What is the idea behind the Alekhine's Defence?

Offer the knight as bait and let White's centre chase it into overextension. In practice that means: Provoke White's pawns forward with a knight that keeps getting kicked; Treat every tempo White gains as another overextended pawn to attack later; Undermine the big centre with …d6, …c6 and …exd5 rather than occupying it.

Is the Alekhine's Defence good for beginners?

It is rated Intermediate here: the plans are quick to pick up, but a few moves have to be played accurately to get the position you want.

What are the plans after the Alekhine's Defence?

White: Build the Four Pawns Attack with c4, d4, e5 and f4 if you're confident the centre holds. Black: Undermine with …d6, …c6 and …f6 — the pawns are only strong until they're attacked.

All chess openings

Alekhine's Defence

B04 · Played as black · Intermediate · Other Black Defences

Offer the knight as bait and let White's centre chase it into overextension

Also known as Alekhine Defence, Modern Variation Alekhine, Nf6 defence.

The main line

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Be2 Bf5 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nf3 e6 9.c4 N5f6

Strategic ideas

Provoke White's pawns forward with a knight that keeps getting kicked
Treat every tempo White gains as another overextended pawn to attack later
Undermine the big centre with …d6, …c6 and …exd5 rather than occupying it
Trade off White's e5 spearhead and leave the advanced pawns weak
Play the ultimate hypermodern provocation — Alekhine's own contribution to opening theory

Key themes

Counterattack — Black's knight offers itself as a target so White's pawns advance too far to be defended
Dynamic — Black is cramped and behind — only accurate, active undermining keeps the position alive
Flexible — The knight reroutes to b6, f6 or f4 depending on how far White has committed

Typical plans

Alekhine's Defence takes hypermodern logic to its logical extreme: Black moves one knight four times in the opening, purely to drag White's pawns forward. Every tempo White gains comes with a pawn advance, and by move six White's centre is enormous and increasingly hard to defend. Then Black starts hitting it with …d6, …c6 and …exd5. If the centre holds, Black is simply squashed. If it cracks, White has four weak pawns and nothing to show for them.

Move by move

e4 — White claims the centre.
Nf6 — Black develops the knight and attacks e4 immediately — offering the knight as a target rather than fighting for the centre with pawns.
e5 — White pushes past with tempo, gaining space and kicking the knight.
Nd5 — Black steps aside to the centre, ready to be kicked again. Every tempo White gains costs a pawn move.
d4 — White builds the big centre.
d6 — Black hits the e5-pawn, the head of the chain — the undermining starts immediately.
Nf3 — White develops and defends e5. The alternative c4 and f4 leads to the Four Pawns Attack, where the centre gets truly enormous.
dxe5 — Black trades, refusing to let the pawn cramp the position any longer.
Nxe5 — White recaptures with the knight, keeping a piece on the strong central square.
c6 — Black shores up d5 and takes b5 away, giving the knight a permanent home.
Be2 — White develops modestly and prepares to castle.
Bf5 — Black gets the bishop out before playing …e6 — the same idea as the Caro-Kann.
O-O — White castles, connecting the rooks.
Nd7 — Black develops and offers the trade of White's strong e5-knight.
Nf3 — White retreats rather than trade, keeping the pieces on.
e6 — Black closes the diagonal, having already solved the bishop problem.
c4 — White gains more space and kicks the knight for the third time.
N5f6 — Black retreats to f6, where the knight is finally settled. It has moved four times — and White's pawns are on c4, d4 and e4, a long way from home and needing constant defence. That's the Alekhine bargain.

Where the line leads

White's plans

Build the Four Pawns Attack with c4, d4, e5 and f4 if you're confident the centre holds
Keep the pawns defensible — the Modern Variation with Nf3 and Be2 is the sensible approach
Use the space to develop freely; Black spends the opening moving one knight around

Black's plans

Undermine with …d6, …c6 and …f6 — the pawns are only strong until they're attacked
Reroute the knight to b6 or f6 where it's safe and useful, not just running away
Trade off White's e5-pawn; it's the head of the chain and the piece that cramps everything