Alekhine's Defence: Two Pawns Attack
The two-pawn wedge: space at all costs in the sharpest Alekhine lines.
Few openings have shaped modern chess as much as Alekhine's Defence: Two Pawns Attack. It has decided world championships, club trophies and late-night blitz games alike.
After 4.Nf3 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.
This is a branch of the Alekhine's Defence. If you are new to the system, start with the parent guide and return here when you want to go one move deeper.
The moves
After 4. Nf3 — Alekhine's Defence: Two Pawns Attack 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 active
Knight 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 — 7 plies, black to move.
Strategic ideas
Ideas for White
Grab space and hold it: the Four Pawns or Chase variations push Black back — but every pawn move is a target.
Ideas for Black
Harass the centre with ...c5, ...dxe5 and ...with precise ...c5/...Bg7 timing and piece pressure on d4/e5.
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
After 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3, careless ...invites the d5-knight's exposure.
How to Play Against the Two Pawns Attack
- 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.
Masters & history
Study plan & who it's for
Advanced material. Concrete move orders, deep tactical motifs and razor-thin theory mean this rewards Black players who are 1800+ and willing to do homework.
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.