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- ALEKHINE'S DEFENCE
-
- This is one of the most provocative defences to 1.e4. Black lures the white
- pawns forward with the hope of eventually counterattcking the weakened white
- position.
-
- White may aggressively gain space with the aggressive four pawns attack
- ,but black gains a lead in development and should hold his own.
-
- A sample line is 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6
- 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nc3 e6
-
- White can continue aggressively with an early d5, but black has
- counterattacking chances.
-
- Alternatively, White can continue developing, in which case Black can do
- likewise and put pressure on d4.
-
- Another aggressive line is the Two pawns attack in which White attacks
- black's knight no less than 4 times in sucession.
- In one line Black can win a pawn in exchange for a cramped game.
-
- A sample line is 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.Nc3 Nxc3
- 7.bxc3 Bxc5 8.Qg4
-
- Very often the black knight on d5 is driven back by c4 to b6 where it is
- not so strong on the edge of the board, but at least attacks the pawn on
- c4.
-
- White may play in a more restrained position manner with 3.Nf3, but black
- still can gain counterplay. Black usually plays d6 followed by Bg4 to pin
- the white knight and put pressure on the centre. This is often followed by
- e6 and Nc6.
-
- Black will often strike in the centre with d5 at the right moment followed
- by putting pressure on white's pawn at d4.
-
- White can release the pressure on e5 by exchanging the epawn for the black
- pawn on d6. Black sometimes has the choice between exd6, which allows for
- speedy development of his king bishop, or cxd6 capturing towards the
- centre.
-
- In some lines Black can fianchetto his king bishop, though doing so in
- some positions will lead to a cramped game.
-
- White can play Bc4 instead of c4. Black often has the choice of whether to
- defend the knight or retreat to b6 attacking the bishop.
-
- With 3.Nc3 black can hold his own in the centre, by either exchanging
- knights or by defending his knight with 3...e6 or 3...c6.
-
- White's refusal to advance with 2.e5 may transpose in a Vienna, a Pirc or
- a reversed philidor, and in any case should not lead to any problems for
- Black.
-
- 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 can lead to some uniquely Alekhine positions if black
- answers with 2...d5, rather than 2...e5 (Vienna) or 2...d6(Pirc).
-
- One sample line is 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Bc4
-
- Some interesting lines can occur if white plays 3.e5, e.g.
- 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 Nfd7 4.d4 c5! or
- 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 Nfd7 4.Nxd5 Nxe5 5.Ne3
-
- A reversed Philidor arises after 1.e4 Nf6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 e5
-