ONE BOOK and ONE CD ON THE LENINGRAD DUTCH

LENINGRAD SYSTEM: A Complete Weapon against 1.d4 (English translation)

Author: Stefan Kindermann

Olms (2005)

208 pages

$35.00

THE DUTCH DEFENCE LENINGRAD SYSTEM A86-89

Author: Boris Schipkov

ChessBase CD (2004)

$27.00

Reviewed by John Watson

Stefan Kindermann's LENINGRAD SYSTEM: A Complete Weapon against 1.d4 is a translation of his 2002 book LENINGRADER SYSTEM - EINE WAFFE GEGEN 1.d4, a book that I reviewed in this column with the hope that there would be an English edition! The translated book has been considerably updated and worked upon, which is obvious as you pore through the most important variations. Kindermann's subject is 1.d4 f5 with a later ...g6 in most variations, and the book includes a very interesting and original chapter on 1.Nf3. I'll do some comparison with Boris Schipkov's excellent CD, THE DUTCH DEFENCE LENINGRAD SYSTEM A86-89, but the emphasis will be on Kindermann’s book.

Kindermann begins with an historical introduction and quickly moves on to a thorough and well-written section on all the typical Leningrad ideas, with many supporting examples. He calls the next section “Illustrative Games”, but it is in fact the theory section of the book, with a complete analysis of all known alternatives in the notes. To me, this layout is a bit awkward and I miss the detailed tables which were provided in his earlier French Winawer book. Nevertheless, I don't think that Kindermann misses anything important. And it's difficult enough to fit an entire Dutch Defence repertoire into 208 pages!

The main line is 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d6 4.Bg2 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Nc3 Qe8 

As I said in my previous review, he does a masterly job of reviewing the relevant material and showing the viability of the system. Without space to investigate all that, I thought that I'd start with Kindermann's chapter "My Special Recommendation for White", which features 8.Re1"!"

It's amusing that GM Dolmatov actually gives this move, one of Kindermann's favourites, a “?!”. We now know that's wrong. Obviously, players of 1.d4 will gravitate to this chapter. But how good is 8.Re1? One game is Pigusov-Malaniuk, Moscow 1990, which continued 8...Qf7 (Attacking c4.) 9.b3 h6 (A risky move. Kindermann is “mistrustful” but seems to think that it might be okay) 10.Bb2 (10.e4 fxe4 11.Nxe4 g5 12.Bb2 c6!? is given a lengthy analysis by Schipkov, who give White a small advantage in every line) 10...g5 11.e4 fxe4 12.Nxe4 c6! (maybe simply 12...Nxe4 13.Rxe4 Bf5 isn't so bad?) 13.Qd2 (and here I wonder about something like 13.Ned2 Na6 14.a3 Bf5 15.Qe2 Rae8 16.b4) 13...Na6 14.h4 Bf5!? 15.Nxf6+ exf6 16.Re3 (Kindermann mentions 16.Ba3 which “according to Floria Graf gives White hopes for a small advantage.” That seems true. Maybe 9...h6 is just a bit lacking) 16...Rfe8 (=) 17.Rae1 Rxe3 18.Rxe3 Re8 19.d5 c5 20.Bc3 Nc7 21.Qe1 Rxe3 22.Qxe3 Qe8 23.Qd2, 1/2-1/2.

Next I'll turn to the line 8.Re1 Qf7 9.b3 Ne4 10.Bb2 Nc6 11.Rc1 e5 (There are other moves such as 11...a5 and 11...h6, which D. Tyomkin analyses in great detail on the Schipkov CD. 11...Nxc3?! 12.Bxc3 e5? 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Qd5! is a transposition to the next note and leads to a very large advantage for White) 12.d5 (Here Kindermann likes Lesiege's move 12.dxe5 intending 12...Nxc3 13.Bxc3 dxe5 14.Qd5"!!" with clear superiority. Instead, 12...dxe5 13.Nxe4 fxe4 14.Ng5 Qxf2+ 15.Kh1 Rd8 16.Qc2 is given as a clear advantage to White in the first edition, but Kindermann now feels that 16...Qf5! can hold the balance. A good example of how he's reviewing his material rather than simply presenting it again, as is the case with many translations) 12...Nxc3 13.Bxc3 Nb8 (K feels 13...Nd8! to be better) 14.c5 Na6 15.b4 e4 16.Ng5 Qe7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qd4+ Kg8 19.h4 h6 20.Nh3+= Kindermann doesn't source this game, Pigusov-Zhang Zhong, Beijing 1997. Tyomkin's assessment is also +=.

As an alternative to all this, Schipkov likes the less-frequently-used idea of 10...Nd7 instead of 10...Nc6 (he even quotes a Kindermann game and analysis), whereas Kindermann gives it full attention but has some worries about the move 11.Nd2 in response.

In the new edition, Kindermann's "secret weapon" for White is 1.Nf3 f5 2.d3!, to which he appends a great amount of analysis and concludes, surprisingly, that Black has no known way to reach equality! An example of a line that falls short is the extremely natural 2...d6 (2...Nc6 3.d4!; 2...d5 3.c4) 3.e4 e5 4.Nc3 Nf6 (4...Nc6 is the main line) 5.exf5 Bxf5 6.d4!

So he suggests 1.Nf3 d6, allowing 2.e4 and either 2...c5 with a Sicilian or 2...Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 with a Pirc in which White has foregone many aggressive systems by playing Nf3. The idea is that a player of 1.Nf3 might not want to prepare for those openings. So after 1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 g6 (2...f5 3.Nc3! Nf6 4.Bg5!) 3.c4 (but this time 3.e4 eliminates the Najdorf and most Sicilians) 3...f5 and Black is back to normal. Hmmm. Okay, so maybe the reader should play 1.d4 f5 but upon 1.Nf3 he would need to be prepared for several other contingencies and he might as well play, say, 1...d5 or 1...c5 in order to dictate the play.

Turning our attention to 1.d4 f5 2.Nc3, we have 2...Nf6 3.Bg5 d5 (“!”) 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e3 Be6, and now Palliser's PLAY 1.d4! book suggests 6.Qf3, which Kindermann also adorns with an “!”. Then 6...Qd7 is the main line (6...Nc6 7.Bb5 Qd6!? 8.Nge2 0-0-0 9.a3!?, and both authors cite a game with 9...0-0-0 10.Nf4 leading to a White advantage, but Kindermann gives the one-move suggestion 9...Ne7). After 6...Qd7, play goes 7.Bb5 Nc6 (7...c6?! 8.Bd3) 8.Nge2 a6 (8...0-0-0 9.Nf4) 9.Ba4 Rd8 with obscure play. They both follow the same game and assess a key position as unclear (Kindermann) or favouring White (Palliser).

As for research, Schipkov lists Kindermann's 2002 book in his very short Bibliography and Palliser has neither of the others' works in his (of course only Kindermann 2002 was out at the time). More importantly, it seems that Kindermann didn't use the other two works, because even his refreshingly extensive 2005 Bibliography mentions neither one.

I would suggest that someone taking up the Dutch and intending to play the Leningrad can do very nicely with either product (both describe the basic ideas very well). It partly comes down to whether one prefers to study on a computer, or is more comfortable with a book. Schipkov's CD has the advantage of looking at a lot more alternatives for Black (and White's replies), since it doesn't present a repertoire. The CD also includes a database of sample games (with notes from ChessBase Magazine, for example) and has a useful set of training exercises.

An advantage of Kindermann's book is that he gives the reader a complete repertoire for Black. For one thing this means that he is selecting the best lines and explaining them (and in fact he also looks at quite a few Black alternatives). That is a project that the average player with an average amount of spare time might take years to do properly. As readers may know, I prefer such repertoire books in these days when complete books are hopelessly complex for the normal player. Also (unlike the particular Schipkov CD we have discussed) he gives recommendations against the many White sidelines such as 2.Nc3, 2.Bg5, 2.c4 with 3.Nc3, several variations involving the move Nh3, the Staunton Gambit (at length), and a host of more obscure tries such as 2.g4!?. But one should know that Schipkov's is actually part of a trilogy on the Dutch. His most recent CD is Dutch A80-A85, which does in fact deal with these 2nd and 3rd move alternatives, and he has previously examined the Dutch Classical lines (A90-99). Essentially you would have to purchase the 2 CDs covering A80-A89 to match the material investigated by Kindermann.

In conclusion, Kindermann's book is state-of-the-art for the Leningrad Dutch and will be an essential source for many years to come. Both his and Schipkov's are very fine products that will not disappoint the serious student.

Click to buy (or get more information about) LENINGRAD SYSTEM (A COMPLETE WEAPON AGAINST 1.d4)

If you’re interested in one or all of the of Boris Schipkov’s Compact Disk Dutch trilogy (made by ChessBase), click to buy (or get more information about):

THE DUTCH DEFENCE (LENINGRAD SYSTEM A86-A89)

DUTCH A80-A85 (This covers critical side lines that are often encountered, such as 1.d4 f5 2.Nc3, 1.d4 f5 2.Bg5, etc.)

DUTCH DEFENSE A90-A99 (This covers the Stonewall and other important systems)