03 Feb 07
Originally posted by TideriusThe Alekhine Defense is an old standard, one of the hypermodern openings. It lacks the solid reputation of the Sicilian, French, and Caro-Kann defenses, or even the reliability of openings following after 1...e5.
An explanation would be nice, if you'd be so kind.
In short, no. It is a terrible choice for beginners.
Nevertheless, it can be dangerous in the hands of a strong tactician that also understands positional play.
03 Feb 07
The post that was quoted here has been removedThank you. Now that I see its probably a more advanced strategy, I'll probably focus on a more "beginner friendly" opening. However, it seems like a natural move to me, so I may play it every so often.
Thanks for letting me know about this player as well, I'll watch some of his games.
03 Feb 07
Originally posted by WulebgrI can't believe your first response was no! But I do understand why...
Against 1...Nf6, I'll often choose the second most popular move, 2.Nf3.
[fen]rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/8/4P3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2[/fen]
Here black most often plays 2...e5, and now were transposing into lines quite different from Alekhine's defense. Good reason to learn those first before venturing into the main line Alekhine.
I think the Alekhine is an excellent "backup" opening and I use it as that. Against Wulebgr's somewhat annoying 2.Nc3 I play 2...d5 and transpose into Scandinavian lines which don't tend to be theoretical and give black pretty good chances to win, as opposed to going into potential 4 Knight Defense lines.
It is good to have a more solid first choice, but I can tell you from experience that the Sicilian is best suited for 1600+ because you simply won't see book lines often under that (So much 2.Bc4 crap) so you may want to practice the Alekhine, Scandi, French, Caro-Kann, or 1...e5.
03 Feb 07
Originally posted by gaychessplayerNot necessarily though, 2...e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 is the 4 Knights.
Just for grins: 1 e4 Nf6 2 Bc4 Ne4 3 Bf7 Kf7 4 Qh5. White eventually corrals the knight and an interesting game results.
(n.b. 2...e5 is the Bishop's Opening by transposition.)