Stonewall Attack

The Stonewall setup

sian players - often employed the Stonewall as Black, and

eected a major revival of the whole system.)

The Stonewall Attack is a chess opening; more specifically it is a variation of the Queens Pawn Game. It is
characterized by White (generally) playing his pawns to
d4 & e3, playing Bd3, Nd2, and then playing Pawns to c3
and then f4; although the moves are not always played in
that order, (see transposition). The Stonewall is a system;
White heads for a very specic Pawn formation, rather
than try to memorize long lines of dierent variations.
If White puts up the Stonewall formation it is called a
Stonewall Attack, regardless of how Black chooses to defend against it. When Black sets up a Stonewall formation, with pawns on c6, d5, e6 and f5, it is (then) a variation of the Dutch Defense. MCO-15 gives the following
as a main line: 1.d4, d5; 2.e3, Nf6; 3.Bd3, c5; 4.c3, Nc6;
5. f4. (See page #511 and column #9.)

Black has several ways to meet the Stonewall. One choice

which must be made is whether to anchetto one or both
bishops; Black can meet the Stonewall with a ...b6 and
...Ba6 aiming to trade o the dangerous white bishop on
d3, and a kingside anchetto with ...g7-g6 takes away
Whites idea of attacking h7. An early development of
Blacks light-squared bishop to f5 also cuts across Whites
plans.

2 Encyclopedia of Chess Openings

Since the Stonewall system is used against a variety of
Black defenses, the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings has
trouble classifying it. Among the codes used are D00
(when Black has played ...d5), A45, and A03, the code
for Birds Opening.

General remarks

3 Sample game

As the name implies, the Stonewall setup is a solid formation which is hard to overrun by force. If Black fails
to react energetically to the Stonewall setup, White may
launch a lethal attack on the black king, typically by playing the knight from f3 to e5, advancing the g-pawn to
drive away the defending black knight, and making a
well-timed bishop sacrice at h7 (see Greek gift sacrice)
when White can bring one of the major pieces (queen
and/or rook) to the h-le. Often this attack is so powerful that White does not need to develop the knight on b1
and bishop on c1. Traditionally, chess computers have
been vulnerable to the Stonewall because the positions
are usually without clear tactical lines. White simply prepares for an assault by bringing pieces to aggressive posts,
without making immediate tactical threats. By the time
the computer realizes that its king is under attack, it is
often too late. This, however, is not the case with newer
chess computers.

Final position, after 16. g6.

This sample game [1] illustrates what can happen if Black
defends poorly.
1. d4 d5 2. f4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bd3
Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2 b6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. g4 Qc7
11. g5 Nd7 12. Bxh7+ Kxh7 13. Qh5+ Kg8 14. Rf3 f6
15. Rh3 fxe5 16. g6 1-0

4 References
[1] Larry D. Evans (December 1981). "Stonewalling".
Chess Life: 3436. Retrieved 2011-10-16.

The downsides to the Stonewall are the hole on e4, and

the fact that the dark-squared bishop on c1 is completely
blocked by its own pawns. If Black defends correctly
against Whites attack, these strategic deciencies can become quite serious. Because of this, the Stonewall Attack
is almost never seen in master-level chess any more, although it is seen occasionally among club players. However, Black playing the Stonewall variation of the Dutch
Defense is seen occasionally at master level. (During the
1980s and 1990s, GMs like Yusupov - and other Rus-

Brace, Edward (1977). Stonewall Formation. An

Illustrated Dictionary of Chess. Craftwell. ISBN 155521-394-4
de Firmian, Nick (1999). Modern Chess Openings:
MCO-14. Random House. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.
Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992). "The Oxford Companion to Chess" (2nd ed.). Oxford Uni1

4
versity Press. ISBN 0-19-866164-9. |contribution=
ignored (help)

REFERENCES

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