Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...c6/3. Nf3/3...Nf6/4. Nc3/4...dxc4/5. a4/5...Bf5/6. e3/6...e6/7. Bxc4/7...Bb4/8. O-O

Dutch Variation D18-D19 Dutch Variation Euwe Variation 8. O-O White castles their king to safety to unpin the knight and to start preparing e4. Black can now choose to either play /8...Nbd7/ or /8...O-O/. Play is very likely to transpose, but different deviations from the main line are possible depending on which move Black plays first. The main difference is that after 8...O-O, Black has many possibilities of fully preventing e4, while after 8...Nbd7 trying to do so is more dangerous for Black. In both positions, White is likely to play Qe2, preparing e4. There is, however, another option. Chasing the bishop It is not uncommon for White to play an early Nh4, chasing away the bishop. This option is most effective if White hasn't played 9. Qe2 yet, so that Qc2 can be played while gaining a tempo on the pawn. Theory table 8. ... O-O 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 + 8. ... ... 9. ... Bg6 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 + 8. ... Nbd7 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. e4 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Nxe4 12. Ba3 Qc7 13. Rfc1 O-O-O compensation References See also