Alekhine Defense

The Alekhine Defense, 1. e4 Nf6, hits the e4-pawn with the king's knight at once and invites White to drive it away with pawn advances. Black does not stake a claim in the center with pawns. Instead Black lets White build a wide pawn front with gain of tempo, and intends to attack it later with pieces and pawn breaks, in line with hypermodern thinking. The price is time and space: the knight moves repeatedly, and passive defense can be overrun. The opening takes its name from Alexander Alekhine, who introduced it at Budapest 1921 against Endre Steiner and Fritz Sämisch, although Allgaier had already examined it in 1819.

The main reply is 2. e5, and after 2...Nd5 (the Normal Variation) White decides how much ground to take. The Modern Variation, 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3, is the most common choice; White settles for moderate space and quick development. Black may pin with 4...Bg4, often surrendering the bishop on f3 to loosen White's hold on d4, or play 4...dxe5 5. Nxe5 c6, an unassuming waiting move that has largely replaced 4...Bg4 in top-level games. In the Exchange Variation, 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6, Black chooses between the sober 5...exd6 and the more ambitious 5...cxd6, which keeps an extra central pawn and targets d4 with ...g6, ...Bg7 and ...Bg4.

The Four Pawns Attack, 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4, is White's most demanding test and the purest expression of the opening's premise. White's center is imposing but fluid, and must be turned to account before Black breaks it with ...f6 or ...c5; the main line runs 5...dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nc3 e6, with Black aiming at d4. The Two Pawns Attack, 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5, also called the Lasker Attack or Chase Variation, gains space but concedes d5 and leads to a more strategic struggle. Lesser lines include the trap-laden Balogh Variation, 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4, and the Sämisch Attack, 3. Nc3.

White can also decline to advance. The second most common reply, 2. Nc3, meets 2...e5 with a transposition to the Vienna Game, while 2...d5 is the Scandinavian Variation. The Krejcik Variation, 2. Bc4, allows 2...Nxe4 3. Bxf7+ Kxf7 4. Qh5+ Kg8 5. Qd5+ e6 6. Qxe4 d5, after which White has recovered the pawn but Black holds the bishop pair and a secure king.

Engines give White a slight edge, while practical results are close to even. The defense was more fashionable in earlier decades: Bobby Fischer used it twice against Boris Spassky in the 1972 world championship match, Viktor Korchnoi played it, and Lev Alburt relied on it almost exclusively. It now appears occasionally at elite level, notably in Magnus Carlsen's win over Veselin Topalov at Linares 2008.