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Alekhine’s Defense: 3 quick facts

  • Alekhine’s Defense, named for the fourth World Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine, is a flexible, counterattacking hypermodern opening for Black. While sound, it’s a rare choice for grandmasters.
  • It breaks several standard opening principles, such as not moving the same piece more than once and controlling the center with pawns. Because of its unusual ideas, it’s generally a better choice for intermediate to advanced players.
  • This opening often leads to open, imbalanced, and active positions.

Alekhine’s Defense: The moves

Here are the moves for Alekhine’s Defense:

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1. e4 Nf6

A gif showing the opening moves for the Alekhine’s Defense: 1. White’s e-pawn moves to e4 and Black’s knight moves to f6.

Challenge opening principles

For more advanced players who want to surprise their opponents with an offbeat, dynamic answer to 1. e4, Alekhine’s Defense is well worth exploring.

If you’re looking for more openings, check out our guide featuring over 30 options for every skill level!