WIN WITH THE STONEWALL DUTCH
(Sverre Johnsen, Ivar Bern
& Simen Agdestein)
224 pages (248 mm by 172
mm).
£14.99/$29.95/€20,25
The Stonewall Dutch is a traditional favourite amongst club
players, as it offers Black ready-made attacking plans on the kingside. As
Grandmaster Bent Larsen has noted, the Dutch also has the tendency to 'bring
out the coward' in opponents, giving it an added practical sting.
However, up until the late 1980s, the Stonewall wasn't fully
trusted at grandmaster level, despite its earlier use by Alekhine and
Botvinnik. Black's attacking plans were too one-sided, and White's methods too
well worked out. The change came when a new generation of players, including
Nigel Short and Simen Agdestein, showed that Black could handle his position in
many other ways, including play on the queenside and in the centre, with the
'Stonewall' structure stifling White's attempts to generate play of his own.
Agdestein in particular has continued to experiment with many new set-ups and
move-orders for Black, and this book contains a wealth of new recommendations
and suggestions based on this work.
The authors are all from Norway. Sverre Johnsen is an
enthusiastic chess analyst, researcher, organizer and writer, and co-author of
Win with the London System, one of the most
popular openings books of recent years. Ivar Bern is a Correspondence
World Champion and an International Master over-the-board. Grandmaster Simen
Agdestein was for many years Norway's leading player, and also achieved
fame for combining his chess activities with a career as a top-level
professional footballer.
Gambit books by Sverre Johnsen: A
Killer Chess Opening Repertoire - new enlarged edition with Aaron
Summerscale; The Ruy Lopez: a Guide for
Black with Leif Johannessen; Win with the
London System with Vlatko Kovacevic; Win
with the Stonewall Dutch with Ivar Bern and Simen Agdestein.
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
Visit Sverre Johnsen's website,
Sverre's Chess
Corner.
"...a superbly illustrated and comprehensive instruction
guide suitable for novice and seasoned players alike. Of special note are the
additional contributions of Norwegian Grandmaster Simen Agdestein." - Micah
Andrew, Midwest Book Review
"A book I could recommend to anyone looking to mix things up
against 1.d4 players" - IM Stephen Gordon
"An outstanding book ... Not only do the authors
rehabilitate an underestimated opening - they even do so by means of inspiring
chapters supported by the personal experiences of leading experts." - GM
Peter Heine Nielsen, Skakbladet
"The reader is offered all advice and guidance he will need
in order to be prepared for practical play. The main emphasis is on presenting
typical ideas and ways of playing, rather than on concrete variations. This is
particularly useful for this kind of opening, with so many possible
transpositions between the theoretical variations." - Idar Dyrdal,
NRK (Norwegian
Broadcasting Corporation)
"The exercises are very difficult and require you to do some
research of your own. I think that this is a strength of this book as it takes
you through what you need to do to get on top of any opening. I found this book
particularly instructive on how to study openings in general. Not an easy book
to study, but rewarding." - Paul Dunn, Australasian Chess
"Although I have been covering the Stonewall Dutch for
chesspublishing.com for several years, I don't claim to really understand it
that well. This book could be exactly what I need to bring my erudition up to
shape! … the best approach to reading this book is to ditch one's
prejudices and keep an open mind. There is almost a certain pride in these
pages in defying dogma: 'what matters in modern chess is to win the game. What
works in practice is the important issue, not general principles.' … An
original aspect of this book is a series of intelligent questions and answers
embedded in the text. A novel way of emphasizing the quintessential. …
Highly revealing and a definite for anyone who doesn't really comprehend the
Stonewall Dutch, which means (be honest now!) just about everyone." - GM
Glenn Flear, New-in-Chess Yearbook
"This book is incredibly well-written and it makes the
theory of this opening extremely accessible. The authors are honest and
objective in their appraisal of the individual lines, which makes the book a
perfect tool for the study of this fascinating opening. If you have not already
bought this book, it is time to do so now. For those who need a new weapon
against 1 d4, this book makes an excellent case for it to be the Stonewall
Dutch." - Carsten Hansen, www.chesscafe.com
"I have nothing but praise for the book Win with the
Stonewall Dutch ... This book provides a degree of detail that usually goes
with a highly technical book. The variations are analysed deeply and
accurately, with plenty of original ideas. But in addition, there's a
tremendous amount of prose with plentiful explanations in every section of the
book; it's very easy to read, and the authors' love for their work shows
through. If you want a new opening to try out, you might consider the
Stonewall, if only because everything you need is contained in this superb
volume." - IM John Watson,
The Week in
Chess
"This book is an enthusiastic and solid invitation to, as
Vladimir Kramnik put it, 'one of only a few openings where Black achieves an
immediate advantage in space'. It contains a detailed overview of the main
lines (divided into 12 'lessons'), lots of illustrated high-level games and a
lot of useful exercises." - Arne Moll, www.chessvibes.com
"Brings us completely up-to-date with the latest theory. An
absolute must for anyone playing the line with Black, but also essential for
anyone opening 1 d4, who might be facing the Stonewall" - Bab Wilders,
Nederlands Dagblad
"The book gives a very thorough treatment to the Stonewall
Dutch (plus a few related lines) in 12 Lessons. Each chapter - sorry, lesson! -
begins with an overview, followed by a series of illustrative games and with a
final section in which the theory of the variation is summarised. The full
games are 64 in number, which I suppose is appropriate for a chess book, and
are analysed quite thoroughly, with a great deal of explanatory text. There are
also a small number of Test positions for the reader to try out, to test how
much he has understood of what he has read. I have to admit that the more I
read of the book, the more my original scepticism melted away, as I was carried
along by the enthusiasm of the authors and the lucidity of their presentation.
This old dog is probably too old to learn new tricks, but for someone
approaching the subject with an open mind and a desire to learn something new
this book will make an excellent primer." - Alan Sutton, En Passant
"I expect copious, reliable analysis with any opening book
from Gambit, but Win with the Stonewall Dutch won me over with its
flowing, enjoyable prose, its detailed descriptions of the plans for both
sides, its historic discussions, its simple but logical layout which makes it
easy to find anything and everything, and its lesson overviews and summaries,
which make sure you understand the ideas it's trying to impart. As a repertoire
book, [it] doesn't let you down since it also explores lines where White avoids
2.c4, lines where White doesn't fianchetto his light-squared Bishop, key
sidelines like 2.Nc3 and 2.Bg5, and the Staunton Gambit and other odd 2nd
moves. ... this is a must buy for fans of the Stonewall" - IM Jeremy Silman,
www.jeremysilman.com
"Kramnik [says] that he feels that Black's position is
easier to play than White's and that it is an excellent choice against
attacking players as White cannot deliver mate and the strategic opponents for
the opponent are considerable. Kramnik hasn't played the Stonewall Dutch in
many years nor has anyone dared play it against him but for non-professionals
it makes a lot of sense as it gives Black reliable positions without having to
learn lots of theory. Win with the Stonewall Dutch provides just the
guide they need." - IM John Donaldson, www.jeremysilman.com
"...dynamic, modern and aggressive." - John Saunders,
British Chess Magazine
"A very important reference work" - John Elburg,
chessbooks.nl
"...the authors do an excellent job of teaching the
Stonewall with down to earth explanations." - Sean Marsh,
marshtowers.blogspot.com
"A comprehensive guide to the Dutch Stonewall featuring a
remarkable profoundness." - Uwe Bekemann,
www.bdf-fernschachbund.de
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