Alekhine Defense

After 2.e5 Nd5, White has space but the e5 pawn is already committed. Black undermines the chain with ...d6, followed by ...c5 or ...f6, while developing pieces that pressure the center from a distance.

White must make the space advantage count before Black dismantles it. The Four Pawns Attack pushes this to the extreme; the Exchange Variation trades space for stability; the Modern Variation keeps things flexible. For Black, timing is everything.

The Alekhine is a strong practical choice for players who want unbalanced positions against 1.e4. It leads to asymmetric pawn structures and unfamiliar middlegames, forcing both sides to calculate rather than rely on routine development.

At club and tournament level, Black's counterplay depends on well-timed pawn breaks, while White must judge whether to advance, hold, or exchange. The games tend to be sharp and decisive, with fewer draws than many mainline defenses.

After 3.d4 d6, the Four Pawns Attack (4.c4 Nb6 5.f4) builds a wall on c4-d4-e5-f4. Black responds with 5...dxe5 6.fxe5 and attacks d4 and e5. The Exchange Variation (5.exd6) leads to a more strategic game where Black gets a central pawn majority.

The Modern Variation (4.Nf3) is the most flexible approach, with Black typically playing 4...g6 or 4...Bg4. Sidelines include the Two Pawns Attack (3.c4 Nb6 4.c5) and the Two Knights Variation (2.Nc3).

The defense is named after Alexander Alekhine, the fourth World Chess Champion, who introduced it at Budapest 1921. He demonstrated that Black could deliberately invite a large White center and then destroy it, shocking a chess world that demanded direct central occupation.

Bobby Fischer used the Alekhine twice against Spassky in the 1972 World Championship match. Viktor Korchnoi, Lev Alburt, Vassily Ivanchuk, Levon Aronian, and Magnus Carlsen have all employed it as a fighting weapon. It remains theoretically sound and practically dangerous.