Winawer Variation, Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit

The Alekhine-Maróczy Gambit answers the Winawer pin with 4. Ne2. White neither closes the center with e5 nor defends e4 with a piece, and instead leaves the pawn to be taken. The knight on e2 covers c3, so a later a3 can force ...Bxc3 and let White recapture with the knight. That keeps the queenside pawns intact, avoiding the doubled c-pawns typical of the main lines. In return for the pawn, White gets easier development, the bishop pair once the exchange on c3 happens, and open lines for an initiative. Black's task is to keep the extra material while getting the kingside pieces out and the king safe.

Accepting with 4...dxe4 is the usual reply, chosen in about half of the games. Black can also decline. 4...Nf6 is the next most common choice, while the immediate counterstrike 4...c5 is rarer and has scored poorly for Black in online play. The engine regards the position as roughly balanced, and White scores somewhat better than Black in the Lichess database. The gambit is an uncommon sideline beside 4. e5.