Normal Variation

The Normal Variation, 1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6, is Black's most natural reply to White's most frequent second move against the Dutch. The knight develops toward the center and adds a second guard over e4. It also covers h5, the end square of the e8–h5 diagonal that 1...f5 loosened. Black has not yet chosen a structure. The king's bishop can still go to g7 or e7, and the d-pawn can still stop on d6 or advance to d5, so the position serves as a junction for most of the Dutch's main systems. White's c4 claims queenside space and prepares the familiar kingside fianchetto.

By far the most common continuation is 3. Nc3, the Queen's Knight Variation, which appears in roughly seven games out of ten. The knight goes to its most active square and adds pressure on e4, the point Black's whole setup is built to control. Results after it are almost exactly even. The engine, however, does not rank it among its top choices and prefers g3, Nf3 or e3.

The Fianchetto Variation, 3. g3, aims the king's bishop down the long diagonal. It is played far less often than 3. Nc3 but gives White the best results of the main moves. From here Black chooses a system. After 3...g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 the game becomes a Leningrad Dutch. The alternative 3...e6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O leads to the main branching point. There 6...d6 gives the Classical Dutch, 6...d5 the Stonewall, and 6...Ne4 is Alekhine's line, which keeps both d-pawn options open. The second most popular move, 3. Nf3, is a flexible developing move that keeps the fianchetto setups available. The quieter 3. e3 is the one main option after which Black scores slightly better than White.

The Normal Variation produces fighting chess. Draws occur in under four percent of database games, and the overall results are almost evenly split. The engine gives White a slight edge, in line with its view of the Dutch as a whole.