Leningrad, classical or Stonewall Dutch?

Rating 1350~1400

For the first time in my chess life I am building an openings repertoire. With white the London System, with
black against e4 the Scandinavian, Mieses Kotric and with black against d4 the Dutch.

It is time to chose what variation I am gonna play in the Dutch.
- Leningrad
- classical
- stonewall.

Any advise?

I know the Dutch might be to difficult for me to grasp, but I want to give it a serious try the next months. If it really doesn’t work I’ll part with it.

Simon Williams and Stjepan from Hanging Pawns have good videos on the Dutch. I am a bit of a slow cookie and it I think it would help me if I chose for one of the three variations.

I like simons take on the classical Dutch. It holds some sneaky sharp mating ideas and is a lot of fun to play IMO

I’m browsing through old forumpost and I find DarkNight1980 quoting Neil McDonald: you need to be able to play the stonewall if you want to play Leningrad or Classical.

And McDonald says that the Stonewall is the least theoretical.

Think my question has been answered. Stonewall.

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/how-to-learn-dutch-start-with-stonewall-or-leningrad

Stonewall, Classical, or even better, don’t play the Dutch

Classical is probably easiest to play. Next would be stonewall but I’d highly recommend NOT DOING LENINGRAD

Also if you wanna play the Dutch might as well pick up the birds.

The problem with classical is that in the fianchetto attack white has a relatively easy time refuting blacks kingside attack, so then that means black has to trade off pieces and have less space.

Hehe. I think the reason why IMpfren the Leningrad likes is the same reason why Snudoo advises against it.

I tried all three last weeks and the Leningrad feels uncomfortably vulnerable. I am gonna stick to the stonewall the next weeks and yes Preusseagro, I’ll dive into some theory. Thx for the leads.

I’m a French player...so when i play Dutch against d4 I first play e6 before f5. That way if white plays 2.e4 then I go French. E6 also protects against an early kingside attack if white is super aggressive against Dutch. All simons advice works for me

I advise against playing Leningrad, but I love playing it. It’s what I play when I open with the birds opening

AtaChess68, what ever came of your Dutch experiment? Did the Stonewall work out for you? I am curious because, like you, I am trying to make a repertoire and have just started looking at the Dutch. I'd love to hear how it went.

Personally, I tried all 3, with first being the Leningrad, which just didn’t feel as solid as I would like it to be, the Stonewall, which I also didn’t really like because of the weakness on e5 and the (sort of) weak pawn on e6, and then I finally settled on the Classical. It doesn’t really have much of the weaknesses the Leningrad and Stonewall has, and I’m perfectly content going into an endgame. I’d suggest experimenting with all 3 for a bit and choose and settle with the one you like most and are most comfortable with and fits your playing style the best, since they all are quite different. And don’t neglect certain ones because of what others say; if it works for you, it works for you.

I like the stonewall but I have heard strong players recommend all of them I say look at the main ideas of each one and see which you like the must.

I realize this is a very old thread, but what do you have against the leningrad?

I did a brief foray into the Dutch Defense, and from that short time studying it, I learned that you should (ideally) aim to learn the main ideas behind all three (Classical, Leningrad, and Stonewall), so that you have the flexibility (and the understanding) to transpose comfortably between the three, depending on what white is doing.

To learn the ideas behind all three takes more effort and study, but it should pay off in the long run.

I used to play the Dutch sometimes and I have built up some knowledge about the opening in the time I used it. All three systems are sound, but they vary in many ways. The Stonewall and Classical Dutch are similar to each other, as they both focus most on the center. The Leningrad Dutch is different as it is like an accelerated King's Indian where Black has already played f5. I have played all three systems and I think I have had the most success with the Classical and Stonewall Dutch. While the Leningrad seems somewhat simple to play at first, I have found that it leads to highly complex positions resembling something of a King's Indian Defense. Take a look:

I liked the positions out of the Stonewall and Classical more and I think they are probably easier to play for most people as well. 

 

Nothing. I love the leningrad. It's the most fun out of the three. I was young and stupid when I posted that. 

Nice to see an old post of mine. I still play the Dutch but always the classical and it doesn’t feel safe yet :-).