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Encyclopedia > Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence
Moves 1.e4 Nf6
ECO B02-B05
Origin Alexander Alekhine, Budapest, 1921
Named after Alexander Alekhine
Parent King's Pawn Game
Chessgames.com opening explorer

Alekhine's Defence is a chess opening beginning with the moves Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) is a book collection (now also a computer database) describing chess openings. ... Alexander Alekhine Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled Aljechin or Alechin) (IPA: ; Russian: ; other members of his family pronounce it , French: Alexandre Alekhine) (October 31 or November 1, 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian-born naturalized French chess grandmaster (officially naturalized in 1927 only three days before the World Champion... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Alexander Alekhine Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled Aljechin or Alechin) (IPA: ; Russian: ; other members of his family pronounce it , French: Alexandre Alekhine) (October 31 or November 1, 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian-born naturalized French chess grandmaster (officially naturalized in 1927 only three days before the World Champion... The term Kings Pawn Game refers to any chess opening where White opens with 1. ... A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ...

1.e4 Nf6

Alekhine's Defence is named after Alexander Alekhine who first used it in two games in the 1921 Budapest tournament: one against Endre Steiner (which he won) and the other against Fritz Sämisch (which he drew). Another early exponent of the defence was Ernst Grünfeld. Its popularity waxes and wanes, and currently is not very common. Its current highest rated proponent is Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, although Grandmaster Lev Alburt has done much to promote it. The opening is considered hypermodern because Black provokes White to attack Black's knight and occupy the centre with his pawns, hoping to prove that White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre (which often includes pawns on c4, d4, e5, and f4) is in fact weak. Alexander Alekhine Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (sometimes spelled Aljechin or Alechin) (IPA: ; Russian: ; other members of his family pronounce it , French: Alexandre Alekhine) (October 31 or November 1, 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian-born naturalized French chess grandmaster (officially naturalized in 1927 only three days before the World Champion... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ... Endre (Andreas) Steiner (born 27 June 1901 – died 29 December 1944) Endre Steiner played for Hungary in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads. ... Friedrich Sämisch (September 20, 1896, Berlin–August 16, 1975, Berlin) was a German chess grandmaster. ... Ernst Franz Grünfeld (November 21, 1893 – April 3, 1962), chess player specializing in opening theory and author, was for a brief period after the First World War one of the strongest chess players in the world. ... Vassily Ivanchuk (Васи́лий Ива́нчук), born March 18, 1969 in Berejiany, Ukraine, is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. ... Lev Osipovich Alburt (b. ... The Queens Indian Defence is a hypermodern opening Hypermodernism is a school of chess thought which advocates controlling the centre of the board with distant pieces rather than with pawns, thus inviting the opponent to occupy the centre with pawns which can then become objects of attack. ...

Contents

Main Variations

Three main variations of Alekhine's Defense 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...d6 4.c4 Nb6 exd6. White has some space advantage. Black can capitalize on the half-open center with ...g6, ...Bg7 with ...Bg4 eventually being played. The Four Pawns Attack continues 3...d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4. White has a somewhat larger space advantage though the center 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 center. Minor variations include O'Sullivan's Gambit: 3...b5 and 3...d6 4.Bc4, Balogh Variation, usually combined with a kingside fianchetto. This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... In chess the fianchetto (Italian little flanking) 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. ...


Four Pawns Attack

1.e4 Nf6
2.e5 Nd5
3.d4 d6
4.c4 Nb6
5.f4

The Four Pawns Attack is White's most ambitious try, and the variation which perhaps illustrates the basic idea of the defence best: Black will allow 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, not because it is weak, but 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. However, an alternative line, the Planinc Variation, sees Black continue 5. ...g5!?, aiming to completely undermine the White centre by means of provoking 6. fxg5? dxe5 leaving White with problems. 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. Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... The knight moves in an L shape. ... The title International Grandmaster is awarded to superb chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. It is a lifetime title, in chess literature usually abbreviated as GM or IGM (this is in contrast to WGM for Woman Grandmaster and IM for International Master). ...


Exchange Variation

1.e4 Nf6
2.e5 Nd5
3.d4 d6
4.c4 Nb6
5.exd6

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.
Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ...


Modern Variation

1.e4 Nf6
2.e5 Nd5
3.d4 d6
4.Nf3

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: Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ...

  • 4...Bg4, pinning the knight is the most common response, and White usually follows up 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 opening include Lev Alburt, Vlatko Kovačević and Vladimir Bagirov.
  • 4...g6, preparing to fianchetto a bishop in the fight over the centre is also a common response. This variation was played in the thirteenth game of the Match of the Century between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. (The nineteenth game of the same match featured the more common 4...Bg4.) Lev Alburt has played this line frequently. White's reply 5.Bc4, the Keres Variation.
  • 4...dxe5 (the Larsen Variation) is another possibility which can lead to the sharp sacrificial line 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxf7!?. Bent Larsen used it in games with Mikhail Tal and Bobby Fischer.
  • 4...c6 is along the lines of the Hedgehog Defence creating a difficult to attack position.

In most variations, Black can play ...Bg4 to transpose into the 4... Bg4 line.
Here there is an absolute pin on the black knight because moving it would illegally expose the black king to check from the white bishop. ... This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. ... Lev Osipovich Alburt (b. ... Vlatko (Vladimir, Vlado) Kovačević (born 26 March 1942) is a Croatian grandmaster of chess. ... Vladimir Bagirov (born Baku, August 16, 1936; died Finland, July 21, 2000) was a Soviet-Azerbaijani-Latvian Grandmaster of chess, a chess author, and a chess trainer. ... In chess the fianchetto (Italian little flanking) 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. ... The World Chess Championship match between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavík, 1972, has been dubbed the Match of the Century. ... Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij) (Russian: ) (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess player and former world champion. ... Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster who in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ... Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... Bent Larsen Bent Larsen (born March 4, 1935) is a Danish chess player. ... Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: ) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ... In chess, the Hedgehog Defence is a variant of the Queens Indian Defense. ... In music, transposition is moving a note or collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval. ...


Two Pawns Attack

1.e4 Nf6
2.e5 Nd5
3.c4 Nb6
4.c5

The Two Pawns Attack (also known as the Lasker Attack) 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.
Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ...


Two Knights Variation

1.e4 Nf6
2.e5 Nd5
3.Nc3

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 Defense 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 defense.
Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links This image is used in the standard chess diagram template. ... Image File history File links Chess_zver_22. ... Image File history File links Chess_zhor_22. ... In chess, doubled pawns are two pawns of the same player residing on the same file. ...


Other lines

White can defend the e-pawn instead of playing 2.e5:

  • 2.Nc3 is a common move, often played by amateurs. Black can play 2...e5, transposing to the Vienna Game; 2...d6 with a likely transposition to the Pirc Defence; or the more ambitious 2...d5. White usually meets 2...d5 with 3.e5, when Black can choose among 3...d4, 3...Nfd7 (transposing to the Steinitz variation of the French Defence after 4.d4 e6, but 4.e6!? is a sharp alternative), 3...Ne4!?, and even 3...Ng8.
  • 2.d3 is rarer. Although not losing, this move 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 Attack is likely.

A transposition in chess is a position on the board that can be reached by the same piece in more than one way. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Pirc Defence, sometimes known as the Ufimtsev Defence, is a chess opening characterised by Black responding to 1. ... Wilhelm (later William) Steinitz (May 17, 1836, Prague–August 12, 1900, New York) was a Jewish-Austrian-American chess player and the first official world chess champion. ... The French Defence. ... In chess, the Kings Indian Attack (KIA) is an opening setup of moves typically characterized by the setup in the diagram. ...

Other variations named after Alekhine

A dangerous gambit arises after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4. White makes it unattractive for Black to castle kingside and hopes to blow him/her away in the centre. It is quite popular, though not on the highest level.


Somewhat offbeat is the Alehine Variation of the Dutch: 1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 Ne4.


Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings has four codes for the Alekhine Defence, B02 through B05. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) is a book collection (now also a computer database) describing chess openings. ...

  • B02: 1.e4 Nf6
  • B03: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 (this includes 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)
Wikibooks has more about this subject:

Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ...

References

Walter Korn (b. ... Nick de Firmian (born July 26, 1957), is a chess grandmaster and three time U.S. chess champion, winning in 1987, 1995, and 1999. ... Modern Chess Openings (usually called MCO) is an important book of chess openings. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Chess opening - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (5115 words)
The Pirc and the Modern are also commonly seen, while the Alekhine and the Center Counter have made occasional appearances in World Chess Championship games.
Alekhine's, the Pirc and the Modern are hypermodern openings in which Black tempts White to build a large center with the goal of attacking it with pieces.
Adopted for a time by World Champions Alekhine and Botvinnik, it is still played occasionally at the top level by Short and others.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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