Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...Nf6/2. e5/2...Nd5/3. d4/3...d6/4. Nf3

Alekhine's Defence
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p4/3nP3/3P4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b
Moves: 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3

Alekhine's Defence : Modern Variation

Black still lacks space. He must at all cost avoid a passive play which would allow White to crush him quickly.

Three options are playable :

4...Bg4 reduces White's control over the center. Black often accepts to break his bishop pair and takes the knight.

4...g6 prepares king's bishop fianchetto.

4...dxe5 is sometimes seen. It frees space for Black but leaves him with no weapons to counter White's advance in development. Moreover, this move seems to be out of the "spirit" of the opening.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

'1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3'

	4
	... Bg4	=
	... g6	=
	... dxe5	+/=

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.