Interesting Note: Napoléon Bonaparte used this opening, and won, in the oldest known example of this opening that would later become known as Alekhine’s Defense. This can potentially give you an advantage–if you are well-prepared. Since Alekhine’s Defense is a less common opening, there is a fair chance that your opponent won’t have an in-depth understanding of it. This impressive list of famous players gave a seemingly awkward opening a respectable reputation. Top players who made the opening part of their repertoire include Ernst Grünfeld, Bobby Fischer, Victor Korchnoi, Vassily Ivanchuk, Lev Alburt Alexander Shabalov, Levon Aronian, Micky Adams, Hikaru Nakamura and, of course, Alexander Alekhine. The thought behind this strategy is to undermine white’s support of the central pawns. Black will often consider to trade their bishop for the knight because the white knight plays an important role in supporting the advanced centre pawns. In this variation white decides to ovoid overextending his pawns and instead aims to settle for a modest approach, in the hope to more effectively hang on to a smaller spatial advantage.īlack would often continue with 4…Bg4, pinning the knight on f3. The Modern Variation is the most common variation of the Alekhine Defense. Alekhine’s Defense Modern Variationĭiagram above: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 is the Alekhine’s Defense Modern Variation. The most popular variation in Alekhine’s Defense is the Modern Variation. This implies black must act quickly and attack the white central pawns before white manages to effectively support them with their pieces, in which case white will enjoy a strong advantage in the center. Black then intends to attack and undermine these pawns before white can effectively support them. Alekhine’s Defense Theoryīlack’s strategy in the Alekhine’s Defense is to dare white to grab space in the center with attacking pawn moves. When the word “attack” appears in the name, it usually (not always) refers to an opening from white’s point of view. Note: When the word “defense” appears in the name of an opening, it usually refers to an opening from black’s point of view. Black attacks the pawn on e4 and dares white to advance the pawn into black’s territory with 2.e5. He scored 1.5/2 points with it.ĭiagram above: 1.e4 Nf6 is Alekhine’s Defense. The opening is named after Alexander Alekhine, the fourth world champion, who played it in two of his games in a tournament in Budapest, 1921. Check back soon for updates.Īlekhine’s Defense is a hypermodern opening from black’s perspective against 1.e4, the King’s Pawn Game. For easy reference they are listed in alphabetical order:
#Modern chess openings knight pawn free
Get Your Free Copy of the “7-Skills” Training Model Hereīelow is a list of 42 popular chess openings and variations, with a summary of each.It will be a good idea to also study the lesson: 13 Types of Chess Openings.) The Opening is one of the 7 fundamental chess skills you should train. (Note that chess openings can be broadly categorized based on their shared characteristics. Over time, chess players devised unique plans to achieve these objectives–which led to the rise of many openings. The primary objectives of the opening is to control the centre, develop the pieces, get the king safe and achieve a playable middle-game position. It will boost your confidence and help you overcome fear of the opening.
On this page you can study the names and basic ideas of popular chess openings and variations.
For example, the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence can sound pretty unsettling to anyone who never studied it! It is, understandably, a fear of the unknown. Do you feel bad about your lack of opening knowledge? It’s quite intimidating when you hear a chess player casually utter the bizarre name of some obscure chess opening and you feel left in the dark.