Stonewall Attack

I have posted my notes on The Stonewall Attack from Yaacov Norowitz's lecture (described in my previous post). I have also posted a selection of Yaacov's ICC Games with the Stonewall (many more of which can be seen by typing "search YaacovN D00" at ICC). If you are interested in learning the "Norowitz Stonewall System," his ICC games are one of the best resources out there. I have also posted a few Supplemental Stonewall Games that feature two of the more challenging lines that Black can throw at you, as discussed by Andy Soltis in his excellent (and, unfortunately, out of print) book Stonewall Attack.

Personally, I had not given the Stonewall much thought since I was a kid and took it up briefly after reading I. A. Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld's How to Think Ahead in Chess, which may have been one of the earliest mass-market repertoire books (covering The Stonewall Attack, The Lasker's Defense to the QGD, and the Dragon Sicilian). I remember getting some killer kingside attacks with it until my opponents learned better and I moved on to the Urusov Gambit (thanks to Horowitz's Chess Openings Theory and Practice). But Yaacov's lecture made me think that this is a fully viable line, especially for speed chess where knowledge of typical middlegame positions and tactics can garner many wins (as YaacovN's 3280 ICC blitz rating will attest).

There has been almost no serious interest in the Stonewall since the turn of the last century, when it was adopted occasionally by the likes of Pillsbury (before he discovered his Pillsbury Attack in the Queen's Gambit). More recently, there was a brief blip of interest in the Stonewall as a surprisingly effective anti-computer weapon (as discussed most recently by Christian Kongsted in his book on chess computers). A web search turned up a couple of good articles at Chessville by Keith Hayward and David Surratt discussing Game One and Game Two of a 2001 Stonewall Attack theme match. And there is a 60-game zipped PGN file of Stonewall games you can download from the Pitt Archives.

The following puzzles are taken from games discussed in the lecture for those of you who like the challenge.

The Classical Stonewall Attack
White to play and win.

Norowitz-Stripunsky
How can White force a draw?
How can he try for a win?

Norowitz-Topalov (ICC Blitz)
White to play and win.