This article is a summary for the full article on the Stonewall Opening – Chess Openings for Beginners for the full text.
Today we are going to be continuing my openings series on the Stonewall Attack. In part 2 of the Stonewall Attack Chess Beginner Series, I review a few black set-ups that could cause problems for white.
- Part 1 – Sac to Attack
- Part 2 – The Zukertort System
- Part 3 – Important Sidelines (Coming Soon)
- Part 4 – How to beat a Fiancheeto Defense (Coming Soon)
When to NOT play the Stonewall
The first segment of the video is covers a very aggressive black move order with a rapid d5, c5, and nc6 – tending to result in a Reversed Queen Gambit type position. I recommend that white does not stubbornly continue with the Stonewall against this set-up, but rather adapts the plan towards grabbing that c5 pawn and trying to hold on to it. While positionally it may not look terribly attractive, that extra pawn can drive a wedge into black’s position and is usually pretty difficult for black to recover.
How to adapt to the King’s Indian
In the second half of this video, I go over the King’s Indian Defense and how white should adapt to this scheme for the black pieces. It is simply unreasonable to play the Stonewall against the King’s Indian, as black will inevitably achieve the e5 break and a very comfortable position in the center. Moreover, the kingside fianchetto in this opening is extremely difficult to attack head-on – thus white needs to change plans with an open mind against the King’s Indian Defense.
Part One of the Stonewall Series (in case you missed it)
This article is a summary for the full article on the Stonewall Opening – Chess Openings for Beginners for the full text.
Follow William for fresh daily updates: Follow @OnlineChessLessWilliam Stewart is a National Master. He specializes in Online Chess Tutoring and maintains a daily updated Chess Blog
Is it a good opening?