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Alekhine's Defense

1.e4 Nf6

Black attacks e4 with 1...Nf6 at once, inviting White's pawns forward so they can be attacked later.

Fun fact: Bobby Fischer played Alekhine's Defense twice against Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Championship, in games 13 and 19. Source

Practice this opening

The idea

With 1...Nf6, Black attacks e4 and dares White to chase the knight. After 2.e5 Nd5, White can push more pawns with tempo, building a big center. Black's idea is hypermodern: the advanced pawns become targets, attacked with ...d6, ...Bg4, ...Nc6 and ...g6.

White can also decline the invitation with 2.Nc3, which allows the Scandinavian Variation with 2...d5.

Plans for White

Gain space with e5 and d4, and decide how far to go: the solid Modern Variation with Nf3, the Exchange Variation with c4 and exd6, or the Four Pawns Attack with c4 and f4. White's center gives a lasting space advantage if it holds.

Plans for Black

Chase the e5 pawn with ...d6, develop with ...Bg4 or ...g6, ...Nc6 and ...e6, and pressure d4. Black must play vigorously: Wikipedia warns that against the Four Pawns Attack, passive play will be crushed by the white center.

Watch out for

For Black, the knight. It moves several times early, so Black is behind in development, and careless moves like ...dxe5 at the wrong moment can open the f7 square to Bxf7+ (the 2.e5 page shows a trap).

For White, overextending. Each pawn advance gains space but leaves squares behind, and if Black's pieces arrive before White's, the center can collapse.

History

Alexander Alekhine introduced it at the 1921 Budapest tournament, in games against Endre Steiner and Fritz Sämisch. Viktor Korchnoi's use of it helped give it a respectable reputation, and Lev Alburt and Vladimir Bagirov are among its champions. Magnus Carlsen used it to beat Veselin Topalov at Linares 2008.

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