Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation
Also known as Stonewall Dutch
The Stonewall Variation of the Dutch Defense is the set-up in which Black plays ...d5 early and secures a tight grip on the e4-square. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
37,434 games: White 50.5% / Draw 7.6% / Black 41.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 14,68915K | ||
| Botvinnik Variation | 9,7939,793 | |
| 3,6633,663 | ||
| 3,1693,169 | ||
| 2,4472,447 | ||
| 1,0511,051 | ||
| 869869 | ||
| 714714 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.42 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Qc2 Ne4 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bf4 g5 10. Be3 Nd7 11. Rad1 Nd6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Description
The Stonewall Variation of the Dutch Defense is the set-up in which Black plays ...d5 early and secures a tight grip on the e4-square. On this page it is reached by 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O d5; another typical move order is 1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.c4 c6.
Origins
The opening's attacking potential is shown in the Polish Immortal, in which Miguel Najdorf, playing the Stonewall, sacrificed all of his minor pieces and won by checkmate.
The Stonewall enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the 1980s and 1990s, when Artur Yusupov, Sergey Dolmatov, Nigel Short and Simen Agdestein helped develop the system in which Black plays ...d5 earlier and puts the dark-squared bishop on d6. This Modern Stonewall has remained more popular than the traditional early ...Be7 seen on this page. Magnus Carlsen has used the Stonewall to win games against Viswanathan Anand and Fabiano Caruana.
The idea
Against the Dutch, White most often fianchettoes the king's bishop with g3 and Bg2. After 1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.c4, Black chooses between 6...d5, the characteristic move of the Stonewall, 6...d6, the Ilyin–Zhenevsky Variation, and Alekhine's 6...Ne4!?, which keeps the option of moving the d-pawn one or two squares. With pawns on f5, e6 and d5, Black controls e4.
Main lines
- 7.Nc3 c6 is classified as ECO A95.
- 7.b3 is the Botvinnik Variation (ECO A93), and 7.b3 c6 8.Ba3 is classified as A94.
- In the Modern Stonewall Black plays ...d5 earlier and develops the dark-squared bishop to d6 instead of e7.
Who should play it
The Stonewall suits Black players who want a fixed pawn structure against 1.d4 with a firm hold on the e4-square.
The numbers
In 37,434 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 and 2500 that reached this position, White won 50.5%, Black 41.9%, and 7.6% were drawn. After 7.Nc3 c6 the figures over 150,082 games are 50.1% for White, 42.7% for Black and 7.2% draws.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation
7. b3 (Botvinnik Variation) scores best for White: 56.0%, with White winning 51.7% and Black 39.7% of 9,793 games. The most played, 7. Nc3, scores 54.7% in 15K games, and 7. cxd5 scores lowest: 49.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Qc2.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Variations (2)
All 5 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Dutch Defence, version of 27 May 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Dutch Defense: Stonewall Variation (A92)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/dutch-defense-stonewall-variation