Nh3.
The other chief alternative for Black in the diagram is 6...Be7 and
this is a good point to discuss the merits of this development of the Bishop.
On d6 the Bishop looks more aggressively placed but has the disadvantage
of being misused in case of (A) a well-timed White advance of e3-e4; and
(B) the Bd2-el-h4 shift of Whites bad Bishop. Moreover, when the Bishop
90 Stonewall: Chapter Four
goes to e7 Black is in a position to exchange Knights on e5 without forking

his minor pieces with an enemy pawn.
A good policy for White after 6 1Je7 is 7 Nh3 so as to usc his

Knights on g5 and e5. For example, 7 0-0 8 Ng5! keeps the Black Knight
out of e4 and prepares 0-0 and Rf3 -h3. The Knight is not easily ousted
from h3 because 8 h6 can be met by 9 h4! with attacking chances, e.g.
9hxg5? 10 hxg5, N-moves 11 Qh5 and mates.
In Lipke-Schiffers, Leipzig 1894 (see Illustrative Gfunc #7 for the

complete game) Black played 9 cxd4 10 exd4, Qd6 11 Ndf3. It was hard
to find an answer to Wbites plan of Ne5 and g2-g4 or Qc2/Bh7ch. In tlle
game Black tried lt ...hxgS 12 hxg5, Ne4 13 Bxe4, dxe4 14 NeS, llxgS but
after 15 fxgS, Nxe516 Qh5!, f617 g6!, Nxg6 18 Qxg6, Rl7 191Je3, b5 20
0-0-0, lhe h-filc gave White a killing attack.
7Qf3
From here the Queen can go to gJ, attacking g7 or h3 where it

takes part in the general assault on h7. The alternative, 7 Nh3, is perfectly
good since it gives White the option of NgS as well as Nf2 and e3-e4. Black
has often in the past tried to castle Queenside after 7 Nh3. For exmnple we
have (A), (B) and (C): _
(A) 7Bd7 8 0-0, Qc7 9 Nf3 and now if Black continues to delay
castling--in the hopes of denying White an attacKing target--the enetny
Knights become too active. In Trenchard-Walbrodt, Vienna 1898 White
achieved a wonderful position after 9h6 10 Ne5, Ne7 11 Nf2, Bc6 12
Nfg4!, Ne4 13 Nxc6!, bxc6 14 Bxe4, dxe4 and now 15 Nf2, rs 16 dxcS!,
Cbapter Four: The Traditional Defense 91
1Jxc5 17 b4, l~b6 18 c4, cS 191,5! and 20 1Jh2. The difference between the
two Bishops is obvious.
(B) 7 Qb6 8 0-0, Bd7 9 Nf3, h6 10 Ne5 is similar play by both

sides and in Barry-Lawrence, U.S.-England Cable Match 1897, White
stood well after 1O .cxd4 11 Nxd7 (not 11 exd4, Nxe5 12 fxe5, Bxe5!),
Nxd7 12 exd4, 0-0-0 13 Kh1, f6 14 Qe2, Rde8 15 Bel, g5 and now 16 fS!,
exf5 17 BxfS and Raei, gives White pressure on the light squares and vari-
ous Kingside weaknesses.
(C) 7Qb6 8 0-0, Bd7 and now 9 Khl, 0-0-0 10 Nf3, Be8! 11
Nf2, Nd7 12 Qe2, f6 looks like a good center strategy for Black. However
White can expand on both wings with 13 c4! now that e6 is weakened, e.g.
13cxd4 14 exd4, Nxd4? 15 Nxd4, Qxd4 16 BeJ or l3Bb5 14 g4!, Bl7
15 a3, Rhe8 16 dxcS, Nxc5 17 b4, Nxd3 18 Qxd3, with a doubleedged
play (Breyer-Leonhardt, Berlin 1920).
(D) 7...0-0 See Illustrative Game #3.
But it should be pointed out that 7 Ngf3 is a bit inexact because it

allows 7cxd4 when White cannot recapture with the e-pawn without sac-
rificing --unsoundly--his f-pawn. After 7 cxd4 8 cxd4, Bd7 Black is al-
ready on the attack on the c-file and after 9 a3, ReS 10 Qe2, Qb6 11 0-0
(Maroczy-Janowski, Vienna 1902). He should equalize with ll...a512 b3,
Na7 13 Bb2, BbS!.
7. Bd7
Black is wise not to provide the cnctny with a target with 7-.0-0 8
g4 or8 Nh3.
~
If Black burns his Kingsidc bridges with 7 h5 he gives up too
much ground after 8 Nh3! and NgS, e.g. 8 . Bd7 9 0-0, g6 10 Ng5, Qe7 and
now in Showalter-Cohn, London 1899 White went posilionaly astray with
11 dxc5?, BxcS 12 b4, Bb6 13 Nb3, eS! 14 Bc2, e4 wben be could have
tried 11 Khl, preparing dxc5 and e3-e4.
Black can avoid the opening of lines with dxc5 by playing .c:xd4
hitnself, but this often creates a sterile position for Black, particularly if he
has to castle Queenside. For example, 7.cxd4 8 exd4, Qc7 9 Nh3, Ne7 10
92 Stonewall: Chapter )4.,our
Nfl, Bd711 Bd2, 0-0-0 12 0-0-0, h6 and now 13 Ne3, Kb8 14 Khl, bS 15
Rhel with an easy game for White as in the consultation grunc Capablanc1t
vs.Labatta and Moise, New Orleans 1911.
8Nb3
From here the Knight can subsequently go to f2 in preparation for

e3-e4!. This is what happened in the influential game Marshall-Robin-
stein, Vienna 1908: 8 Qb6 9 Nf2, 0-0-0 tO 0-0, Kb8 11 e4! and White
soon realized an advantage.
.. .
The game continued ll dxe4 12 Nfxe4, .,N~e4 13 Nxe4, ~'' 14
dxcS, BxcSch 15 NxcS, QxcSch 16 Be3~ Qa5 17 a4; Ne7 18 b4, Qc7'19
Bd4 followed by the advance of the Queenside pawns.. Black's lack of .
counterplay was clear after 19(6 20 Qll, Nc8 21 Rfe1, Rhe8 22 Qg3, Bc6
23 b5, BdS 24 aS, Bc4 25 b6! and White won. (See Illustrative Game #2).
Notice that White's piece placement put him in a position at the di-
agram in which any changes in the pawn structure (...cxd4 by Black or e3-
e4 by White) will improve the scope of White's pieces. Black's problems
are by no means confined to his bad QB but he should consider other ways
of playing the position.
Chapter l"our: The Traditional Defense 93
SECTION 8
BLACK DEVELOPS HIS QB
(After 1 d4, dS 2 e3, Nf6 3 Bd3, cS 4 c3)
4. Nc6
As noted earlier, this is risky because .White may abandon his

Stonewall intentions an4, play S dxcS. Even though White has then dis-
rupte~ bi~: pawn. strUcture~/~ ~htay. }le:-fo~c~ t(> ~ove his onir developed . .
piece. a ~ond ti~ei(~ q~~:PIJS).b~)s, af:~r:an,:~good pawn abead.and is::
I
to
likely remain So.~ : l.'- ~ :.
. .I ,
.
.
.
''
. .
. I
..
I
..
For this reason, Black sbould consider 4.:.Qc7, which Capablanca
considered best Then White should adopt the same waiting game as Blade
and play 5 Ndl so tbat he can meet 5...Nbd7 with 6 f4 and 5...Nc6 witb 6
dxcS. Black may force matters .with SeS 6 dxeS, Qxe5 but White's lead in
development cannot be ignored after 7 Ngf3, Qc7 8 e4 or 8c4.
If, however, White insists on the immediate Stonewall by meeting

4Qc7 with 5 f4 he must deal with the consequences of 5...Bg4! 6 Nf3, e6.
White can get the upper band by exploiting the absence of the QB from tbc
Black Queenside after 7 Qa4eh!, e.g. 7Qd7? 8 ;BbS or 7.Nc6 8 NeS or
7.Nbd7 8 Ne5, c4? 9 Nxg4, Nxg4 10 Bel, Nh6 11 b3, cxb3 12 axb3, a6
13 0-0, Bd6 14 c4 followed by c4-c5 and b3-b4 (Chajes-Capablanea, New
York 1911).
Better for Black is 7Nbd7 8 NeS, BfS or 88d6. Cafferty and

Hoopert in "a complete defense to 1 d4", claim equality for Black after
Stonewall: Chapter Four
8 Bd6 9 Nxg4, Nxg4 10 h3, Nh6 (to keep the f-pawn unblocked) 11 0-0,
f5. However, 12 Na3 or 12 dxcS, followed by Na3-Nc2-d4, tnuy give
White a small edge.
5 f4?!
5 NO heads toward a Colle System. The slight difference between

the Stonewall and the Colle is the White f-pawn--and that makes all the dif-
ference in tbe world. In Colle's system, White is preparing e3-e4 and wants
to open the center. But in the Stonewall White docs not need that freeing
advance, since the f2-f4 gives him a window on the Kingsidc. He usually
wants the center to be closed.
5 . Bg4
6Nf3
On 6 Qc2 Black can play 6 Rc8 witlt a threat of 7cxd4 8 exd4,

Nxd4. And on 6 Qa4 White has notl1ing attractive to answer 6 Bd7.
6. e6
6Ne4 was widely praised after tJ1c brilliant gatne Colle-Johner,

Karlsbad 1929:
7 Nbd2, f5 8 Qa4, Nxd2 9 Bxd2, IJxfJ 10 gxf3, e6 11 0-0-0?, c4

12 Bbl, Be7 13 e4?!, 0-0 14 Rdgt, Rb8 15 Qdl, b5 16 h4?, b4 17 Qe2,
bxc318 Bxc3, Bd6 19 exf5, exf5 20 Qe6ch, Kh8 21 BxfS, 1Jxf4ch 22 Kbl,
Rf6 23 Qd7, Qf8 24 Be6, Be3! 25 Rdl, Qa3! 26 Kal, Nh4! 27 Bxh4,
Qxb4 28 Rh2, Bxd4 29 Rdd2, Bxb2ch! White resigns.
Chapter }"our: The Traditional Defense 95
But White should not rush his King away from tbe possibility of
.Qh4cb. For example, 11 b4, Qb4ch 12 Ke2 is a reasonable improvement
over 11 0-0-0?. White has good prospects on the b-file and Queenside gen-
erally after cxb4/cxb4. Even as the Karlsbad game was played, White
should have doubled Rooks on the g-file before playing e3-e4 or b2-h4.
7Nbd2
Pachman giv~es 7 0-0, Bd6 8 Qel, 0-0 9 NeS, BfS! as being in

Black's favor and it is hard to dispute this.
7 Bd6
One of the few games with this line, Delmar-Lawrence, Cam-

bridge Springs 1904, went 7...Qc7 8 Bel?!, Be7 9 0-0, Bf5 10 NeS, hS and
Black already stood better. But he reversed direction and soon was worse
after ll NdrJ, Ng4 12 h3, Nxe5 13 NxeS, b4 14 Bd3, Bxd3 15 Qxd3, f516
Bd2, NxeS 17 fxe5, c4 18 Qe2, gS 19 Khl, 0-0-0 20 b3, Rdg8 21 be, clxc4
22e4.
Better after 7Qc7 is 8 Qa4 with the idea of 8 NeS. This is wby
7Bd6, which prepares castJing, is more exact.
80-0
ECO says Black is better, without giving further analysis. On 8 h3

Black can simply retreat to fS since 9 BxfS, exfS only elitninates his bad
Bishop and reinforces his control of e4. Of course, 8 h3, Bh5 is also good
and after 9 b3, cxd4 10 cxd4, Rc8 11 ~-0, Bg6 12 Bxg6?, hxg6, the game
Gunsberg-Teichmann, Monte Carlo 1902, was at least equal for Black.
He won by giving up his remaining Bishop for a Knight and exploited light-
square holes in the endgame.
After the tex~ Black can force the opening of the c-ftle with
8cxd4 9 c:xd4 or simply castle and await events. On 80-0 9 Qel? Black
gets a good grune with 9 cxd4! since 10 exd4 loses the f-pawn. 10 exd4
invites Queenside invasion with 10 Nb4 11 Bbl, ReS 12 NeS, BfS, and 10
Nxd4 is out of character with White's opening strategy but carries with it
sorne tactical points (e.g. IO... e5? II Nxc6, bxc6 12fxe5, Bxe5 13 Qh4!, 115-
96 Stonewall: Chapter J4,our
-not 13... Be6 14 Rxf6!--14 h3, Bc8 15 Nf3, Re8 16 Nxe5. Rxe5 17 Bd2, Qel
18 c4 and Bc3 as in Trenchard-Lipke, Vienna 1898).
In view of the lack of promise here, White should consider varying

at move 5 with 5 dxcS or NO.
EDITOR'S (Ken Smith) NOTE:

The Stonewall combined with tl1e Colle, in such lines as this, make
a fonnidable weapon. Looking at Soltis' suggestion 5 ND: (Colle):
1 d4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 cS
4c3 Nc6
5Nf3 e6
6Nbd2
(A) In Gottilf-Romanovsky, Tourney of Leningrad Masters

1930, Black tried 6Qb6 7 0-0, Bd7. If his intention was to castle Q-side,
he soon thought better of it: 8 de, BxcS 9 e4, Rd810 ed, ed 11 NbJ, Be7 12
h3, 0-0 13 Be3, Qc7 (completing the ignominious retreat) 14 Nbd4 and Ute
position is a Tarrasch French in which Black's pieces arc too passively
placed to compensate for the isolation of his d-pawn (1-0, 42).
(B) 6 a6 7 0-0, Qc7 8 Qe2, Be7 9 de, BxcS 10 e4 White is better.

Przepiorka-Gilfer, Hamburg 1930.
(C) 6 cd 7 ed, Bd6 8 0-0, 0-0 9 Ret, Qc7 (9... Re8 10 Ne5 note
bl) See note to Black's 7th.
6 Bd6
With .Bd6 Black adopts his most classical minor piece set-up.
The position is in effect a reversed Queen's Gambit, Semi-Slav (Chigorins
Half-Meran) in wbicb the extra tempo means a lot to White: be will be the
rust to advance his e-pawn.
70-0
7 e4 is premature.
7 0-0
More T.D. Harding: "Black can transpose by 7Qc7 8 de, BxcS 9

e4, 0-0, but should avoid:"
(A) 7eS?! was played in the stem-grune Cbarousek-Suchting,

Berling 1897 Thirty years later the variation was rediscovered and popu-
larised by Colle!
;II
Cllarousek-Sucbting continued 8 de, BxcS 9 e4, d4?! 10 Nb3, Bb6
11 cd, ed 12 e5!, Nd7 13 Bg5, Qc7 14 Ret White is better, but possibly
9 de 10 Nxe4, Nxe4! 11 Bxe4, Qxdll2 Rxd1, Bg4 (12 .. .}613 b4, Bb614
a4 White is better) 13 h3, Bxf3 14 Bxf3 would have resbicted White to a
minimal endgame advantage. Neikirkh and Tsvetkov, the Bulgarian ana-
lysts, suggest that White would do better with 8 de, Nxe5 9 NxeS, Bxe5 10
f4, Bc7 11 e4, de 12 Nxe4, Nxe413 Bxe4, Qxdll4 Rxdl e.g. 14.. Rb815
Be3, b6 16 Bc6+, Ke7 17 Ret White is better. Another idea is 8 e4 and
White will use thee-file first-Koltanowski.
(B) 7cd 8 ed produces an Exchange Variation of ll1c Caro-K~un1

with Black's Queen's Bishop locked inside his pawn structure. Two cxatn-
ples after 8Qc7 9 Ret:
(Bl) 9 0-0 10 Qe2, ReS 11 NeS, Re7 12 Ndf3, Nfd7 13 NuS!,

Nf814 Nxh7! White is better. Colle-Soultanbeieff, l.,iege 1930.
(82) 9Bd7 10 Qe2, 0-0-0 11 NeS, Be8 12 Ndf3, Nd7 13 lld2,

Nf814 c4, f615 cd, ed 16 Nxc6, be 17 b4 followed by Rfel, Rabl, a4 and
bS, opening up Black's Q-side-Koltanowski. Harding continues to suggest:
8Qe2
Also good is 8 de, BcS 9 e4, Qc710 Qe2, Bd6 (10...Ng4)
(A) lONg4 11 ed, ed 12 Nb3, Bb6 13 BgS! The Black King's

Knight cannot reach e4 and the White Queen's Bishop will achieve tl1e stan-
dard manoeuvre Bg5-b4-g3. If 13Bd7 14 Bh4, Rae8 15 Qc2, h6 16 Bg3
and 17 Rael, or if 13.Nee5 (or 13...Nge5) then 14 l'f4! is proanising-
Harding.
(B) lO eS? 11 ed, Nxd512 Bxh7+, Kxh7 13 Qe4+ an<.l14 Qxd5.
(C) lO de 11 Nxe4, Be7 12 NfgS White is bettcr-Ncikirkh ~u1d

Tsvetkov.
(D) 10Re8? 11 e5.

After our main line move of 8 Qe2, we have this diagram.
8. eS!?
Altcrnativel y:
(A) 8 Qc7 9 de returns to the last note.
(B) 8 b6 9 e4, de 10 Nxe4, Bb7 11 Nxf6+, Qxf6 12 Ng5 White is

bcttcr-Filipcic-Vidmar Jr., Yugoslav Champ. 1945.
(C) 8Nd7 9 e4 (9 de, Nxc5) 9...cd 10 eel, Nb4 11 Bbl, b6

(unclear-ECO) 12 Ret, Ba6 13 Qe3, Rc8 -White is slightly better.-Pach-
man.
9dc
9 de is inferior.
9 Bxc5
l0e4
With initiative to White.
Examples:
(A) 10Re811 b3 White is bctter-Pachman.
(B) 10Bg4 11 ed (11 113, Bll5 Wahltuch-Morrison, London

1922) ll QxdS 12 Ne4!-Koltanowski)
(C) 10 Qe7 11 ed, Nxd5 12 Nb3, Bd6 131~g5, f6 (/ 3... Qc7looks

safer) 14 Qe4, g615 Qxd5+, Be6 16 Qe4, fg 17 Bc4, Rf4 18 Bxe6+, Qxe6
19 Nxg5 White is better (1-0, 40) Ivanov-Padevsky, Bulgarian Champ.
1955.
Credit for the above suggestions belong to Harding &

Koltanowski. For those that want to combine the Stonewall and Colle. we
suggest getting White Opening System Combining Stonewall. Colle ,\:vstent,
Torre Attack by Soltis (Chess Digest, Inc. 1992). End of Editor's nolc.
SUMMARY: This SECTION B (Black Develops His QB) is risky

for Black because White may abandon 5 f4?! and the Colle 5 Nf3 and play
5 dxcS!?. See note after Black's 4 Nc6.
Chapter Five: Black },ianchettoes 101
CHAPTER FIVE
BLACK FIANCHEITOES
When Black fianchettocs his King's Bishop he reduces--but not
quite eliminates--the attacking potential of the Stonewall. The White
Bishop on d3 has little effect on such a sturdy King position marked by
enemy pawns at f7, g6 and b7. White could, of course, try to loosen that
pawn structure wilh f4-fS, but that would also just serve to loosen his
control of the more valuable eS square. So White must try to live witb it
Moreover, once Black fiancbettoes bis dark-squared Bishop he can

challenge tbe enemy's light-squared Bishop wilh BfS. This invites an ex-
change of pieces on rs even if it means Black has to recapture there with his
g-pawn. Unless White can then open the g-file with g2-g4, Black's King
should be safe. In an endgame, the second player should bave a clear
superiority because of his better remaining Bishop. And, since that dark
squared Bishop of his does not have a great diagonal anywhere on the
board, it doesnt appear to be misplaced at g7 where it prepares for an attack
oneS via f7-f6 and c7-c5.
There are. however, some benefits for White to reap from the en-
emy dcvelopmeQt of a Bishop on g7. White can, for example, develop his
own dark squared Bishop on the Queenside with b2-b3 and BaJ. And he
1nay be able to capture the Black c-pawn after c7-c5/dxcS when it will be
difficult for Black to regain material equality. After dxcS White also creates
a nice outpost square on d4 for his Knights.
In the analysis that follows we will assume Black uses a traditional

King's Indian move order and delays moving his d-pawn. He could, of
;:ourse, play t ...d5 and 2 g6 or t ...Nf6 and 2.d5 or any such sequence
leading to the main line positions.
1 d4 Nf6
One of the disadvantages of this move order is that it may prema-

turely commit the Black Knight to f6. After t ...dS 2 eJ, g6 for example
Black retains some extra options (while allowing White others. such as 3
c4!). If White retains the Stonewall intent--with 3 f4, Bg7 4 NO, Black may
102 Chapter Five: Stonewall Attack
develop a good game with 4Bg4 5 h3, Bxf3 6 Qxf3, fS! 7 c4, e6 8 N4
Nf6 9 g4, Ne4 10 Nxe4?!, dxe4 11 Qll, cS (Cohn-Lee, London 18~
White's Queen appears misplaced on the Kingside and he might consi~
Queenside alternative, such as 5 c4, e6 6 Be2, and Qb3.
2e3
2... g6
This heads towards a King's Indian Defense. On other moves

White will continue with 3 Bd3 or 3 f4 and. wait until Black reveals his ~~i
intentions. Clearly, Black will not get an oPportunitytO::p~ay a Benoni~~!
position if White does not advance his d-pawn to the fifth rank. But let's See ;
what other openings Black can try to transpose into:
(A) Old Indian Defense--Black can seek a quick e7 -eS in spite

of White's pawn wedge. After 2d6 3 f4 the thrust 3e5 doesn't Jook right
(4 dxe5, dxe5 5 Qxd8ch and 6 Bc4) but may be acceptable. If Black waits
too long, he loses his chance for e7-eS, e.g. 3 .. Nbd7 4 Nf3, eS 5 dxeS,
dxeS 6 fxeS, Ng4 7 Qd4!.
(B) Queen's Indian Dcfensc--2 b6 3 f4, Bb7 4 Nf3, e6 5 I'dJ. In

the Queen's Indian, Black usually has to fight for control of e4 but here
White appears to have conceded that key square. However, with Nbd2
coming up, he will be in a position to retake it with e3-e4. We know from
earlier examples that ScS 6 c3, Be7 7 Nbd2, dS? is a bad way for Black to
stop the e-pawn's advance (8 Ne5, 9 Qf3 and a later g2-g4-g5 is strong for
White who faces no counterplay). Better for Black is sornething such as
7.Nc6 (e.g. 8 e4?, cxd4 9 cxd4, Nb4!, but 8 a3 intending 9 e4 or 9 b4 rcc-
onunends itselO.
Chapter Five: Black Fianchettoes 103
A typical Stonewall arising out of the Queen's Indian would look

p.tbis:
J. JONSSON-T. HI~RRSTROM
U.S. Open 1985
1 d4 Nf6
2e3 b6
3f4 Bb7
4Nf3 e6
5Bd3 cS
6c3 dS
7 NeS Bd6
8Nbd2 0-0
90-0 Nbd7
and now
10 Qf3 g6!?
11 g4 Ne8
12Qh3 Ng7
13Ndf3 Be7
Whi~ should probabl( now ~ontinue 14 Bell b~t he forced matters

witll}4 .~Xd1, Qxd7: Js: NeS, Qe's!! ~wlf:Cbing g6). Hete again 16 Bell is
called
I
for:But' White 'tried to win the gani~ without his:'Queenside pieces -
. I
16 Qh6, fS! 17 RIJ?t, fxg4 18Bxg6, hxg6 19 Nxg6, RfS! and tbe attack
. : ' .
wasover. :
Now back to the main line after 1 d4, Nf6 2 e3, g6.
In the diagramed position, White has two choices: Variation A

with 3 f4 staying with the Stonewall or Variation B going into a fonn of the
Colle Systetn.
VARIATION A
3f4
Since Black is making no demands on White's pieces or pawns so

far, the f~rst player can vary his move order quite a bit with 3 Nd2 or 3 Bd3.
This may disguise his intentions awhile longer and make it appear that he is
playing a Colle System.
3 Bg7
Alternatives such as 3c5, 3d5 or 3...d6 will transpose into po-

sitions considered below. It usually pays for Black to be as flexible at this
stage in the opening as can be.
4Nf3
The Yugoslav Encyclopedia of Chess Openings gives a rnain line

of the ftanchetto defense without NO. It would transpose into ours after 4
Bd3, dS S Nd2, cS 6 c3:
ECO now offers 6 Qc7 with the positional t11reat to open t11c c-
flle with cxd4 (7 Ng/3 ?, cxd4 8 exd4, Qxf4!) The ECO lines continues 7
Ne2?!, BfS! 8 BxfS, gxfS 9 0-0, Nbd7 10 NrJ, Ne4 with advantage to BJack
(Goldberg-Kamyshov, U.S.S.R. 1949) thanks to his superior minor pieces.
Black's Kingside looks a bit aerated but in the absence of open lines this
factor is of no great consequence.
t.:hapter Jfive: IJiack "iancbettoes lOS
However, in this line White's Knight clearly is misplaced on e2. If

the Knight can't reach fJ, then the White Queen belongs there and the
Knight may go for fl. Better then is 7 Qf3 and if 7 Nc6, then 8 Nb3
followed by Nfl.
In the past, 6 .Nbd7--rather tban 6 Qe7--has been played anum-

ber of times when Black foresaw a series of Queenside advances sucb as
b7-b5-b4. However, until Black is a bit better developed, this policy can
be met sharply by White with Qf3, followed in some cases by g2-g4-g5!
among lhe examples:
(A) 7 Qf3, Rb8?! 8 Ne2, bS 9 0-0, Qc7 and now 10 g4!? was tried
in Jt.,euerstein-Marchand, New York State Championship 1954. With
Black unable to retreat his King Knight to d7, there is some disorienting ef-
fect from White's threatened g4-g5. Black can play 100-0 since 11 gS,
Ne8 12 QxdS? loses to 12Bb7. But 12 e4, or even 12 h4, are to be consid-
ered.
In the game Black tried the combination 10Nxg4 11 Qxg4, Ne5

which appears to regain the sacrificed piece favorably. But be failed to
count the number of pieces in the air and was lost soon after 12 Qxdlch!,
Qxc8 13 fxeS, 00 14 Nf4, Qd7 15 Khl, and the three minor pieces out-
played the Queen.
(8) Similarly 7 Qf3, a6 8 g4!? pressures the Black d-pawn and af-
ter 8e6 9 Ne2 White appears to have a good game due to his positional
tbrcat of 10 gS, NhS 11 NgJ. In Berliner-Whittaker, Eastern Open 1954,
Black again Uied a combination with 9e5!? 10 fxeS, Nx:g4 when the
counter-combination of 11 Qxg4, Nxe5 12 Qxc8 fails this time because of
12Nxd3eh! and 13 Rxc8.
Instead, White played 11 0-0, 0-0 12 Nf4! and the Black center po-
~ sition was shaky while his Kingside attack was suspect: 12 Qb4 13 Qel,
c4 14 Bel, Nb6 15 e4!.
(C) 7 Nh3 is an alternative development of the Knight that allows

White to play QfJ. After 70-0 8 0-0, Qc7 9 QfJ, Black gets good use out
of 9 Qc6, which protects the d-pawn and is directed against the e4-square.
After 10 Nil, Ne8 Black is ready to reorganize his minor pieces witb
Nd61.Nf6 and BfS!. In Daly-Reshevsky, U.S. Open 1944 White went
slightly crazy with 11 g4, Nd6 12 f5? and after 12...e6! 13 Nh3, exfS 14
gxf5, Nf6! 15 fxg6, fxg6 was in very big trouble. More natural for While 11
b3 and 12 Ba3, e.g. 11 b3, cxd4 12 cxd4, Qc3 13 Rbl, Ndf6 14 Qe2 fol-
lowed by Bb2 or Ba3 and Rfcl. When it is the Queensidc rather thlul the
Kingside that is opened up, White has an obligation to reorgru1izc his
forces.
4 0-0
Black can delay castling in place of moves by his center pawns or

Queenside pieces for several moves. But if he delays .0-0 in favor of
Qucenside castling, he's taking liberties with the position:
For example, 4.d5 5 1Jd3, cS 6 cJ, Qd6 7 0-0, Nc6 anc.l now be-
fore Black can play 8 Bf5 and 9 0-0-0 he is interrupted by 8 NeS witJ1 it~
annoying attack on 17. For example, 8Bf5 9 b3, Bxd3 10 Qxd3 anti J I
Ba3, or 8 Nd7 9 Nd2, f6 10 Nxd7, Bxd7 11 Khl, cxd4? 12 exd4, 0-0-0
13 Nb3, eS?! 14 fxeS, fxeS 15 Rl7! as in Tapaszto-l,ely, Hungary 1954.
5Bd3
5 Be2 indicates a different strategy: White docs not contest the e4

square directly but may later challenge the center witl1 Bf3, perhaps coordi-
nated with c2-c4. If Black had previously played d7-d5, then NeS, hoping
for Be2-f3, makes more sense than in tbe diagramed position.
For example 4d5 S Be2, 0-0 6 0-0 would reach positions cotn-
monly found (with colors reversed) in the Dutch Defense.
Chapter Five: Black J4'ianchettoes 107
Here 6c5 7 Nbdl, Nc6 is natural and besides 8 cJ, Qc7 9 NeS,
b6 10 80 there is also 8 dxc5!? trying to hold onto the extra pawn. On 8
c3, Qb6 White has a number of options including 9 b3 and 10 Ba3, and 9
NeS.
If, instead, Black develops his QN at d7, his development is

smoother. But White need not spend a move advancing his c-pawn one
square--e.g. 6..c5 7 Nbd2, Nbd7 8 NeS, Qc7 9 BfJ, b6 and now 10 c4,
Bb7 11 b3, followed by Bb2 and Qe2. This leads to a position with a nearly
symmetrical configuration of pawns and pieces, but one in which tbe extra
ll-f4 tnove by White allows him a more aggressive outpost oneS.
It is a mistake, tnoreover, to think that Black has found the secret

of happiness once he exchanges off his light-squared Bishop. An impressive
illustration of this was the game Stahlberg-Uhlmann from tbe Alekhine
Memorial Tournament, Moscow 1956. Black seemed to bave accom-
plished all that be wanted from the opening stage after 6b6 7 a4, Ba6 8
Bxa6, Nxa6 9 Qe2, Qc810 Nc3!?, c5 and yet White stood quite well:
His remaining Bishop is beaded for a good diagonal at h4 where it

will take part in an indirect attack on the Black pawn at d5. Wbite bad not
surrendered hopes of Kingside attack and, in fact, was soon playing NeS
and g2-g4: 11 Bd2, Nb4 12 Bel, Nc6 13 Radl, Rd8 14 NeS, Qe6 15 h3,
Rac8 16 g4!, NxeS 17 dxeS!, Ne8 18 Bg3.
The threat of f4-f5 forced Black into 18f5 and the opened g-file
later gave White the winning line he needed: 19 gxfS, gxf5 20 Bll, Qf7 21
Kh2, Rc6 22 Rgl, Nc7 23 Qf3, Rh6 24 Nel, Kh8 25 c4, Rg6 26 b3, Rxgl
27 Bxgl, Qg8 28 Ng3, e6 29 Btl, Rd7 30 NbS, Qd8 31 cxdS, NxdS 32
Rgl, Nc7 33 Rg2, Rf7 34 Qb7!, Qa8 35 Qxa8ch, Nxa8 36 Bh4!, Nc7 37
Nxg7 and Black resigned in view of 38 Bf6.
5.. dS
Without this advance, White will eventually play e3-e4. This

would leave him a tempo behind certain well-known positions of the mod-
ern defense since be has taken two moves to get his e-pawn to the fourth
rank. But in such a fluid position, with no contact between the pieces of the
two players, the loss of a tempo should not be a major concern for White.
Major alternatives include 5d6 and 5.c5, but they do not chal-
lenge White in the same way as the texL After Sc5, for example, play
could develop 6 0-0, d6 7 Nbd2, b6 8 Qe2, Bb7 9 c3, Nbd7 and White can
continue with 10 a4, with a slight positional threat of 11 aS.
60-0
It's best for White to remain non-committal, although there is

nothing really wrong with 6 Nbd2 or 6 cJ, e.g. 6 Nbd2, cS 7 c3 and 8 0..0.
The only significant alternative plan involves White playing Nc3, as Harry
Bird tried at the turn of tbe century and Gideon Stahlberg used in the game
above. For our purposes, the Nbd2 plan works more smoothly.
6 c5
Again, there is a matter of move-order. Black does not need to ad-

vance his c-pawn before b6, and may proceed witll 6.b6 and 7Bb7
followed by 8cS, when tbe c-pawn is protected by a fellow pawn.
On the other band, Black adopts an entirely different plan with

6 Ne8 and 7Nd6 to trade Bishops with BfS. For example, 6 Ne8 7
Chapter Five: Black Fianehettoes
c3?!, Nd6 8 Qe2, BfS 9 h3?!, Bxd3 .10 Qxd3, f5 llg4, e6 and Black can
keep tbe g-file balf closed (12 gxf5, ex/5). In SteaboraThlbau._J)ubraY
nlk 1950 White shifted the attack to the b-ftle witllll gS, e6 13l~Nbd7
14 b4 but it wasn't quite good enough after 14...KI7 15 hS, Rh8 16 NeSeh,
Bxe5 17 dxe5, Ne4 and c5.
In the game, White should play 8 Nbdl, BfS 9 BdS if

9pfS, then open the file with 10 bJ, cS 11 g4 followed by Kill, Rat and
Nd20-g3. But a more obvious improvement is delaying e2-e3 until tbe
White d-pawn needs support. For example, 6..Ne8 7 Nbd2, Nd6 8 b3, BfS
9 BaJ or, if White wants a different kind of game, 7 c4.
7c3
This has tbe disadvantage of removing the last vestige of pawn

control of White's light squares in the center. With 7 Nbd2 White can ig-
nore .BfS because then .Bxd3/ cxd3 would improve, not hann, his pawn
center. Moreover, White could B:Iso use his developing Knight move, ratber
than the precautionary 7 e3 for other purposes, e.g. 7 Nbd2, BfS?! 8 dxcS,
Nbd7 9 BxfS, gxfS 10 Nd4, e611 c6 or 8Qc7 9 Nd4, Bg410 N2f3, Qxc5
11 h3 and b3/Bb2/c4.
However, 7 Nbd2 might be met by the expansionist plan of 7c4

8 Bel, bS after which Black bas reduced Queenside tension but can reopen
matters witb Queenside pawn pushes and bas taken over quite a bit more
maneuvering space tban his opponent
7 b6
110 Chapter }.,ive: Stonewall Attack
In general Black does not want to play .cxd4 without a very good
reason. Here 7 cxd4? 8 exd4 would only improve the scope of White's QIJ
and give the enemy a half-open e-file.
With the text, Black prepares to exchange off his slightly bad
Bishop with Ba6, rather than the more direct, but slightly disrupting
BfS/Bxf5/gxf5. Black also protects his c-pawn--a not inconsiderable
factor. It looks positionally dreadful for White to play dxc5, but in so1nc
cases he can benefit from the d4 square, e.g. 7..Bf5 8 BxfS, gxfS 9 dxcS,
Qc7 10 Nd4, e6 and now 11 b4, b6! is a good pawn sacrifice for Black. But
11 h3, QxcS 12 g4 may offer White attacking chances despite his bad
Bishop.
Among the other alternatives at this point arc 7 Nc6 and

7 ...Nbd7, both of which will likely transpose into the mainlines below. The
Black Knight is not particularly well placed on c6 where it has little future
whereas it can reinforce an overall center strategy with 7 Nbd7 and
Ne41Ndf6.
For example, Bird-Lasker, London 1892 went 7. Nbd7 8 Bd2,

Qb6! 9 Qcl, Ne4 10 Bel, Nd6! and Black, with . Nf6 and llfS coming
up, was already a bit better.
White can improve with 8 Nbd2 and 9 NeS, for exrunplc, 7 Nbd7
8 Nbd2, Qc7 9 NeS, and if Black avoids transposition into tile Jnain line by
ftanchettoing his QB, he will probably play 9 Ne8. Then 10 Qf3, Ndf6 11
g4, Nd6 12 Rf2?! can be met by 12Nfe4! 13 Nxe4, Nxe4 14 Bxe4, dxe4
15 Qxe4 (Quiroz-Araiza, Mexican Championship 1957) after which
Black gets good compensation from 15f6. But 10 N2f3 and 11 b3 is a per-
fectly acceptable alternative.
Yet another plan 7 Qb6, protecting the c-pawn and watching the
squares b2 and d4, suggests itself: after 8 Nbd2, BfS 9 BxfS (safer is 9 Qe2,
but the text is not bad), gxfS 10 NeS?! (better 10 Nh4, e6 11 113 and 12 g4)
Nbd7 11 Qel, e612 Kh1 White has hopes of mate along the g-file with g2-
g4. But in Ragozin-Makagonov, Moscow 1940, these hopes proved illu-
sory when Black defoliated the Kingsidc with 12Nxe5 13 fxe5, Nd7 14
Qg3, f6! and gained the upper hand after 15 Nf3?, rxeS 16 dxeS, c4!
Chapter Five: Black :t.,ianchettoes 111
8Nbd2
Another strategy here is the Kingside Bishop shift: 8 Bd2, Bb7 9

Bel, Nbd7 10 a4, Qc7 11 Na3, aei (ll ... cxd4?! 12 Nb5, Qb8 13 exd4,
Qxf4?! 14 Bg3, Qg4 15 Be2!?) 12 Bb4. In this plan White has cleared away
U1c second rank of the minor pieces that sometimes congest bim and be may
be playing b2-b4 with Queenside interests.
More common is 8 Qe2 with lhe idea of stopping 8 Ba6, a favor-

able exchange of Bishops by Black, and promoting e3-e4. This has been
well-regarded because of an old analysis by Gruenfeld and Becker that runs
8 Qe2, Bb7 9 Nbdl, Ne4 10 c4!, Nxd2 11 Bxd2, dxc4 12 Bxc4, cxd413
Radl!, dxe3 14 Bxe3, Qc7 15 f5! with a strong initiative or lOcd 11
cxdS!, Nxd2 12 Bxd2, dxe3 (12...Bxd5 13 Nxd4! or 12... Qxd5 13 Bc4, Qc5
14 Rae1, Qd6 15 Rcdl) 13 Bxe3, Bxd5 14 Radl, e6 15 Be4.
If Black is interested in stopping e3-e4, he should give some con- .

sidcration to meeting 8 Qe2 with 8Bf5 e.g. 9 Nbdl, Nbd7 10 Ne5 (10
b3!?) Bxd311 Qxd3, Qc7 12 Ndf3?, c4! 13 Qe~ Ne414 Nxd71, Qxd715
Bd2, bS with a Queenside initiative (Metras-Dueball, Ybbs 1968). ~ :
8... Bb7
On 8Ba6 White can tty 9 Bxa6, Nxa6 10 NeS followed by Qa4

or QfJ. The Knight at a6 then is misplaced and Black's Queenside weak-
nesses may be exploited, e.g. 10. Nc7 11 QfJ, e6 12 b3 and Ba3, or a2-a4
fust followed by Ba3.
,;
A similar sttategy is 10 Qe2, Nc7 11 NeS and then ll ...Nee812.

dxcS!, be 13 c4 creating a new diagonal for White's remaining J;lisbop_
Chapter Five: Stonewall Attack
. (13.. e6 14 b3, Nd7 15 Bb2, Nxe5 16 fxe5, Gusev-Vikovsky, Moscow

1958).
9Ne5
This looks like a standard position of the Dutch Defense with col
ors reversed. The Dutch, particularly the Stonewall fonn of the Dutch, is
considered slightly inferior for Black. But there are a few significant differ-
ences between the diagram and the Dutch. For one, White's Bishop is more
actively developed on d3 than on e2 where it usually resides in the Dutch.
This gives him the potential for e3-e4. Secondly, Black has difficulties
developing his QB on the Queenside in the Dutch, but here it is a major op-
tion for White.
For example 9Nbd7 10 b3, Qc7 11 Ba3 and now ll .cxd4? 12

cxd4 would be quite good for White who will control the c-file with 13
Ret. Better is ll ..e6 but the position after 12 Ret is not at all unpleasant
for White. And on 9Ne4 Black stops 10 b3 but allows 10 Nxe4, dxe4 11
Bc4 with a fine game.
The most accurate order of moves for Black is probably 9Qe7

and now 10 Qel has been often tried in the past with the idea of Qh4 and
Ndf3-g5. For example, 10 Ne411 Qh4, f6? 12 Nxe4 (12 ...dxe413 Bc4ch
or 12.. .fxe5 13 Ng5, h6 14 Bxg6) or lt . cxd4 12 cxd4, Qd6 13 Nxe4, dxe4
14 Bc4 and 12Na6 13 a3, Qd6 14 Rf3! as in Hromadka-l,acbman, Alin
1943.
White can also try for Kingside play with Qf3 but this Jnay leave
his Queenside dormant for too long. One useful cxrunple Lo retncmhcr
(Edelman-Platz, Connecticut Championship 1955) went 9..Nbd7 10
QD, Qc7 after which it is too late for 11 b3? because of tl ..cxd4 12 cxd4,
Chapter Five: Black J4,ianchettoes 113
Qc3. White might have tried 11 g4, leaving his Queell to keep Black pieces
off of e4. But be continued 11 Qh3 and Black played 11 Nxe5 12 fxeS,
Ne4. The the best chance for White lay in complications from 13 Rf4!, fS
14 Rh4, hS 15 Nxe4 after wbicb 1Sdxe4 16 Bc4ch, Kh7 17 RxhSeh!?,
Gxh5 18 QxhSch, Bh6 19 817! or 1Sfxe4, as played in the game, 16
Qe6ch, Kh717 Bel intending BxhS.
White can aJso bring his Queen inlo action via the elh4 route,
thereby leaving f3 free for his other Knight. For example (after 9...Nbd7)
instead of 10 QfJ in the analysis above, White can try 10 Qel and if
10 Ne4, then 11 Ndf3.
This occurred in Kutuyev-Onoprienko, Soviet Armed Services

Championship 1966 wbicb saw a cute twist as Black attempted to rebuild
his"IGngside: ll f612 Ng4, eS 13 Qh4, hS 14 Nil!, Nxf2 15 Bxg6!.
This last stroke, in place of the faulty 15 Rxf2?, e4, gave White an
overwhelming attack. He delivered n1ate on the 38th move, but the issue
was fairly clear after he opened the cl-h6 diagonal with 15Ng4 16 QxhS,
Nb617 e4!, dxe418 Nh4, exd419 NfS.
In short, the Black fumcheuo places tbe onus on bis opponent of

proving the correctness of the Stonewall. But with an eye for tactics, White
should find sufficient resources for justifying his ancient opening.
VARIATIONB
(1 d4, Nf6 2 e3, g6)
3Nf3 Bg7
4Be2
Although passive in appearance, this deceptive setup packs a

Queenside punch that becomes apparent after the likely continuation:
4 0-0
50-0 d6
6c4 Nbd7
7Nc3 eS
and now:
8b4!

:1:1:14)
A~
-:l

:lA:l
at
:l
ftftft
~ ft~
ft -'tftftft
J1 -'tit ~ct;
-
Chapter Five: Black Fiaoe~ :
Left to his own pursuits, White CaD: ~~ almost at will on

Queenside with such moves as a2-a4, b4-b5' and Ba3. By keeping a pawn at
e3, rather than at e4, White reinfo~ces contro\.9f d~ and discoura&~ ~~:
from exd4, wbicb does nothing .to solve!Black's. ~velopmensal ~~
(and might just serve to deliver~ open ~fi~ into WbitesNban~:8ftCr.
exd4).
The most common source? of ~IIJl:lCIP~Y for BJack in tbis kin4 9(~
position is a Kingside attack:iilitiated by ~~g~ ~~ center:.. . :;
8... e4
9Nd2 Re8
to:a4 NJB
~~ bS bs
We now'~~e a ~lion _.that is most .Qf'tea~

versed-that is,,-~te:pa~,-~. e5 J.Ul B.JQ~Vi'W
e6--and arising out of a French Iief~ose or 10Dg~1 J~~~~~
positions Wbite.is believetf to have good :cbali~ d\10.-t.Q~}~
tential on the Kingside, by bringing his Bisbop to f4, his :JCW-.Jo.
advancing his h-pawn. .' '
But with colors reversed--the position we~bav~ .reacbed_ya,:_l~~

Nf6 2 e3, g6 3 N~-tbe extra temPQ:t.bat White enjgyis sipjfi~~
to neutralize the Black attack on bis ~g. For ~~pie, after:
12a5 N8h7.
13a6!
White already .bas lilade contact on .the Queenside. If BJack teeA

tbe position closed ~n that~~~ witb: \ -
13... b6
l
White can (o~ the~o~ning of tbe cfile with:
And eventually Na2b4-c6. For e~ple:

14... Bf5
15Rcl h4
16c5 dS
Black tries to keep some lines closed.
17 cxb6 cxb6
18Na2! b3
19g3 Ng5
20Nb4
White's Knight is headed for c6 and perhaps eS witb disrupting

feet White's King is secure and he should control the board's open file.
Dlustrative Game Section 117
ILLUSTRATIVE GAME #1
PRAGUE (Olympiad) 1931
White: Sultan Khan Black: A. Rubinstein
1 d4 dS
2Nf3 cS
3e3 e(J
4Ne5
White tties to secure his e5 outpost ilrunediately.
4 Nf6
But not 4f6 because of 5 QhSch, and if 5g6 6 Nxg6 or S...Ke7

6 Ng6cb! winning material in either case.
5 Nd2 Nbd7
Black intends to develop his QB by fianchettoeing it. On SNc6

the game Sultan Khan-Tartakover continued 6 Bb5, Qc7 7 c3, Bd6 8 f4
with mutual chances.
Allowing the recapture fxeS, opening the f-file, in the event of

Nxe5.
6 Bd6
.8 Stonewall Attack: Game Section
7c3 b6
8Bd3 Bb7
9Qf3
Controlling e4 so as to prevent Black frotn "counter Stonewalling"

with Ne4 and 17-fS.
9. hS
Black rightly fears 9 .0-0 10 g4 with the strong attack typical of

the main lines of the Stonewall. However, the weakening text is hardly rut
improvement.
10Qg3
An annoying move to meet as 10g6 allows 11 Bxg6!, and if

ll .fxg6 12 Qxg6ch mates next. Perhaps the best allctnpt to stay in the
game is 10...Qe7 sacrificing the g-pawn for some vague countcrchanccs on
the g-file, but simply 11 0-0 is good.
10.. Kf8
110-0 h4J'
j i ~ . .. .
..
,I
.I ;
Now the h-pawn will be even weakct here, but it is irnpossiblc to
suggest a viable line of defense.
12 Qh3 Rc8
13Ndf3
Threatening 14 NfgS winning the f-pawn or forcing 14.1Jxe5,

though in this case 15 fxe5 is crushing as after the Black Knight on f6
moves, White crashes through on 17.
13... Ne4
14Bd2
Threatening 15 Bel winning the h-pawn.
14 Nxd2
Illustrative Game Section IIY
Praclically forced in view of tlte thrcattncntioned, bul now White

continues to huild up more Kingsidc pressure.
15 Nxd2 Nf6
16NdrJ
Again threatening 17 Ng5 as then 17..Rc7 loses to 18 Nexl7!,

Rxf7 19 Nxe6ch winning the Black Queen.
16... Rc7
17NR5
Threatening 17 Nexl7
17 JJc8
Preventing the sacrifice on 17 by reinforcing e6.
18Rf3
More
.
accurate was 18 ~fl. itruncdiately.
..
' I
ts~~.: Rh6
19 Rafl
Notice White has all (!) of his pieces on aggressive positions in

front of Black's Kingside-an ominous sign.
19... Kg8
20 R3f2
120 StonewaU Attack: Game Section
In order to regroup the Queen to f3
20... Qf8
21 Qf3 cd
Hoping to use the c-file
22 cd g6
To restrain the break f4-f5.
23g4
Gaining more territory with threats like f4-f5 or Nxf7 and g4-g5.
23... hg e.p.
24hg Nh7
Now Black must lose tile Exchange, but his game was hopeless in
any event.
25Ng4 NxgS
26 Nxh6cb Qxh6
27 fxgS QxgS
28Kg2
White has a won game but good technique is necessary to prevent

Black's Bishop pair from creating some counterplay.
28... e5
29Qf6
Forcing a won endgame. Naturally not 29 Qxd5??, Bb7.
29... Qxf6
30Rxf6 e4
31 Bbl
Wustrative Game Section 121!
Mter 31 Rxd6, exd6 the possibility of Rc2ch gives Black some

counterplay, so White stops it
31... Be6
32R6f2 ReS
33a3
To regroup the KB onto the a2-g8 diagonal.
33... Kg7
34Rc2
Simplification only helps White win easier.
34... Rd8
Wbicb Black avoids.
35Bal
Pressuring dS.
35... Kh6
36Bb3 Kg7
Black is more or less marking time.
37 Rc6 Kf8
388dl
Heading for the fi46 diagonal to f~cilitate later infiltration.
38 Ke7
39Rhl
Now the h-file is a possible invasion route.
39... Bd7
40Rcl Be6
41 Be2 Kf6
Stonewall Attack: Game Section
42Rh7
White gradually tightens the noose.
42... KgS
43 Kf2 Kf6
44Bfl
Intending to trade down favorably with Bh3 and 1Jxe6.
44... gS
To answer 45 Bh3 with 4Sg4.
45Be2 g4
46Kg2
Clearing the f-file.
46... Rg8
47Ba6 Rb8
48a4 Ke7
49Rchl
Now White can't be stopped from a decisive invasion down the
49... Rd8
SORbS Rd7
Wustrative Game Section 123
Black must avoid simplifying.
51 Rcl
More accurate than 51 1Jc8, which allows Sl Rc7 52 Bxe6,

Jtc2ch.
51... Bb4
52Kf2
Guarding U1c c-pawn fro1n 53Bd2.
52... Kf6
53Re8 Kg7
54Rc6
Threatening 55 I'c8 winning material.
54... Kf6
55Rg8 Rd6
Forced in view of the threatened 56 Rxg4. If 55. Ke2 then 56 Bc8

is very strong, while 55 ..Krs allows 56 Ke2, BaS 57 Rei, Kf6 58 Bc8,
Rd6 59 Bxe6 and lhe g-pawn falls.
S6Rxd6 Bxd6
57Ra8
Winning the a-pawn, so---Black Resigns.

124 Stonewall Attack: Gan1e Section
VIENNA 1908
White: Marshall Black: Rubinstein
1 d4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 cS
4c3 e6
5Nd2 Nc6
6f4 Bd6
In order to exchange 7cd and force White to recapture with his c-

pawn, which would leave the important e-file closed and White's QB still
hemmed in somewhat by the pawn on e3.
7Qf3
So that White can now recapture wit11 ed in tltc event of 7cd.
7". Bd7
8Nh3 Qb6
Preparing to castle on the Quecnside to escape U1c typical

Stonewall attack; but as will be seen, the Qucensidc is no safer.
9 Nil 0-0-0
100-0 Kb8
Illustrative (;arne St'ction 125
1"o tuck tJac King away to a safer square.
11 e4!
A very powerful n1ovc which leads to a protnising aiUtl"k for

White.
11... de
12 Nfxe4 Nxe4
13Nxe4 Be7
14dc
Now White gains the two Bishops plus a few tcrnpos.
14. BxcSch
15 NxcS QxcSch
l6Be3 Qa5
17 a4
T'hrcatcning a rapid Quecnsidc pawn advance to hreak through

:Biac~'s Quecnsidc defenses.
17 Ne7
To get tl1e QB into play on c6.
18 b4 Qc7
19Bd4
TI1rcatcning lieS.
19... f6
20Qfl Nc8
21 Rfel
126 Stonewall Attack: Game Section
Preventing Black frotn any countcrplay with e6-t'5.
21... Rhe8
22 Qg3!
Still stopping eS.
22... llc6
23 bS IJdS
24a5!
The White pawns poise menacingly in front of the Ulack King

protective pawns.
24.. 1Jc4
25 b6!
Forcing open more lines of attack.
25 Qc6
2S ab would only help White by opening tl1c a-tile.
26Bxc4 Qxc4
27 Qxg7
White simply gobbles a pawn.
27 . Ne7
Illustrative Game Section 127
Black's position is hopeless.
28 Qxf6 Nf5
29a6!
Blasting open all lines.
29. ah
If 29Nxd4 then 30 Qe5ch! \\'ins easily.
3ft Q~Sth Ka8
Not 30... Qc7 3 I a7ch!
31 ah(h Kxh7
3211f2
White wants to keep his Bishop for attacking purpcscs.
32~ RdS
33Qf6 Qc6
34 RebJ Rh5
On J4 b5 ..15 Ra7ch wins.
35 Rxh5 QxhS
36 Qtich!
Stonewall Attack: Game Section
Forcing the win of another pawn and exchanging Queens too.
36... Re7
37Qg8 Qe8
38Qxe8 Rxe8
39Rbl
Now the b-pawn is defenseless.
39... Kc6
40 Rxb6ch KdS
41 g3 ReS
42RbSch Ke4
43Kg2
On 43 ReSch, Kf3 gives Black counter threats, so White prevents

Kf3.
43... Rc6
44Re5ch Kd3
45g4
Rolling-up tbe Kingside.
45... . Ne7
46f5 NdS
On 46 Kxe3 47 fe followed by Bh4 wins easily.
478d4 Kc4
47.Nxc3 48 Bxc3Ieads to a simple win for White.
48Kg3
Not 48 Rxe6?, Nf4ch.
48... ef
49RxfS Rg6
SO Rf7 hS
JIIultrative Game ~tioD
51 Rg7!
~g a simple, winning ending.
St Rxg7
If the Rook tnoves then 52 gS is an easy way to win.
52Bxg7 hg
53 Kxg4 Nxc3
54Bxc3
And_pow the h-pawn will win U1e Queen easily, so...
Black Resigns.
NEW YORK 1950
White: Horowitz Black: Amateur
1 d4 dS
2e3
Allowing the early deployment of the KB to d3, its characteristic

position in the Stonewall Attack.
2... Nf6
3Bd3 e6
4Nd2
White protects e4 as early as possible to prevent Black fro1n ob-

taining an outpost on e4 by Nf6-e4, followed perhaps by the reinforcerncnt
move t7-fS. Also, since White's main early objective in the Stonewall At-
tack is to establish a Knight on e5 and follow up by ll-f4, he avoids allow-
ing Black to use this same strategy against him .
4 cS
Black puts pressure on White's d4 pawn; also l11cre is a threat to

- play Sc4 driving White's KB off its best bl-h7 diagonal with a tctnpo
gain.
Sc3
In order to stay on the bt-h7 diagonal after 5.c4 with 6 Bc2!
5 Nc6
More pressure on d4--cspecially as othctWisc White might later

achieve a strong central break with e3-e4.
6r4
A key move preventing Black from opening the center hi1nself

with a favorable e6-e5. Also now tbc way is paved for the important
Stonewall Nf3-e5.
6 Be7
Often the Black KB is best placed on e7 as on Ute apparently more

active square d6, Black cannot, if necessary, trade off White's e5 Knight
outpost with Nc6x NeS as the recapture with either the d or f-pawn forks the
Bd6 and the Nf6; while if Bd6 xNeS then Black loses too much control of
the dark squares.
7Ngf3
We rccornmend 7 Nh3 (see Chapter 4).
'" 0-0
8Ne5 Qc7
lllack intends to fianchettoe hi~ QB, so first he must give his

QN protection.
90-0
Getting the King into safety. Also, now another key Stonewall At-
tack move is available--Rf3 with the possibility of g4-gS followed by
Bxh7ch and Rh3ch and QhS with a decisive breakthrough.
9 b6
Consistently contiuuing with his Queenside development. 1l1e

move 9cd is usually a positional blunder in this type of position as the re-
ply ed opens the e-file for White and frees the e3 square for White's QB.
Also, if 9 NxeS then 10 fxeS and the newly opened f-tile will be a pow-
erful aid in building an attack against Black's Kingsidc.
10g4
This move is another normal Stonewall Attack move whose tnain

object is to drive off the strong defensive Black Nf6. Then the h7 StJnarc
will be vulnerable to the stock breakthrough sacrifice Bxh7ch.
10 Bb7
With a subtle positional threat: ll NxeS 12 fxeS, Ne4! with Black

obtaining a solid defense. The White KB's diagonal toward h7 would be
blocked and thus most of White's attacking potential would be blunted.
11 Qf3!
White alertly responds to the positional threat 1 t ...Nxe5 12 fxe5,

Ne4 by protecting e4 one ntore time to prevent Ne4.
11 a6
Black hopes to advance his Queenside pawns with b6-b5-b4 to

open lines for counterplay. However, now White strikes on the Kingside.
llgS
Driving away the Knight
12... Ne8
13Bxh7ch!
TI1e classic Stonewall sacrifice.
13.. Kxh7
14Qh5ch.
Now White will attack decisively using lbe open h-file.
14.~. Kg8
15 RfJ!
Threatening 16 Rh3 with a forced mate.
15 g6
Black hopes to block White's h-file attack by playing J6 Ng7

followed by 17 Nh5. If 15f6? then 16 g6! forces mate (l6 ... Rp 17
Qhlch, Kj8 18 Qll8 mate).
l6Qb6 Ng7
17Rh3
Forcing Black's reply.
17. NbS
134 . StonewaU Attack: Game Section
Now Black seems safe.
18 Nxg6!
Proving Black's efforts to block lhe h-filc haven't worked.
18... fxg6
19Qxg6ch
With Black's Kingside pawn shield rcrnoved, tbe White Queen

Rook and g-pawn create a decisive attack pattern.
19 Ng7
20 Rh7?!.,
This wins, but more incisive was 20 Rh8ch!!, Kxh8 21 Qh6cb,

Kg8 22 g6! and mate is forced.
20 Bd6
On 20RI7 21 Qh6 threatening 22 Rh8 mate is a winner.
21 Qh6
Threatening 21 g6 and 22 Rh8 mate.
21 . Bxf4
Black strives to prevent g6 (22 g6? ?, 1Jxlz6).

mustratiYe Game Section 135
22 exf4?
Again White misses a much quicker win--22 Rh8cb, Kn 23

Qf6ch, Ke8 24 Rxf8ch, Kd7 25 Rf7ch, etc.
22 Rxf4
Of course not22 Qxf4 23 Q (or R)xg7 tnate.
23g6
Again threatening a mate in one.
23 Rg4ch
After 13 Kf8 White wins with 24 Rh8ch, Ke7 25 Qxg7ch, Kd6

26 Nc4ch!, dxc4 27 Bxf4ch.
24Khl
. f
Of course not 24 Kflwbich allows 24..Qf4cla forcing the trade of

Queens and therefore winning for ~lack ac; then the White attack would be
over and Black is still material ahead. !
24. Rxg6
There is notlting better here. On 24 Kf8 25 NfJ threatens 26 Ng5

or 26 IJgS (cutting off flight squares for Black's King) or 26 Rh8ch and 27
Qxg7ch.
25Qxg6
Now White is tllc Exchru1gc ahead and should win in due course.
25. Rf8
But not 25.Qf7 because of 26 Rb8ch!, Kxlt8 27 Qx17.
26Nf3!
Bringing up reinforcements.
26 Rxf3?
Black had to try 26Qf7 though after 27 Qx17ch and 28 Rh3

White will win the ending easily.
27Bh6
Threatening 28 Rxg7ch.
27... Rl7
28Rgl
A decisive pileup of force on g7. Now if 28 Kf8 then 29 Bxg7ch,

Ke7 30 Bf6ch! wins more material, or 29 Ke8 30 Rh8ch, Ke7 31 Bf8ch,
Ke8 (if 3l Rxj8 32 Rh7ch, Kd8 33 Rxc7, Kxc7 34 Qg7cll wins easily.) 32
Bd6 discover check and White wins the Queen.
Black Resigns.
BUDAPEST 1926
White: H. Kmoch Black: G. Nagy
ld4 dS
2e3 Brs
This move ~ to ttade off White's strong KB once it reaches dl,
in itself a laudable strategem. However, the weakening of tbe b7 square and
(after Black's inevitable e7-e6) the a4-e8 diagonal often leads to favorable
tactics as White's KB is free to pressure this diagonal, while Black's QB
cannot pull back to neutralize its effect.
3c4!
A strong reply threatening 4 cd, Qxd5 5 Nc3 gaining time and re-
Jnoving Black's important d-pawn. Also White can now play Qb3 to put
pressw-e on the now vulnerable b7 square.
3 c6
To meet 4 Qb3 with 4 Qb6.
4Nf3
White developes with the possibility of Ne5 at the right moment.
4 Nf6
Sed
White thus opens more lines for Queenside pressure.
s.. cd
138 Stonewall Attaek: Game Section
Black recaptures so as to retain some pawn control of the impor-

tant e4 square.
6Nc3
Putting more pressure on Black's dS.
6.. e6
Necessary to bring out his KB but now tJ1e a4-e8 diagonal is tnorc
vulnerable as mentioned in the note to Black's 2nd move. Also, if 6.Nc6
then 7 Qb3! is very sttong as 7 Qb6 allows 8 NxdS winning a pawn.
7 NeS! ..
This strong outpost is instrumental in Ute cotning Quccnsidc otTen

sive White is pursuing.
7 Bd6
After the reasonable looking 7 Nbd7 White can pJay 8 g4! with
favorable complications: e.g., 8Nxe5 9 dxeS wins as White answers
9.Bxg4 with 10 Qa4ch, Nd7 (not JO... Qd7 as 11 Bb5 wins the Queen-note
the a4-e8 diagonal's value here.) 11 Qxg4 wins material, or if 8..NxeS 9
dxeS, Nxg4 then 10 Qa4ch, Ke7 (Again JO... Qd7 is answered by 11 Bb5.)
11 Qb4ch wins as 11 Ke8 12 Bb5ch (that diagonal again!) wins Black's
Queen, while on 11 Kd7 12 Qxb7ch picks up the Black QR as 12... Ke8
13 Bb5ch wins immediately. So after 7Nbd7 8 g4! Black rnust try 8...Bg6
but then White has 9 h4! threatening to win the Bishop witb hS. Now after
9.h6 10 Nxg(), fxg6 11 Bd3, Kt7 12 Qc2 and White ha~ a winning posi
lion due to Black's very weak Kingside.
8Qb3!
Threatening to simply grab the b-pawu.
8.. Qb6
9Bb5ch
Again working on the a4-e8 diagonal.
9 Nfd7
9 Nbd7 transposes into the actual game after 10 Nxd7, Nxd7 11

1Jd2. If 9. Nc6 then 10 Bxc6ch, bxc6 11 Qxb6, axb6 12 Nxc6 picks up a
free pawn.
to Nxd7!
To prevent Black frotn reducing the pressure by Bd6 x NeS fol ..
lowed by Black castling.
to... Nxd7
11 Bd2!
White clears the c-file, preparing to intensify the Queensidc pres-

sure.
11 Rc8
Of course 11 0-0? loses a piece to 12 Bxd7, while if ll ..Rd8 to

protect the Knight preparatory to castling, then White can play 12 Na4, Qc7
13 Ret, Qb8 14 NcS gives White much the better game. If Black tries
11 0-0-0, then 12 Rc1 is powerful, e.g., 12.Kb8 13 Na4 wins Black's
Queen. Finally, if Black tries ll...a6, then 12 Bxd7ch wins the Black
Queen.
120-0
Tempting but weak is 12 Bxd7ch, as after 12... Kxd7 Black's King

cannot be fwtber threatened and Black threatens to swap Queens with a fine
endgame.
12 Bb8
A clever idea intending 130-0 and on 14 Bxd7, Qd6! threatens

mate and thus recovers the piece.
13f4
Preventing the mate threat in the last note and thereby still pre-
venting Black from castling.
13... ~ Qd6
Again to be able to castle.
14 Racl 0-0
15 Na4!
With the threat of Bb4.
15... Qe7
168b4 Bd6
17Bxd6
Forcing the win of a pawn-note that it is the b7 pawn that falls (sec
note to Black's 2nd move.)
IUustrative Game Section 141
17... Qxd6
18Bxd7 Qxd7
19Nc5 Qc6
20Qxb7 Qxb7
21 Nxb7 Rfd8?
Concerned with the possibility of Nd6 Black blunders, but after

21 Rb8 22 Rc7 White's extra pawn and control of the 7th rank gives a
clearly won position.
22Nxd8
Black Resigns.
14Zt- Stonewall Attack: Game Section
UNITED STATES 1940
White: Santasiere Black: Adams
ld4 dS
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 e6
4Nd2 Bd6
Sf4 Nc6
6c3 Ne7
A reasonable move-the center is blocked and Black will blunt t11e

White Bishop's diagonal with .Ng6. The problem is it neglects otbcr mat-
ters and allows White the free hand he needs.
7Nh3
This move is a popular alternative to the 1nore routine 7 Ngf3. One

advantage of Nh3 over Nf3 is that the f3 square is freed for tbe Queen in
case White needs to control e4 some more--also a timely Nf2, also protect-
ing e4, is now a possibility.
7... 0-0
8 0-0 Bd7?!
8c5, putting pressure on d4 would give better chances for so1nc

counterplay.
9e4!
A very effective central breakthrough which im1nediately puts

Black in serious difficulties.
9 dxe4
Forced in view of the threat of eS.
10Nxe4 Ng6
If Black hoped to reduce tbe pressure by 10.Nxe4 then 11 Bxe4

threatens both 12 Bxb7 and 12 Bxh7ch!, Kxh7 13 QhSch, Kg8 14 NgS,
Re8 15 Qxl7ch, Kh816 Rf3 gives White a quick win.
11 Nxf6ch
To remove Black's Nf6 which helps guard h7 and h5.
gxf6
Black plays to prevent NgS with threats against h7, though this
move weakens his pawns in front of the Black King.
12 f5!
Forcing more lines open fur the attack.
12 er
On 12Ne7 13 Bh6 is too strong. threatening 14 Qg4ch and 15
Qg7 tnate, as well as 14 Bxf8 winning the Exchange.
138xf5 BxfS
Not 13Ne7 because of 14 Qg4ch and JS Bxd7 winning a piece.
14 RxfS
144. StonewaU Attack: Game Section
With Black's Kingside pawns so scattered, White pieces quickly

inftltrate on the weakened squares.
14 Kh8
Hoping to use the g-file for defense and a possible counterattack.
15Qh5
Bringing the Queen into a good attacking position and setting a

nasty trap.
15... Rg8?
Which Blacks falls into head ftrst.
Now after the forced 16 Kxh7 17 RhSch, Kg7 18 Bh6ch, Kb8

(or h7) 19 BIB! is discovered checkmate.
Black Resigns.
Ulustrative Game Section 145
LEIPZIG 1894
White: Lipke Black: Zinki
ld4 dS
2e3 e6
3Bd3 Bd6
4Nd2 Nd7
sr4 rs
i ~
Black continues with bis symmetrical defense though this is a dan-

gerous policy since White can usually break the symmetry wid1 a well
timed threat which Black cannot copy.
6e4
Using the c-pawn aggressively.
6 c6
7c5
Gaining Queenside space with the long tenn plan of a brcak-

Ulfough with b2-b4-b5.
7... Be7
8Ngf3 Ndf6
9Ne5 Nh6
10 b4 a6
l46' Stonewall Attack: Game Section
11 Nb3
White clears the d2 square for his QB.
11... 0-0
12a4 Bd7
130-0 Be8
To bring his "bad" Bishop into play via hS or g6.
14Bd2 Ne4
15 Bxe4!
A good move as Black's e4 Knight is tnorc irnportcult than White's

blocked KB.
15 fxe4
Now White can expand with g2-g4 but d5xe4 is really no iln-
provement as White can still get in g4 anyway.
16Ra2
Giving the Rook excellent possibilities on both flanks via the 2nt.l
rank.
16... B6
17Bel BxeS
Black decides to c1nulate tl1e idea behind White's 15th move, but
now Whites b3 knight will obtain ru1 excellent post on d4 from which it
will observe the weak e6 pawn and the important pawn breakthrough
squares on bS and f5.
18 dxeS! Nf5
19Bf2 Bd7
20g4
White resutncs his expansionist policy.
20 Nh4
Hoping to play 2l ...Nf3ch, which White protnptly prevents.
21 Bxh4
Now White remains with an excellent Knight against Blacks very

poor light-squared Bishop.
21... Qxh4
22Nd4 Kf7
23Rg2 Ke7
Now Black's Queen gets into a tight spot.
24 Qe2 lll7
25 gS!
Locking in the Queen.
25... g6
26Rg3 Rh8
27Qg2 hS
On 27 h6 28 Rh3 traps the Queen.
28Khl
A maneuver designed to eventually control the Black Queen's g4

escape square.
28... Rfh7
29Rgl Qg4
30Qfi
Of course 30 Rxg4 was quite good enough, but 30 Qfl is even

. more accurate since now after 31 Rxg4, hxg4 32 Rg2 White's 112 is
overprotected".
Black Resigns.
LEIPZIG 1894
White: Lipke Black: Schiffers
1 d4 d5
2e3 Nf6
3Bd3 e6
4Nd2 c5
Sc3 Nc6
6f4
The characteristic Stonewalltnovc.
6 Be7
7Nh3
Allowing the Queen to go to f3, g4, or hS as needed.
7 0-0
8Ng5
To provoke Black into weakening his kiugside with h6.
8.. h6?!
Better was 8 Bd7 though White is still better.
9 h4! cd
On 9 hxg510 hxgS the open h-file gives White a decisive attack,

e.g., 10.Ne411 QhS, f512 g6! and mate follows.
tOed Qd6
11 NdfJ
Feeding more pieces toward the beleaguered Kingsidc.
11 hg
This is bad, but after the better 11 Bd7 12 NeS, lle8 13 Qe2, g6
14 g4 White's attack will soon break through.
12 hxgS Ne4
13Bxe4 dxe4
14Ne5
Threatening 15 QhS.
14 BxgS
A rather desperate measure, but there is no good defense. On

14g6 15 Qg4! with the idea of 16 Qh4 is a winner.
15 fxgS Nxe5
16 QhS!
A strong interpolation.
16 f6
On 16.Nd3ch 17 Ke2 wins easily.
17 g6 Nxg6
Forced to prevent mate.
18Qxg6 Rl7
On 18Bd7 19 Rh7, Rt7 20 Qh5 is a winner, while 18Qe7 19

Bf4, e5 20 dxe5, fxe5 21 BgS, Qe6 22 Qb7ch is a quick win for White.
19Be3 b5
Too little--too late.
200-0-0
Throwing tJ1e "reserves" into the attack.
20... Kf8
After 20Bb7 21 Rh8ch!, Kxh8 22 Qxf7 threatening 23 Rhl

anate and 23 Qxb7 Black loses.
Forcing open more lines of attack.
21... ed
22b4l
This point of 21 dS!. Now 23 BcS is a powerful threat
22... Qe6
23Rh7 Bb7
On 23rs White wins with 24 Bg5!, Ke8 25 Rxd5l, Qxd5 2'

Rh8ch, Kd7 27 Rd8ch picking up the Queen. Best was 2J Ke7 thouJb
...
. 152 Stonewall Attack: Game Section
even in this case White has a won grune after 24 IIeSch, Kd8 25 Rx~7,
Rxg7 26 Qxg7 followed by Rhl etc.
24Bc5cb Ke8
25Rxg7 ReS
Nothing helps now.
26 Rdbl
There's no defense to Rh8ch. Black Resigns.

-
NEW YORK 1893
White: Pillsbury Black: Hanham
1 d4 d5
2e3 eft
311d3 Nf6
4f4 Dd6
5Nf3
AnotJ1cr rnc1Jtod is 5 Nd2 \Vhich prevents 5..Nt4 and reserves the

option nf NRh3.
5... h6
6 0-0 0-0
7c3 c5
8Ne5
1l1e Stonewall outpost is achieved. See Chapter Two.
8.. Qc7
Black should have tried 8 Ne4 to "counter-Stonewall".
9Nd2
Now Ne4 is prevented.
9 Nc6
.S4- StonewaU Attack: Game Section
10 RIJ!
Now the KR leaps into action against h7.
10... Bb7
11 Rh3
Already threatening 12 Bxh7ch, Nxh7 13 QhS winning immcdi-

ately.
11 cd?
Black falls for it. He had to try 11 .g6 though White is still tnuch
better after 12 g4 or 12 Qf3.
12 Bxh7ch Nxh7
13Qh5 Rfe8
14 Qxh7ch Kf8
15ed
Now with a sound pawn up and a strong attack, White has full
control.
15 f6
Slightly better was 1SBxe5.
16Ng6ch Kf7
17Rg3
Threatening 18 NeSch and on 18r (or B or N) xeS then 20

Rxg7ch wins Black's Queen.
17... Rg8
18Nf3
Heading for g6-for example if the QN were already on h4, tl1cn

White would win with Nh8ch!, Rxh8--Rxg7ch or Nh8ch!--Kf8 N4g6ch!
and the Rook on g8 is lost
Wustrative Game Section 155
18... Ne7
Black hopes to meet the threats by exchanging.
19N3b4 Nxg6
20Nxg6 Ba6
21 Bd2 Qc4
Hoping to get in Qel and Bd3.
22 Ret!
White simply gives up his extra pawn in order to prevent Qe2, but.~
mainly to bring the QR into lhe attack.
22 Qxa2
He might as well.
23Nh8ch
Now White doesn't let up til the end.
23 Kf8
23 Ke8 24 Qxg8ch.
24Qg6!
Threatening 15 Qf7 mate
24 Rxh8
On 24 Ke7 25 Q17cb decides quickly.
25 Qxg7ch Ke8
26Rxe6ch
One blow followed by another.

1~0
,....
26... Kd8
27 Rxd6ch Kc8
27Ke8 28 ReJ mate.
28Rcoch Kd8
29Qc7ch Ke8
30Re6ch Kf8
31 Qg7 mate 1-0

Andrew Soltis The Stonewall Attack Chess Digest 1993 PDF

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Andrew Soltis The Stonewall Attack Chess Digest 1993 PDF

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Copyright 1993 Andrew Soltis

This is a revised edition of 11ze Stonewall Attack by Andrew Soltis

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

Author: Andrew Soltis

Publisher: Chess Digest Inc., 1601 Tantor, Dallas, TX 75229

(I) Simple Kin&side Attack 30

(2) Good vs Bad Bisho_ps 36

(3) Queenside Play: 45

(5) The Double Stonewall 60

(6) The Advance of the e-Pawn 66

CHAPTER FIVE: 101

5..d5 5...d6 5...c5 108

ILLUSTRATIVE GAME SECTION 117

Azziem Mohammed-(jM Arnold Denker

We would prefer to develop the Knight at h3, from where it can go

White actually continued 16 NfJ, g6 17 Qh6, Ng7, but after 18

The Stonewall is unique in the realm of chess openings. It is one of

In that heyday, it was adopted by attacking starts such as Frank

But eventually Lbe Stonewall lost favor. Sotne of today's opening

Today the Stonewall has a poor reputation. A reputation based

An illustration of why the Stonewall's reputation suffered was

Black's maneuvering is questionable, but it is difficult to suggest a

What the Stonewall does is to build a fortress of dark-squared

For the weak 2Bf5 see Illustrated Game #4.

Black was understandably concerned after 9 NeS about White's

However, the exchange of pawns and Knights has only eased

On 16Nxe5 White continues 17 Rxc7, Nxg4 18 h3!, h6 19

In essence, lhe Stonewall then consists of:

One Knight at eS and the other at f3 (or h3 so that Whiters Queen

White's pieces coordinate quite well. Black is anticipating an at-

The threat was 16 hS, NxeS 17 BxeS followed by Bxf6 or

16 Nxl7!, Kxf7 17 Bxf6, gxf6 18 QhSch, Ke7 19 Qxh4, Bd7 20

Another illustration of how strong White's reputedly feeble Queen ..

This is a rare, modem example of a "pure" Stonewallinove-order

However, there is a slight positional price to be paid. The squares

This a rare case of this Rook swinging to the opposite wing in a

Of course, in that case, White could recapture at move 15 with the

This corrects the Queenside pawn structure. Eveu at the expense of

Otherwise 31 Rb8, Qf8 32 Rxc8 and 33 b6 tnust win.

Leading to a cute finish.

In short, the Stonewall packs a deceptive punch that many tnodem

In this book we'll consider the most conunon sequence: 1 d4 fol-

Knowing the features of the Stonewall allows White the flexibility

But White crosses hitn up:

Now Black should realize tl1at the anti-CoJJe develop1nent he in-

ll BxeS 12 fxe5, Ne8 13 QhJ, g6 14 NfJ, f6 15 Bd2, fxeS? 16

The traditional order of tnoves is 1 d4, dS 2 eJ so that White gets

In the 20th century the Stonewall becrune more sophisticated. Sui..

These finesses becmne 1nore important in tlte 1920s when Black

Note that Black has been denied the opportunity of creating a

Having secured a solid position in the center, White can casually

Target: h7. Black is helpless against the threat of bringing heavy

22 Bd7 23 Qh2, Rg7 24 QhJ, Bc6 25 Nh2, NxeS 26 fxe5, BxgS

Another common method of "Stonewalling" occurs in quiet varia-

These are the almost tnechanical White attacking moves of the

Black must act precisely, as 19c4 allows 20 Ne7ch!, Rxe7 21

Winning quickly was 31 Ne5ch!, fxeS 32 QxgS. The text allows

It usually takes several errors to lose such a favorable position. At

In this book we'll concentrate on the move order of 1 d4 and 2 e3.

In the next chapter we will consider the strategic themes of the

In Chapter Three we'll consider the "equalizing" variation, 1 d4,

Chapter Four is an examination of Black's traditional defenses,

Cll SIMPLE KINGSIDE ATTACK