Dutch defense is a great attacking opening choice where black prepares king's side attack from move one. In order to avoid complication in the center black usually locks it up early in the game. Dutch was never a super popular opening especially on the top level. Nevertheless, many strong players including Alexander Alekhine, Bent Larsen and Paul Morphy used this opening with a great success. Currently, Hikaru Nakamura is the only top-10 player that uses Dutch on regular basis. If you are a club player, looking for a new active opening choice, the Dutch may be exactly what you need.

The French Defense is one of black's most popular responses to 1.e4. From amateurs to masters, the popularity of this defense never stops to increase. The reason is that it gives black the opportunity to fight for the initiative from a very early stage of the game.

One of the most popular options nowadays against 1.d4 is the so called Semi Slav Defense. It is a complex opening in which black is able to fight for the initiative without taking any major positional risks. The Semi Slav was one of Kasparov's most dangerous weapons when he was in his prime, but many other attacking players like Shirov, Dreev, Topalov have also played it with success.