Alekhine's Defence
Black provokes White's pawns forward with knight hops, then chips away at the overextended centre — hypermodernity at its spikiest.
Alekhine's Defence belongs in every serious player's toolbox: a system with real teeth, clear ideas and a pedigree stretching back decades.
After 5…e6 the position resolves into a fluid centre — one side has staked a central pawn the other must decide how to challenge, so the structure is still being negotiated.
The moves
After 5... e6 — Alekhine's Defence main line
Position breakdown
A factual read of the position after the main line — the files, the centre, the pawn structure and king safety that decide how the middlegame is played. These are computed from the actual board, not generic advice.
Files
Centre control
Fluid centre
The d4/d5/e4/e5 squares — who occupies the centre decides how open the game becomes.
Pawn skeleton
Pawns only — the structure that explains every open file and majority at a glance.
Material level
Queenside pawns 3–3
Kingside pawns 3–3
Development
Knight & light-squared bishop active
Knight & light-squared bishop active
King safety
White king e1
Uncastled — take care
Black king e8
Uncastled — take care
Computed from the final position of the main line above — 10 plies, white to move.
Strategic ideas
Ideas for White
White aims for harmonious development, central control and well-timed pawn breaks.
Ideas for Black
Black targets the centre with counterplay, seizes outposts and strikes with the thematic pawn breaks.
Main variations (8)
Four Pawns Attack
B03White's maximalist answer: four pawns race forward as Black hunts the centre.
Chase Variation
B02The Chase: the c-pawn hunts the knight — spatial gain versus loose squares.
Chase, Main Line
B02The Bc4 development against the cornered knight — direct and forcing.
Modern Variation
B04The modern main line: the fianchetto with precise knight-retreat timing.
Exchange Variation
B02The solid development setup — transpositional chess in the Alekhine.
Two Pawns Attack
B03The two-pawn wedge: space at all costs in the sharpest Alekhine lines.
Squares Variation
B02The knight-support setup: Nc3 backs the e5 pawn with pure development.
Alekhine, Voronezh Setup
B02The early trade: solid structure first, counterattack later.
Plans & pawn structures
- 1The centre is still fluid: decide early whether to lock it with a pawn advance or dissolve it with an exchange, because that choice picks the whole middlegame plan for you.
- 2Watch the pawn breaks — both yours and your opponent's. In these structures the player who times the central break better usually wins the game.
Typical middlegame structures
The main line leads to a fluid centre — one side has staked a central pawn the other must decide how to challenge, so the structure is still being negotiated. No files have opened yet, so this is a manoeuvring struggle: improve your pieces and prepare the pawn break that will open the position on your terms.
Traps & tactical motifs
Every sharp opening has its traps — study the forcing lines around the centre and the f7/f2 squares before playing this in rated games.
Watch the typical motifs: pins against the pinned piece, knight forks after the natural captures, and queen sorties to a2/g2-style squares.
How to Play Against the Alekhine's Defence
- As White, strike at the fluid centre immediately with your own central pawn or piece pressure, before the opponent locks it into a shape that favours them.
Study plan & who it's for
Expect to invest a weekend or two into the main lines. In return you get a fighting system that scales all the way to master level for Black players.
Play through the main line above until the piece setup feels natural.
Learn the two or three critical pawn breaks for both sides.
Drill one variation at a time — always connecting moves to plans.