Alekhine Defence
1.e4 Nf6
A cheeky opening that breaks the rules on purpose. Rather than occupy the centre, Black's knight leaps out to be chased, luring White's pawns ever forward. The dream is that this grand pawn wall becomes overextended – a target, not a fortress – which Black then undermines and dismantles. A sharp, fighting weapon for counter-attackers.
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What it does
Black hands White a big pawn centre (often e5 and d4, sometimes c4 and f4 too) on the bet it can be attacked faster than reinforced. The knight bounces f6–d5–b6, drawing the pawns on, while Black develops behind the lines with ...d6, ...g6 and a fianchettoed bishop on the long diagonal. The central battle is everything: White wants space and rolling pawns, Black wants to strike with ...d6 and ...c5 until the centre cracks.
When to use it
Choose it to drag an e4 player out of their comfort zone onto imbalanced ground from move one. It suits counter-attackers happy to give space early and win it back with activity, who prefer concrete lines to symmetrical equality. It is especially handy as a surprise weapon against opponents drilled in Open Game theory but with little prepared against 1...Nf6.
Why it works
A large pawn centre is only an asset if it can be defended and advanced; if it is merely big, it hands Black ready-made targets and open lines once challenged. By provoking the pawns and then hitting them with ...d6 and piece pressure, Black turns apparent strength into weakness. It has held up at the top – Alekhine, Fischer and Korchnoi all used it – because White's most ambitious tries can overreach.
Key ideas
- Provoke White's pawns forward with the dancing knight (f6–d5–b6), making the centre a target.
- Strike the spearhead with ...d6 (and often ...c5) to chip the broad pawn centre apart.
- Fianchetto the king's bishop with ...g6 and ...Bg7 to pressure d4 and e5 down the long diagonal.
- Develop quickly and castle, then attack the overextended pawns with pieces rather than rush.
- Aim for the open files and squares that appear once White's centre is exchanged or undermined.
- Stay alert against the Four Pawns Attack – meet maximum space with timely central breaks.
Watch out
In the Four Pawns Attack (4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5), Black must avoid the careless 6...Nc6?, when 7.Be3 followed by d5 hands White a crushing space bind. The wider pitfall is greed: grabbing pawns or trading carelessly without finishing development, after which White's centre simply rolls forward and steamrolls you.