Alekhine's Defence
Encyclopedia
Alekhine's Defence is a hypermodern
chess opening
that begins with the moves:
Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad pawn centre, with plans to undermine and attack the White structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre often includes pawns on c4, d4, e5, and f4. Grandmaster
Nick de Firmian
observes of Alekhine's in MCO-15 (2008), "The game immediately loses any sense of symmetry or balance, which makes the opening a good choice for aggressive fighting players."
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
has four codes for Alekhine's Defence, B02 through B05:
, who introduced it in the 1921 Budapest
tournament in games against Endre Steiner
and Fritz Sämisch
. Four years later, the editors of the Fourth Edition of Modern Chess Openings
(MCO-4) wrote, "Nothing is more indicative of the iconoclastic conceptions of the 'hypermodern school
' than the bizarre defence introduced by Alekhine ... . Although opposing to all tenets of the classical school, Black allows his King's Knight to be driven about the board in the early stages of the game, in the expectation of provoking a weakness in White's centre pawns."
In addition to Alekhine, another early exponent of the defence was Ernst Grünfeld
.
has obtained in practice are good." The opening's current highest-rated proponent is Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, although Lev Alburt
played it at grandmaster level almost exclusively during his career and was responsible for many contributions in both theory and practice. De Firmian writes, "Currently Grandmasters Shabalov
and Minasian
use the opening with regularity, while Aronian, Adams, and Nakamura
will use it on occasion.
In the past, great players such as Fischer
and Korchnoi
included the defense in their repertoire, leading to its respectable reputation."
The Four Pawns Attack is White's most ambitious try, and the variation which perhaps illustrates the basic idea of the defence best: Black allows White to make several tempo-gaining attacks on the knight
and to erect an apparently imposing pawn centre in the belief that it can later be destroyed. The game can become very sharp since White must either secure his advantage in space or make use of it before Black succeeds in making a successful strike at it. Black must also play vigorously because passive play will be crushed by the White centre. The Four Pawns Attack is not particularly popular because many White players are wary of entering a sharp tactical line which Black may have prepared. The main line continues 5...dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nc3 e6 9.Nf3
An alternative is the sharp Planinc Variation, 5...g5!?. Black hopes for 6. fxg5? dxe5, wrecking White's centre and leaving him with weak pawns. The line is named after grandmaster Albin Planinc
, who championed it in the 1970s. It was then taken up in the 1990s by correspondence player Michael Schirmer, whose games were noted in a recent book on Alekhine's Defence by notable British GM and Alekhine exponent Nigel Davies.
The Exchange Variation is less ambitious than the Four Pawns Attack. White trades pawns, accepting a more modest spatial advantage. Black's main decision is whether to recapture with the solid 5...exd6, which will lead to a fairly strategic position, or the more ambitious 5...cxd6 when Black has a preponderance of pawns in the centre. The third recapture, 5...Qxd6 is also possible since the fork
6.c5 can be answered by 6...Qe6+, but the line is considered inferior since Black will sooner or later need to deal with this threat.
In the sharper 5...cxd6 line, Black usually aims to attack and undermine the white pawn on d4, and possibly c4 as well. To do this, a usual plan involves a fianchetto
of the king's bishop to g7, playing the other bishop to g4 to remove a knight on f3 which is a key defender of d4, while black knights on b6 and c6 bear down on the white pawns on c4 and d4. Cox gave the game Jainy Gomes v. Guillermo Soppe http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1487270 to illustrate Black's intentions.
A popular setup from White to prevent Black's plan is the Voronezh Variation (named after the city Voronezh
in Russia, where the line was invented, by players such as Grigory Sanakoev
). The Voronezh is defined by the opening sequence 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Rc1 0-0 9.b3. White's setup delays the kingside development so that Black has trouble developing pieces in a fashion which harasses the White pieces and assail the center pawns, for instance there is no knight on f3 which can become a target after ...Bg4, and no bishop on d3 which may be a target after ...Nc6-e5. While 9...Nc6?! is Black's most common reply according to ChessBase's database, after 10.d5 Ne5 Black's knight lacks a target, and will soon be chased out with f2-f4, and this line has scored very poorly for Black. The main line in the Voronezh, and the second most common reply, is 9...e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.c5 N6d7 (This retreat is forced since 12...Nd5?? loses the knight due to the 13.Rd1 pin) when Black must play carefully to unentangle and challenge the White pawn on c5. Other lines against the Voronezh include 9...f5 leading to sharp play, solid moves such as 9...e6 and 9...Bd7, and 9...a5 and 9...Bf5.
The Voronezh was recommended by John Emms and noted as a big problem by Nigel Davies
, leading many players to opt for the more solid 5...exd6 line. John Cox recommended the plan with 9...e5 line as adequate, but Black needs to know the line well.
The 5...exd6 line is solid, and many players adopted it due to the Voronezh Variation. The line offers Black less opportunity for counterplay however. In this line, Black usually develops the king's bishop by ...Be7 and ...Bf6, because Bg5 can be bothersome against a fianchetto setup with ...g6 and ...Bg7, e.g. 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Bg5.
The Modern Variation is the most common variation of the Alekhine Defence. As in the Exchange Variation, White accepts a more modest spatial advantage, and hopes to be able to hang on to it. There are a number of possible Black responses:
In most variations, Black can play ...Bg4 to transpose
into the 4...Bg4 line.
The Two Pawns Attack (also known as the Lasker Attack or the Chase System) is also an ambitious try. White's pawns on c5 and e5 secure a spatial advantage, but the d5 square has been weakened. Unlike the Four Pawns Attack, the White centre is not as fluid and the game takes on a more strategic character.
Aesthetically, 4.c5 looks positionally suspect, since White's pawn advances have severely weakened the squares on the d-file. White's intention is to grab space and mobility so that those strategic deficiencies are of little consequence.
Black must play 4...Nd5, whereupon White will usually challenge the knight with moves like Bc4 and Nc3. Black can defend the knight with ...c6 or ...e6, sometimes playing both. Typically, Black then challenges White's pawns on e5 and c5 with moves like ...d6 and ...b6.
The statistics presented by Cox show the Chase Variation scoring poorly for White, with all of Black's main defenses scoring at least 50%.
The Two Knights Variation is a variation where White immediately accepts doubled pawns
after 3...Nxc3 (3...e6 is also possible) 4.dxc3 in exchange for rapid piece development. Even though the response 3...Nxc3 seems reasonable, it often leads to lines that resemble the French Defence
where white's doubled pawns do not cause him much trouble. Still, this variation is one of the most passive ways to meet Alekhine's Defence.
, who calls this his "pet line", named it the "Brooklyn
Defense" in honour of his hometown. Although Black might be said to be giving odds of three moves
, according to theory
White has only a small advantage.
Very dubious is 2...Ne4?, which John L. Watson
and Eric Schiller
dub the "Mokele Mbembe". They analyze 3.d4 f6 4.Bd3 d5 5.f3 Ng5 6.Bxg5 fxg5 7.f4! g6! 8.Nf3! g4 (they also analyze 8...gxf4 9.Ng5! e6 10.Qg4! Qe7 11.0-0 and 8...Bg4 9.h3, both leading a large advantage for White) 9.Ng5 Bh6 10.Nxh7 Rxh7 11.Bxg6+ Rf7 12.Qd3 Bf8 13.f5 e6 14.f6 Qd7 15.h3! g3 16.Qxg3, with a winning advantage for White. Nunn's Chess Openings concludes that White gets a large advantage with 3.d4 f6 (or 3...e6 4.Nh3 h6 5.Qg4 d5 6.f3 h5 7.Qf4 g5 8.Nxg5 Nxg5 9.Qxg5 Be7 10.Qg7) 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qh4 d5 6.Bd3.
White has a few alternatives to 2.e5:
Hypermodernism (chess)
Hypermodernism is a school of chess that emerged after World War I. It featured challenges on the chess ideologies presented by central European masters, such as on Wilhelm Steinitz’ approach to the centre. It also challenged in particular the dogmatic rules set down by Siegbert Tarrasch...
chess opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
that begins with the moves:
- 1. e4 Nf6
Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad pawn centre, with plans to undermine and attack the White structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre often includes pawns on c4, d4, e5, and f4. Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
Nick de Firmian
Nick de Firmian
Nicholas Ernest de Firmian , is a chess grandmaster and three-time U.S. chess champion, winning in 1987 , 1995, and 1998. He also tied for first in 2002, but Larry Christiansen won the playoff...
observes of Alekhine's in MCO-15 (2008), "The game immediately loses any sense of symmetry or balance, which makes the opening a good choice for aggressive fighting players."
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...
has four codes for Alekhine's Defence, B02 through B05:
- B02: 1.e4 Nf6
- B03: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 (including the Exchange Variation and Four Pawns Attack)
- B04: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 (Modern Variation without 4...Bg4)
- B05: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 (Modern Variation with 4...Bg4)
History
The opening is named after Alexander AlekhineAlexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
, who introduced it in the 1921 Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
tournament in games against Endre Steiner
Endre Steiner
Endre Steiner was a Hungarian chess player.Endre Steiner played for Hungary in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads.* In 1927, he played at first reserve board at 1st Chess Olympiad in London ....
and Fritz Sämisch
Friedrich Sämisch
Friedrich Sämisch was a German chess grandmaster .-Main results:* 2nd at Berlin 1920...
. Four years later, the editors of the Fourth Edition of Modern Chess Openings
Modern Chess Openings
Modern Chess Openings is an important reference book on the chess openings, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Clewin Griffith and John Herbert White...
(MCO-4) wrote, "Nothing is more indicative of the iconoclastic conceptions of the 'hypermodern school
Hypermodernism (chess)
Hypermodernism is a school of chess that emerged after World War I. It featured challenges on the chess ideologies presented by central European masters, such as on Wilhelm Steinitz’ approach to the centre. It also challenged in particular the dogmatic rules set down by Siegbert Tarrasch...
' than the bizarre defence introduced by Alekhine ... . Although opposing to all tenets of the classical school, Black allows his King's Knight to be driven about the board in the early stages of the game, in the expectation of provoking a weakness in White's centre pawns."
In addition to Alekhine, another early exponent of the defence was Ernst Grünfeld
Ernst Grünfeld
----Ernst Franz Grünfeld , an Austrian grandmaster and writer specializing in opening theory, was for a brief period after the First World War one of the strongest chess players in the world....
.
Use
The popularity of Alekhine's Defence waxes and wanes; currently it is not very common. De Firmian observes, "The fashion could quickly change if some champion of the opening takes up the cause, as the results BlackWhite and Black in chess
In chess, the player who moves first is referred to as "White" and the player who moves second is referred to as "Black". Similarly, the pieces that each conducts are called, respectively, "the white pieces" and "the black pieces". The pieces are often not literally white and black, but some...
has obtained in practice are good." The opening's current highest-rated proponent is Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, although Lev Alburt
Lev Alburt
Lev Osipovich Alburt is a chess Grandmaster and a well-respected chess writer. He was three-time Ukrainian Champion, and after defecting to the United States in 1979, became three-time U.S. Champion.-Career:...
played it at grandmaster level almost exclusively during his career and was responsible for many contributions in both theory and practice. De Firmian writes, "Currently Grandmasters Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov is an American chess grandmaster, the multiple winner of the U.S. Chess Championships; he was the 2007 US Champion. He was born in Latvia, and like his fellow Latvians Alexei Shirov and Mikhail Tal he is known for courting complications even at the cost of objective soundness...
and Minasian
Artashes Minasian
Artashes Minasian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster.-Chess career:He participated in eight Chess Olympiads with a record of +23,=28,-12. In 2006 the Armenian team took the first place at the 37th Chess Olympiad...
use the opening with regularity, while Aronian, Adams, and Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
will use it on occasion.
In the past, great players such as Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
and Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
included the defense in their repertoire, leading to its respectable reputation."
Main Variations
After the usual 2.e5 Nd5, three main variations of Alekhine's Defence use 3.d4, but there are other options for White at this point. Two of the most common versions are the Exchange Variation and the Four Pawns Attack. The Exchange Variation continues 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6. White has some space advantage. Black can capitalise on the half-open centre with ...g6, ...Bg7 with ...Bg4 eventually being played. The Four Pawns Attack continues 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4. White has a somewhat larger space advantage though the centre is not fixed. Black has a number of options. Black can play ...Qd7 with ...0-0-0 and ...f6 putting pressure on White's d pawn. Black can play ...Nb4 with ...c5 hoping to exchange the d pawn. Finally, Black can play ...Be7 with ...0-0 and ...f6 attacking the centre. Minor variations include O'Sullivan's Gambit, 3.d4 b5 (intending 4.Bxb5 c5 5.dxc5?? Qa5+), and 3.d4 d6 4.Bc4, the Balogh Variation.Four Pawns Attack
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4The Four Pawns Attack is White's most ambitious try, and the variation which perhaps illustrates the basic idea of the defence best: Black allows White to make several tempo-gaining attacks on the knight
Knight (chess)
The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
and to erect an apparently imposing pawn centre in the belief that it can later be destroyed. The game can become very sharp since White must either secure his advantage in space or make use of it before Black succeeds in making a successful strike at it. Black must also play vigorously because passive play will be crushed by the White centre. The Four Pawns Attack is not particularly popular because many White players are wary of entering a sharp tactical line which Black may have prepared. The main line continues 5...dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nc3 e6 9.Nf3
An alternative is the sharp Planinc Variation, 5...g5!?. Black hopes for 6. fxg5? dxe5, wrecking White's centre and leaving him with weak pawns. The line is named after grandmaster Albin Planinc
Albin Planinc
Albin Planinc, also spelled Planinec was a Slovenian chess Grandmaster.He was born in a working-class family in Briše near Zagorje in the Central Sava Valley, in German-occupied Slovenia....
, who championed it in the 1970s. It was then taken up in the 1990s by correspondence player Michael Schirmer, whose games were noted in a recent book on Alekhine's Defence by notable British GM and Alekhine exponent Nigel Davies.
Exchange Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6The Exchange Variation is less ambitious than the Four Pawns Attack. White trades pawns, accepting a more modest spatial advantage. Black's main decision is whether to recapture with the solid 5...exd6, which will lead to a fairly strategic position, or the more ambitious 5...cxd6 when Black has a preponderance of pawns in the centre. The third recapture, 5...Qxd6 is also possible since the fork
Fork (chess)
In chess, a fork is a tactic that uses a single piece to attack multiple pieces at the same time. The attacker usually hopes to gain material by capturing one of the opponent's pieces. The defender often finds himself in a difficult position in which he cannot counter all threats. The attacking...
6.c5 can be answered by 6...Qe6+, but the line is considered inferior since Black will sooner or later need to deal with this threat.
In the sharper 5...cxd6 line, Black usually aims to attack and undermine the white pawn on d4, and possibly c4 as well. To do this, a usual plan involves a fianchetto
Fianchetto
In chess the fianchetto is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward....
of the king's bishop to g7, playing the other bishop to g4 to remove a knight on f3 which is a key defender of d4, while black knights on b6 and c6 bear down on the white pawns on c4 and d4. Cox gave the game Jainy Gomes v. Guillermo Soppe http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1487270 to illustrate Black's intentions.
A popular setup from White to prevent Black's plan is the Voronezh Variation (named after the city Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
in Russia, where the line was invented, by players such as Grigory Sanakoev
Grigory Sanakoev
Grigory Konstantinovich Sanakoev is a Russian chess grandmaster of correspondence chess, most famous for being the 12th ICCF World Champion in correspondence chess between 1984 and 1991....
). The Voronezh is defined by the opening sequence 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Rc1 0-0 9.b3. White's setup delays the kingside development so that Black has trouble developing pieces in a fashion which harasses the White pieces and assail the center pawns, for instance there is no knight on f3 which can become a target after ...Bg4, and no bishop on d3 which may be a target after ...Nc6-e5. While 9...Nc6?! is Black's most common reply according to ChessBase's database, after 10.d5 Ne5 Black's knight lacks a target, and will soon be chased out with f2-f4, and this line has scored very poorly for Black. The main line in the Voronezh, and the second most common reply, is 9...e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.c5 N6d7 (This retreat is forced since 12...Nd5?? loses the knight due to the 13.Rd1 pin) when Black must play carefully to unentangle and challenge the White pawn on c5. Other lines against the Voronezh include 9...f5 leading to sharp play, solid moves such as 9...e6 and 9...Bd7, and 9...a5 and 9...Bf5.
The Voronezh was recommended by John Emms and noted as a big problem by Nigel Davies
Nigel Davies (chess player)
Nigel Davies is an English chess Grandmaster, chess coach and writer.Davies won the British Boys Championship in 1979 and the British Rapidplay Chess Championhship in 1987.-External links:* Nigel Davies' own website...
, leading many players to opt for the more solid 5...exd6 line. John Cox recommended the plan with 9...e5 line as adequate, but Black needs to know the line well.
The 5...exd6 line is solid, and many players adopted it due to the Voronezh Variation. The line offers Black less opportunity for counterplay however. In this line, Black usually develops the king's bishop by ...Be7 and ...Bf6, because Bg5 can be bothersome against a fianchetto setup with ...g6 and ...Bg7, e.g. 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Bg5.
Modern Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3The Modern Variation is the most common variation of the Alekhine Defence. As in the Exchange Variation, White accepts a more modest spatial advantage, and hopes to be able to hang on to it. There are a number of possible Black responses:
- 4...Bg4, pinPin (chess)In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece...
ning the knight is the most common response, which White usually parries with 5.Be2. Black will often voluntarily surrender the bishop pair by ...Bxf3 because the white knight is a fairly strong piece, and capturing it undermines the white centre pawns. Champions of this line include Lev AlburtLev AlburtLev Osipovich Alburt is a chess Grandmaster and a well-respected chess writer. He was three-time Ukrainian Champion, and after defecting to the United States in 1979, became three-time U.S. Champion.-Career:...
, Vlatko KovačevićVlatko KovacevicVlatko Kovačević is a Croatian and Yugoslavian grandmaster of chess.In 1970, Vlatko Kovačević tied for 9th - 11th in Rovinj–Zagreb , but beat Fischer in their individual game. In 1975, he tied for 2nd - 4th in Rovinj–Zagreb . In 1976, he won in Sombor...
and the late Vladimir BagirovVladimir BagirovVladimir Bagirov was a Soviet-Latvian grandmaster of chess, chess author, and trainer. He played in ten USSR Championships, with his best result being fourth place in his debut in 1960. Bagirov was World Senior Champion in 1998...
. - 4...g6, preparing to fianchettoFianchettoIn chess the fianchetto is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward....
a bishop to oppose White's central pawn mass, is also often seen. This variation was played in the thirteenth game of the Match of the Century between Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
and Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
. (The nineteenth game of the same match featured the more common 4...Bg4.) Alburt has also played this line frequently. White usually replies with 5.Bc4, the KeresPaul KeresPaul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
Variation. - 4...dxe5 (the Larsen Variation) is another possibility which can lead to the sharp sacrificial line 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxf7!? 6...Kxf7 7.Qh5+ Ke6. The sacrifice is, at the very least, good enough to draw after 8.Qg4+, when 8...Kd6? is suicidal, so Black should acquiesce to the perpetual checkPerpetual checkIn the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can force a draw by an unending series of checks. Such a situation typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate; while failing to continue the series of checks gives the opponent at least a chance...
with 8...Kf7 9.Qh5+ Ke6 etc. Instead, 8.c4 can be played if White is aiming to win. White can also simply retreat the knight with 5.Nf3. If Black does not want to allow the sacrifice, other options after 5.Nxe5 are 5...g6 (the Kengis Variation) and 5...c6 (the Miles Variation). The idea behind both moves is to challenge the e5 knight with Nd7 only after the sacrifice on f7 has become unsound. The Kengis variation looks more natural but white has several sharp ideas such as 6.c4 and the wild 6.Qf3!?. Therefore 5...c6 has became more common; despite the passive look this waiting move discourages white most ambitious continuations. Now 6.c4 can be met with the very interesting 6...Nb4!? while 6.Bc4 can either transpose to quieter lines of the Kengis or give rise to independent variations in which black avoids the king's bishop fianchetto. White most popular move is 6.Be2 (6.Bd3!?) when black continues with either the immediate Nd7 of 6...Bf5. Against the latter an aggressive possibility (introduced by Kasparov against Short and then improved by Judith Polgar) is 7.g4!?. In top level chess, the line with 5...c6 has largely displaced 4...Bg4 as the main line. - 4...c6 is passive but solid, creating a position which is difficult to attack.
In most variations, Black can play ...Bg4 to transpose
Transposition
Transposition may refer to:Mathematics* Transposition , a permutation which exchanges two elements and keeps all others fixed* Transposition, producing the transpose of a matrix AT, which is computed by swapping columns for rows in the matrix AGames* Transposition , different moves or a different...
into the 4...Bg4 line.
Two Pawns Attack
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5The Two Pawns Attack (also known as the Lasker Attack or the Chase System) is also an ambitious try. White's pawns on c5 and e5 secure a spatial advantage, but the d5 square has been weakened. Unlike the Four Pawns Attack, the White centre is not as fluid and the game takes on a more strategic character.
Aesthetically, 4.c5 looks positionally suspect, since White's pawn advances have severely weakened the squares on the d-file. White's intention is to grab space and mobility so that those strategic deficiencies are of little consequence.
Black must play 4...Nd5, whereupon White will usually challenge the knight with moves like Bc4 and Nc3. Black can defend the knight with ...c6 or ...e6, sometimes playing both. Typically, Black then challenges White's pawns on e5 and c5 with moves like ...d6 and ...b6.
The statistics presented by Cox show the Chase Variation scoring poorly for White, with all of Black's main defenses scoring at least 50%.
Two Knights Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3The Two Knights Variation is a variation where White immediately accepts doubled pawns
Doubled pawns
In chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same color residing on the same file. Pawns can become doubled only when one pawn captures onto a file on which another friendly pawn resides. In the diagram, the pawns on the b-file and e-file are doubled...
after 3...Nxc3 (3...e6 is also possible) 4.dxc3 in exchange for rapid piece development. Even though the response 3...Nxc3 seems reasonable, it often leads to lines that resemble the French Defence
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
where white's doubled pawns do not cause him much trouble. Still, this variation is one of the most passive ways to meet Alekhine's Defence.
Other lines
After 2.e5, Black can retreat the knight with 2...Ng8. Grandmaster Joel BenjaminJoel Benjamin
Joel Benjamin is an American chess Grandmaster. In 1998, he was voted "Grandmaster of the Year" by the U.S. Chess Federation. , his Elo rating was 2576, making him the No. 12 player in the U.S. and the 214th-highest rated player in the world.-Life and career:Benjamin is a native of Brooklyn, New...
, who calls this his "pet line", named it the "Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
Defense" in honour of his hometown. Although Black might be said to be giving odds of three moves
Chess handicap
A handicap in chess is a way to enable a weaker player to have a chance of winning against a stronger one. There are many kinds of such handicaps, such as material odds, extra moves A handicap (or "odds") in chess is a way to enable a weaker player to have a chance of winning against a stronger...
, according to theory
Chess theory
The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...
White has only a small advantage.
Very dubious is 2...Ne4?, which John L. Watson
John L. Watson
John Leonard Watson is a chess International Master and author.Watson was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He was educated at Brownell-Talbot, Harvard, and the University of California at San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering...
and Eric Schiller
Eric Schiller
Eric Schiller is an American chess player, trainer, arbiter and one of the most prolific authors of books on chess in the 20th century.-Early life and education:...
dub the "Mokele Mbembe". They analyze 3.d4 f6 4.Bd3 d5 5.f3 Ng5 6.Bxg5 fxg5 7.f4! g6! 8.Nf3! g4 (they also analyze 8...gxf4 9.Ng5! e6 10.Qg4! Qe7 11.0-0 and 8...Bg4 9.h3, both leading a large advantage for White) 9.Ng5 Bh6 10.Nxh7 Rxh7 11.Bxg6+ Rf7 12.Qd3 Bf8 13.f5 e6 14.f6 Qd7 15.h3! g3 16.Qxg3, with a winning advantage for White. Nunn's Chess Openings concludes that White gets a large advantage with 3.d4 f6 (or 3...e6 4.Nh3 h6 5.Qg4 d5 6.f3 h5 7.Qf4 g5 8.Nxg5 Nxg5 9.Qxg5 Be7 10.Qg7) 4.Qh5+ g6 5.Qh4 d5 6.Bd3.
White has a few alternatives to 2.e5:
- 2.Nc3 is by far White's most common alternative to 2.e5, in fact Cox noted that he saw this move in over half his games with the Alekhine. It is often played by amateurs and those wishing to avoid a theoretical battleChess theoryThe game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...
on territory more familiar to their opponents after 2.Nc3. Cox however wrote that several White players are bluffing, and in fact know nothing about either the Vienna GameVienna GameThe Vienna Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White's second move is less common than 2.Nf3, and is also of more recent vintage; a book reviewer wrote in the New York Times in 1888 that "since Morphy only one new opening has been introduced, the 'Vienna.The original idea behind...
or the Four Knights GameFour Knights GameThe Four Knights Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The opening is fairly popular with beginners who strictly adhere to the opening principle: "Develop knights before bishops." It was one of the workhorses in the family of the Open Game, at even the highest levels, until World War...
which the game can easily transposeTransposition (chess)A transposition in chess is a sequence of moves that results in a position which may also be reached by another, more common sequence of moves. Transpositions are particularly common in opening, where a given position may be reached by different sequences of moves...
to if Black plays 2...e5, citing one book which recommended 2.Nc3 while assuring readers that 2...e5 is uncommon. Another transposition Black may enter is 2...d6, which usually leads to the Pirc DefencePirc DefenceThe Pirc Defence |grandmasters]]), sometimes known as the Ufimtsev Defence or Yugoslav Defence, is a chess opening characterised by Black responding to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish an impressive-looking centre with pawns on d4 and e4...
. The independent Alekhine line however is 2...d5, known as the Scandinavian Variation. After 2...d5, 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4 Nb6 or 4...Nxc3 is considered roughly equal; 4...e6 loses a pawn to the surprising 5.Bxd5 exd5 6. Qe2+! 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.g3 has been played by the Danish correspondence player Ove Ekebjaerg, when Harald Keilhack recommends 4...Nxc3 5.bxc3 Qd5! 6.Qf3! (6.Nf3 Qe4+ is awkward in light of 7.Be2 Bh3 or 7.Qe2 Qxc2) Qe6+! 7.Qe2 ("on 7.Be2 or 7.Ne2, 7...Bd7 is unpleasant") Qxe2+ 8.Nxe2 Bd7! 9.Bg2 Bc6 10.0-0 Bxg2 11.Kxg2 Nc6 12.d3 g6 13.Rb1 0-0-0 14.c4 Bg7, when "Black has a rather comfortable position", as in Ekebjaerg-Alcantara Soares, corr. 1989. More combative is 2...d5 3. e5, when Black can choose among 3...d4, 3...Nfd7 (transposing to the SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
variation of the French DefenceFrench DefenceThe French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
after 4.d4 e6, but 4.e6!? is a sharp alternative), 3...Ne4!?, and even 3...Ng8. While most grandmasters play the mainline 2.e5, Jonny HectorJonny HectorJonny Hector is a Swedish chess grandmaster.Born in Malmö, Sweden, Hector has lived in Denmark for many years. He learned chess at the relatively late age of 14, but quickly became a very strong player...
regularly plays 2.Nc3 against the Alekhine, has scored well against the 2...d5 variation, and his ideas have left White with a theoretical edge. Textbook authors of the Alekhine Defence, including Davies, Cox, and Taylor, have therefore encouraged 2...e5 over 2...d5. - 2.d3 (the Maroczy Variation) is less common. Although playable, 2.d3 blocks in White's light-squared bishop, so the variation is considered somewhat passive. If White fianchettoes that bishop, transposition to a King's Indian AttackKing's Indian AttackThe King's Indian Attack , also known as the Barcza System , is a chess opening system for White, most notably used by Bobby Fischer. Its typical formation is shown in the diagram to the right....
is likely. Lev AlburtLev AlburtLev Osipovich Alburt is a chess Grandmaster and a well-respected chess writer. He was three-time Ukrainian Champion, and after defecting to the United States in 1979, became three-time U.S. Champion.-Career:...
and Eric SchillerEric SchillerEric Schiller is an American chess player, trainer, arbiter and one of the most prolific authors of books on chess in the 20th century.-Early life and education:...
call 2.d3 "insipid" and recommend 2...d5 (or 3.Nd2 e5 with a reversed Philidor's Defence) 3.e5 Nfd7 4.f4 (4.d4 c5 5.c3 Nc6 leaves Black a tempo up on the French DefenceFrench DefenceThe French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
) c5 5.Nf3 e6 6.g3!? Nc6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 b5 with equality. - 2.Bc4 is rarely seen, since it allows Black to gain the bishop pair and seize space in the center. Alburt and Schiller write that after 2...Nxe4 3.Bxf7+ Kxf7 4.Qh5+ Kg8 or 4...g6 5.Qd5+ e6 6.Qxe4 Bg7 7.Qf4 Ke8! "Black has nothing to worry about." If Black does not want his king to be chased about, playable alternatives are 2...e5 (transposing to the Bishop's OpeningBishop's OpeningThe Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing his d-pawn to d5....
), 2...d5 and 2...e6. - 2.f3 is also rare, but players who like to play the Black side of the Latvian GambitLatvian GambitThe Latvian Gambit is an aggressive but dubious chess opening, which often leads to wild and tricky positions. This opening is uncommon at the top level of over-the-board play, but some correspondence chess players are devoted to it...
can in effect wind up playing this after 1.e4 Nf6 2.f3 e5 3.f4!?.