December's clinic features games in the Dutch Defence, starting after the moves 1.d4 f5. The set-up I recommend for White here is simply 2.Nf3 followed by 3.e3, but this plan was not played in all the games.

One particularly interesting and instructive moment arose in the position in the diagram below:

White played the quiet 13.Nd2 intending 14.Bf3, and this is not a bad idea. There was, however, a much stronger idea in 13.d5!, the idea being that after 13...e5 White has 14.Nxe5! and 13...exd5 14.Nd4 is also strong.

Tigerchess.com Themed Training events are a great opportunity to practice key positions from regular openings, and are open to everyone who joins the Tiger Chess Team. Participating in these events helps players develop an insight into the openings played, above and beyond looking at them in a book or on a video.

Nigel Davies