Introduction
I have recently started playing the Dutch, both in tournament play and in numerous training games. My new repertoire is the Dutch with black and the Bird with white. It’s a mad, attacking repertoire based on the same structure with both colors – the Classical Dutch structure! I have created it based on Simon’s recommendations and what he plays in his own games. His classical Dutch masterpieces against greats like Gelfand and Wojtaszek have shown that his Killer Dutch repertoire is sound, applicable on all levels, and capable of destroying the world’s elite, and not just swindling inexperienced players, which is a reputation attacking players and attacking repertoires often get.
Most opening books are bad. Only a handful of repertoires are truly useful, and the Killer Dutch is one of them. The reason is simple – Simon doesn’t make things up. The book is based on 30 years of experience, so he is able to explain things in a simple way without having to rely on vague engine opinions – it’s a book written for humans.
About the Author
Simon Williams, also known as Ginger GM, is an English grandmaster and one of my favorite chess content creators. He runs a YouTube channel where he plays games, often in the Dutch! He is considered to be an uncompromising, attacking player, and his games are often short and brutal. He is a commentator, and has commented on many chess events over the years. He runs Ginger GM, a shop where you can buy his DeeVeeDeeeeeees, among other instructive content. Simon is a well established author as well. He has written The Iron English, Improve Your Attacking Chess, and The New Sicilian Dragon.
Structure of the killer Dutch rebooted
Simon has structured the book well. It covers all the main lines of the Classical Dutch, and all the various move orders white could go for in the first six chapters. Before them, he gives an introduction to the opening where he goes over key strategic ideas using model games. That is, in my opinion, by far the most useful part of the book.
Simon explains what happens in b3 setups, g3 setups, setups with and without c4, and more. The Dutch, especially the classical, is almost a system opening, and black must be able to adapt to various structures, so knowing themes is more important than memorizing exact move orders.
Chapters 8-12 are devoted to white’s deviations – the London System, the Staunton Gambit, Krejcik, and Raphael, four very tricky opening systems Dutch players have to be prepared against. The final chapter covers the Reti and the English and how to play the Classical Dutch against them, when white avoids d4.
The original Killer Dutch and the Chessable course
The original Killer Dutch came out in 2010, twelve years before the rebooted volume. It was republished by Everyman Chess in 2015. I haven’t read the Killer Dutch. I can’t say what the difference between the two books is. Simon only devoted a third of a page to the introduction to the Rebooted Killer Dutch, in which he hasn’t explained the difference. I will update this section when I get the original book and review it.
The Rebooted Killer Dutch (I believe) started as a Chessable course. In any case, it’s available as a Chessable course now.
Quality of Annotations
The annotations aren’t perfect. Simon could have written more and in more detail. This is something I say about almost every book, the only exception so far is Learn From the Legends.
The text is very good though. He makes up for quantity with quality, and the moves he has annotated come with useful explanations of strategy, ideas, patterns, and themes, instead of dry variations. You can see that he has played thousands of Dutch games when you read the book.
Difficulty of the Killer Dutch
I think anyone could use the Killer Dutch and start playing it as their repertoire. It doesn’t matter if you’re 1500 or 2500, Simon’s recommendations are sound, sharp, and fun. I also think that the book and the repertoire is best suited for advanced players, ideally around 2000 FIDE, because it avoids dry lines, and chooses complications you’re going to understand better than your opponent. That is often needed on my level, a way to get my opponent into a sharp position I understand and they don’t.
Conclusion
The only resource you need on the Classical Dutch written by the world’s leading Dutch expert. If you’re looking for an attacking, interesting repertoire for black that isn’t unsound or dubious, the Killer Dutch Rebooted may be your answer. It’s my new repertoire and, I must say, it’s been remarkably fun so far. After years of playing the Semi-Slav, and my biggest concern being the c5 pawn break, hanging to deal with the madness of the Dutch is refreshing and often painful. I love it!
