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Train this openingAbout this opening
Black invites you to chase the knight with pawns, hoping the center you build becomes overextended and falls later. It is a provocation, and the practical question is how far you should go. e5 is the critical answer, gaining time and space at once. Nc3 is the most played move here and it is the modest one, simply defending the pawn and refusing the invitation entirely. The choice is genuinely about temperament: chase the knight and you get space with something to defend, or decline and you get a normal game where Black has spent an early move on a piece that must move again.
Plans
- Play e5 to gain space and force the knight to move again.
- Play Nc3 to defend and decline the provocation.
- Build with d4 and c4 only if you can hold the center.
- Develop before pushing further, so the pawns have support.
Where the pieces belong
- Pawn: e5, gaining time on the knight
- Pawn: d4, the second pawn in the big center
- Knight: c3, the quiet way to hold e4
- Knight: f3, covering the squares the center leaves loose
- Bishop: e2, modest and ready to castle
If you keep the big center you are better, and if it cracks you are worse. Every pawn push should be supported by a piece before you make it.
Variations
Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation
2. e5 Ng8
Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe
2. e5 Ne4
Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation
2. e5 Nd5