Alekhine’s Defense: Is It Right For You?

An Offbeat Opening Against The King’s Pawn Opening

Alekhine’s Defense is an opening choice which Black can play against 1. e4, characterized by Black replying with 1. …Nf6. Named after the fourth world chess champion Alexander Alekhine. The move was introduced by him at an important tournament in Budapest in 1921. Back then, it must have been quite a surprise for Alekhine’s opponents to face this highly provocative knight move. However today it has gained a following and a body of opening theory all of its own.

However, Alekhine’s Defense remains rather rare. It seems highly implausible at first. The main line sees White make the obvious advance 2. e5, attacking the knight and compelling Black to move it - most commonly to d5. In many lines, White will also play c4 at some point, which forces Black’s knight to move yet again.

By allowing all these pawn advances by White with tempo. The opening breaks two of the most important dictums that beginners are taught about the opening phase of chess:

• Do not move any piece more than once in the opening, and;
• Control the center

To illustrate, here is a typical position which arose from a game that began with Alekhine’s Defense. After just five moves, Black has moved the same knight three times (first from g8 to f6, then from f6 to d5, and finally from d5 to b6), and ceded complete control of the center to White’s pawns occupying e5, d4 and c4.

What then is the idea for Black? Black will try to prove that White’s pawn center is overextended. With the inclusion of the important move d6. Black prepares to play dxe5 at the right moment, chipping away at White’s center. Then, with the center broken apart, Black later hopes to begin a counterattack.

This is a rather advanced way of playing chess, and this makes the opening an unsuitable opening choice for beginners.

Advantages of Alekhine’s Defense

Though Alekine’s Defense no longer has the shock value that it had when Alexander Alekhine himself first played it over 100 years ago. It is still one of Black’s more unusual replies to the King’s Pawn Opening. The lichess.org database suggests that at master level, Alekhine’s Defense is only played around 2% of the time against 1. e4.

Consequently, your opponent with the White pieces will not have so much experience playing against Alekhine’s Defense. Compared to the more common choices that they see and play against all the time. Most likely, they will have spent the bulk of their opening preparation getting ready for the Sicilian Defense, Symmetrical King’s Pawn Game, French Defense and Caro-Kann. You may therefore be able to steer the game into territory you are more familiar with than White is.

It is also worth noting that some White players try to meet it in a very aggressive way. They assume that the opening is no good, and try to prove it by trying to push Black off the board - an approach which can backfire on White. Black needs to be ready for a tactical melee from the outset.

Cons of Alekhine’s Defense

The fact that just 2% of players at master level play Alekhine’s Defense may lead you to ask: why is that?

To put it bluntly, the reason that Alekhine’s Defense is less popular than alternative opening systems is because it scores worse for Black than the alternatives.

According to the lichess.org database, it results in 37% of games finishing as wins for White at master level. Compare that to the 32% and 30% win rate for White in the Sicilian Defense and Symmetrical King’s Pawn Opening, respectively. That’s bad news if you’re playing with the Black pieces.

Alekhine’s Defense is quite a tricky opening system to play - particularly if the player lacks experience. “Breaking apart White’s center” may be Black’s goal, but of course it’s easier said than done. If Black fails to combat White’s natural space advantage, then life becomes very difficult, very quickly. In addition, Black also often finds themselves behind in development when playing Alekhine’s Defense.

Also, Black must be wary of relying too much on the element of surprise. Yes, your opponents will not have the same level of experience playing against it as they do against the more popular opening systems, but any serious player who plays 1. e4 with White will have done some work on Alekhine’s Defense and have their way of meeting it. So do not fall into the trap of thinking that you get to “avoid” opening study by playing Alekhine’s Defense.

How To Start Playing

If this article has piqued your interest and you want to give Alekhine’s Defense a try, here are our top tips for getting started:

Watch a short video course on Alekhine’s Defense

There is an ocean of free content which purports to explain Alekhine’s Defense - just type it into the search box and see for yourself. However, we instead recommend the free chessable course on Alekhine’s Defense published by NM Bryan Tillis. It includes around 40 minutes of video and enough trainable lines to give the viewer enough of an idea to dive in and start getting their hands dirty. The course also serves as a preview of the author’s longer (paid) course, so if you like what you see, you have the option to continue your education in greater depth.

Play Alekhine’s Defense in casual online blitz games

Online blitz is a great way to get a lot of opening practice very quickly. If you are new to the opening, we recommend playing unrated games. This way you can learn without risking your hard-earned rating points in an opening which is still new to you. After just a few hours, you can have a collection of many Alekhine’s Defense games. By facing a variety of opponents, you will gain exposure to lots of different ways White can play. Don’t forget to study your games afterwards and look for improvements!

Read an opening book on the Alekhine’s Defense

Once you have gained some initial experience with Alekhine’s Defense (and assuming you are encouraged enough to continue with it!). The next step is to invest in a good book. Alekhine Defense - A Complete Guide by Maxim Chetvernik and Nikolay Kalinichenko is an excellent option. The introductory chapters give enough to help newcomers to Alekhine’s Defense without getting overwhelmed. However the later chapters contain plenty of material. Especially for those motivated enough to dive deeper and gain real mastery of this opening. Click here to check it out.

Final Thoughts

For the serious club player or tournament player, adding an “unusual” opening to your arsenal (such as Alekhine’s Defense) makes it harder for your opponents to do their opening preparation. If they can see enough evidence in their research that Alekhine’s Defense is something that you have been known to play with Black. Then they may dedicate some of their valuable opening preparation time getting ready for it. Even if that is not how you intend to begin the game. By keeping your opponent guessing, you make it harder for them to do deep, focused preparation pre-game.

Remember that there is no “best” opening for Black against the King’s Pawn Opening. If there were, then everyone would play it! Instead, there are different styles that suit different types of players. As we said earlier, Alekhine’s Defense is one where the game becomes unbalanced immediately, favoring players who thrive in complications. If that sounds like you, then Alekhine’s Defense is well worth considering adding to your repertoire.