I played a game with White versus the Dutch defense in the Team League a couple of days ago. I'm quite happy not only due to the win, but also because it was against the Dutch.

I don't quite know the Dutch with Black. Just the standard plans that you can see when you play White, but it seems to me a very solid and sound defense to play against. I was myself considering adding it to my Black repertoire not long ago.

I must admit that every time I faced it over the board, I started having bad vibrations. That f5-pawn, sometimes along with d5 (rock solid Stonewall!), and that knight incrusted like a parasite on e4 didn't give me good feelings at all.

Some weeks ago a friend told me about the tricky 2.Bg5, pinning the e-pawn, and putting Black under pressure from the very first move, altering Black's standard plans. If Black keeps on with the otherwise natural 2...Nf6, White simply exchanges the knight, doubling the black pawns a ruining the kingside pawn structure. This tricky move really highlights the main Achilles' heel of the Dutch: the weak light squares on the kingside. For example if Black is not familiar with the line, and tries to trap the bishop with h6, and g5, he can get unpleasantly mated on h5.

After the game Black confessed he didn't know what to play after 2.Bg5, and started making slow moves, delaying the development. I capitalized on that offering a pawn for positional advantage and initiative. Here my rival made a mistake, and tried to hold onto the pawn (a very common mistake when it comes to pawns, but this is subject for another post), after which his king was trapped... in the center! The rest was a mix of patience and profilaxis, since I knew the arising endgame would be winning for White, and Black resigned after 19 moves.

So in all I would strongly encourage you to give 2.Bg5 a try against the Dutch if you want to play something sharp, have initiative, and try to put Black on the ropes from the word "go".