Alekhine's Defence arises after 1.e4 Nf6. ECO codes: B02–B05.

History

Named after Alexander Alekhine (1892–1946), the fourth World Chess Champion, who introduced it at the 1921 Budapest tournament in games against Endre Steiner and Fritz Sämisch. The editors of MCO-4 (1925) called it "bizarre" and contrary to classical principles, but it embodies the hypermodern school's philosophy of provoking and then undermining the opponent's centre.

Main Lines & Variations

After 2.e5 Nd5, White's main continuations are:

• 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 – The Modern Variation, the most common at top level.

• 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 – The Four Pawns Attack, White's most aggressive option.

• 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 – The Exchange Variation.

Key Positions

After 1.e4 Nf6 – Black provokes White's pawn to advance.

Strategic Themes & Plans

Black's strategy is to provoke White's pawns forward, creating targets, and then counterattack the overextended centre. As Nick de Firmian notes, "the game immediately loses any sense of symmetry or balance, which makes the opening a good choice for aggressive fighting players." Bobby Fischer used it in his 1972 World Championship match. Modern practitioners include Vassily Ivanchuk, Levon Aronian, and Hikaru Nakamura. Magnus Carlsen has employed it occasionally, notably defeating Veselin Topalov at Linares 2008.