Alekhine against 1.e4 and what against 1.d4
Sort:
Hi, i have adopted the Alekhine defense as my main against 1.e4 and i have been successful with it. But for what to play against 1.d4 i still don't know. Do you have any recommendations for what should i try (something similar to the Alekhine), i like the Alekhine because it's solid enough and also people don't really prepare for it as good as i do. I have tried the Mexican Defense which is pretty similar but i don't like it so much. Thanks
The Mexican defense is not really an independent opening as white can transpose to the Nimzo-Indian or the Catalan, both of which have lines with Nc6.
There isn't that much against 1.d4 that's similar to the Alekhine, but if you like the hypermodern idea of allowing white to occupy the centre and then breaking it down, try the Nimzo/Queen's Indian complex. That's the best I can come up with that has some similarity with the Alekhine.
yeah i know it can transpose but there are lines when white push d5 early to drive the knight away like the Alekhine. The Nimzo/Queen's Indian are very good but they are too popular and there are lots of theories in it. If i can't find anything else maybe i go for it though.
Chigorin.
RooksAreCannons wrote:
Mikenas defense
This doesn't look right to me. What's your plan after 1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 b6 3.d5 ? 2...d6 seems more sensible to me
Gruenfeld if you don't mind lots of theory, otherwise Budapest / Blumenfeld gambits.
You could try the Bozo Indian which is an Alekhine on the Queenside. Not very popular and not much written about it which is either good or bad depending on your perspective.
How about the hedgehog? It's pretty solid and gives black lots of options in the middle game. There's lots of theory on it, but actually the main moves can be played automatically like a system (think collet or London for white). It's not seen much these days too so I don't imagine the average player is prepared for it. The only downside, if you can call it that, is that it usually leads to slow maneuvering games unlike, say the Nimzo or kid.
Thanks for all the recommendations. For now, I'll stick with the Alekhine and QGA as I really like unusual but solid openings
LackiLuke wrote:
Thanks for all the recommendations. For now, I'll stick with the Alekhine and QGA as I really like unusual but solid openings
The QGA is not unusual, though.
It's not unusual but equally as less commonplace than Alekhine's is to 1e4. I'd say they'd make a good combination.
Ziggy_Zugzwang wrote:
It's not unusual but equally as less commonplace than Alekhine's is to 1e4. I'd say they'd make a good combination.
Source, please?
I looked at the explorer on chess.com as well as recollections from my own playing over the years of playing both 1d4 and 1e4. Others including yourself can all make your own judgements :-)
Don't sound so wounded, it's only my opinion ffs... :-)
Ziggy_Zugzwang wrote:
I looked at the explorer on chess.com as well as recollections from my own playing over the years of playing both 1d4 and 1e4. Others including yourself can all make your own judgements :-)
Don't sound so wounded, it's only my opinion ffs... :-)
Sorry, but why do I sound 'wounded' when all I do is asking you politely for a source about a statement you made? By saying that you sound rather 'wounded' yourself.
Anyway, for a 1 d4 2 c4 repertoire, the QGA is the 7th most likely opening to meet, with roughly 18,000 games in LiveBook. The Alekhine has about 16,000 games in LiveBook. In that sense, they seem about equal. However, 1 e4 is the most popular move, and after 1...Nf6 (the 8th popular move), you're immediately in an Alekhine, while in order to reach a QGA you'd first need Black to answer 1 d4 with 1...d5, which is much less popular than 1...Nf6. It's quite telling that with that in mind, the QGA still has more games played. Your own games are not relevant, I'm afraid. That's like me saying that the KID isn't encountered frequently because nobody at my club happens to play it, while it's the 3rd most likely opening to meet for a 1 d4 2 c4 player.
Leningrad Dutch
"Your own games are not relevant" hmmm You're full of it...
Ziggy_Zugzwang wrote:
"Your own games are not relevant" hmmm You're full of it...
Not in the context of statistics, no. But considering you're unwilling to listen to facts and just make ad hominem arguments instead, I won't respond to you anymore.
So you are basing what the player should choose as his repertoire on fairly precise stats rather than subjective judgements he could make or judge from the opinions of you, me and Uncle Tom Cobbley ? Anyway, my question was rhetorical, so I'm happy not to illicit a response from you...
Indeed. Totally sounds like you like piece play with a pawn in the center which sounds like the Chigorin could be right up your alley (as someone suggested)! Though the Mexican seems great too.
Indeed. Technically, you guys are both correct; as a d4 player (25+ years) I face the Accepted more often than I did the Alekhine when I first started out with 1. e4 (5 years) in DKP games. On the other hand, these days the Alekhine is trending more often (Fabi!) than said QGA. Heh. And besides, with all due respect guys; obviously the OP deems them both as "unusual, but solid"? Which to my mind, they're solid, but definitely not unusual! If in his definition unusual =uncommon (or not commonplace) then he is wrong either way as how you both interpret it and you guys are right. Let's not quibble statistics or subjective opinions because all in all you've both contributed to enlightening the OP either way. Peace guys😉