Chigorin Defense, Main Line

The main line of the Chigorin Defense arises when White meets 2...Nc6 with 3. Nf3 and Black answers 3...Bg4, pinning the knight that protects d4. With White's e-pawn still on e2, such a pin would ordinarily carry little weight, because the knight could jump to e5 and harass the bishop. Here, however, e5 is controlled by the c6-knight, so the pressure on d4 cannot be shaken off so easily. Black's play revolves around piece activity against the d-pawn rather than a fixed pawn chain.

White's three principal replies occur with almost equal frequency. 4. cxd5 resolves the central tension at once and asks Black to choose a recapture. 4. Nc3 develops and adds another attacker to d5, and 4. e3 reinforces d4 while opening a path for the f1-bishop. The less common 4. Qa4, the Alekhine Variation, pins the c6-knight in return, exploiting the open a4–e8 diagonal. The engine rates the position as a slight edge for White, preferring 4. cxd5, 4. Bg5 and 4. e3, and in practice White scores somewhat better than Black.