Alekhine Defence
Poke the e4-pawn with your knight on move one and let White chase it: every pawn they push forward is a pawn they have to defend later. You get the same few moves in almost every game, and opponents under 1200 either play too calmly and hand you an easy position or push too much and hand you targets.
Spar this openingYour setup
- Knightb6 / d5
- Bishopg7
- Knightc6 / d7
- Bishopg4 / f5 / e6
- Queend8 / c7 / d7
- Pawnsd6 g6
- CastleO-O
d6 before e6. Hit the front of the chain with ...d6 before you ever play ...e6. If ...e6 comes first your light bishop is walled in and White's centre stands unchallenged, which is the opposite of the whole opening.
d6 before c5. ...d6 attacks e5 and can never be kicked. ...c5 on its own lets White answer c4 and d5, chasing your knight again with the centre still intact.
Ideas
Let the pawns come forward. Then hit them with ...d6, ...Nc6 and the g7-bishop.
A big pawn centre is only strong if it can be held. White spends moves on e5, d4 and c4; you spend the same moves on pieces that attack those pawns. When the pawns need more defenders than White has developed, they fall or White's pieces become passive holding them.
e5 hits it: go to d5. c4 hits it: go to b6. Never home to g8.
From b6 the knight eyes c4 and d5 and is out of the way of your pawns. It costs White two pawn moves to put it there, and both of those pawns now need looking after.
...d6 attacks e5 at once. Everything else waits until it is played.
The e5-pawn is the tip of White's centre and the one piece of it you can attack with a pawn. ...d6 forces White to decide now: defend it with Nf3 or f4, trade it with exd6, or let it go. Whatever they choose, you have a clear plan.
After f4, play ...dxe5, ...Nc6 and ...Bg4 fast. d4 is the target.
White has spent four moves on pawns and none on pieces. After ...dxe5 fxe5 the d4-pawn is attacked by your knight and queen down the open d-file, and ...Bg4 pins the knight that would defend it. White must spend the next moves holding d4, which is exactly the trade you wanted.
A knight on e5 and a queen that can reach h5 means Nxf7 tricks. Play ...g6, never ...Nd7.
Once White's knight sits on e5 the sacrifice Nxf7 followed by Qh5+ is in the air. ...g6 takes h5 away and prepares the bishop; ...Nd7 blocks your own bishop's defence and walks straight into it. Develop the kingside first, then challenge the knight.
When a bishop lands on c4 aiming at d5, play ...Nb6 and make it move again.
The bishop on c4 attacks your knight and looks at f7. ...Nb6 hits it straight back, and after Bb3 your knight is on its best square anyway. You have lost nothing and White has spent two moves on one bishop.
Castle, then pick the target: d4 if it is loose, e5 if it is. Trade pieces that defend them.
The middlegame is a siege. Count attackers and defenders on d4 and e5, add an attacker where you can (...Nc6, ...Bg4, ...Qc7, rooks to the d- and c-files), and break with ...c5 when the pieces are behind it. If White plays quietly you have equalised with no weaknesses; do not rush.
The structure
Traps
The tell: White's knight sits on e5 and you feel like challenging it with ...Nd7. The queen can reach h5.
...Nd7 blocks your bishop's route and leaves f7 attacked. Nxf7 Kxf7 Qh5+ drags your king out; after ...g6 Qxd5+ you are a pawn down with a king that can never castle. Play ...g6 first and the whole thing disappears.
The tell: White has pushed four pawns and reaches for the d-pawn to recapture on e5 without looking at the d-file.
With the d-file open, dxe5 lets you trade queens on d1 with check. White's king is stuck in the centre, castling is gone, and the e5-pawn has no defenders while your pieces come out hitting it. Not a material win yet, but an endgame you will enjoy.
The tell: The d-file is open, your knight lands on c6, and White develops without adding a defender to d4.
Your knight and queen both attack d4 and only White's queen defends it. Nxd4 wins the pawn: Qxd4 is answered by ...Qxd4 and there is nothing to recapture. Be3 or Nf3 would have held it; a natural developing move did not.
Model games
White develops sensibly and you match it: ...dxe5, ...g6, ...Bg7, castle. Then ...Nb6 and ...Nc6 hit the centre and the c4-pawn, and you have a comfortable game with no weaknesses.
White pushes four pawns and you answer with pieces: ...dxe5 opens the d-file, ...Nc6 and ...Bg4 pile onto d4, and every White move for the rest of the opening goes to holding it.
White trades on d6 and the tension is gone. Recapture with the e-pawn, develop everything to natural squares, castle, and get the light bishop out. Level and easy.
How the coach grades a move
Every move you play gets one of six grades, from the engine’s view of the position, with the book’s verdict taking over when it is harsher. The sentence beside it is always the reason. Tap it for what the move did, why this opening wants it, and whether anything was better.
- Best
- Nothing better was available.
- Good
- Within a few percent of best. Noise at this depth.
- Playable
- A small real gap. The better move is named, play goes on.
- Inaccuracy
- Seven to twelve points of winning chances. The game stops to show you.
- Mistake
- Twelve or more, or a move the book warns against, or a broken order rule.
- Blunder
- Twenty-five or more. Usually material.
Catalogued as B02–B05 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the reference index most databases sort by.