Stonewall chess opening

The Stonewall Attack is a chess opening; more specifically it is a variation of the

Queen's 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 specific Pawn formation, rather than try to
memorize long lines of different 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.)
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 sacrifice at h7 (see Greek gift sacrifice) when White
can bring one of the major pieces (queen and/or rook) to the h-file. 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.

The downsides to the Stonewall are the hole on e4, and the fact that the darksquared bishop on c1 is completely blocked by its own pawns. If Black defends
correctly against White's attack, these strategic deficiencies can become quite
serious. Because of this, the Stonewall Attack is almost never seen in masterlevel 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, GM's like Yusupov and other Russian players - often employed the Stonewall as Black, and effected
a major revival of the whole system.)

Black has several ways to meet the Stonewall. One choice which must be made is
whether to fianchetto one or both bishops; Black can meet the Stonewall with
a ...b6 and ...Ba6 aiming to trade off the dangerous white bishop on d3, and a
kingside fianchetto with ...g7-g6 takes away White's idea of attacking h7. An

early development of Black's light-squared bishop to f5 also cuts across White's

plans.