It looks very nice, and if you can get a black king in all your Alekhines games, you would probably have a score on around 95%.
You will have to play very activly to compensate for the weaknesses, but it's nice. And it's seems easy to prepare, don't waste time using 5 hours on the main line (4. Nf3), since you will play it like 10 times in your whole life.
Go chase the knight (and the black king)
It will give you attacking chances. I think the only setup that's hard to attack is 5.Bc4/5.Nc3 e6 6.Nc3/Bc4 c6 with the idea of b6. I used it because there is little theory and it's simple to play.
I don't like e6/d6 stuff because White can transpose to the Alapin Sicilian and I don't know anything about that.
Just pull some pieces out instead of pushing pawns like a madman. This is precisely the type of game Alekhine players expect to meet.
The so-called mainline (if there is such a thing) is hardly appetizing,even when Black plays inaccurately:
Black should play 13...Kxd8 with some advantage, but even like that, white's game is not terribly good- Black has better central control, and the bishop is potentially stronger than the knight.
^That game of Baburin's (I've actually met Alexander; nice guy) is indeed not very appealing. It still looks playable but it's certainly not the kind of game I'd be looking for. As a matter of interest, pfren: how would you rate the 4 Pawns Attack? I'm not looking to be world champion; I simply want to play interesting and - to the best of my ability - attractive games.
The Chase variation seemed to give open lines and attacking chances, albeit at the cost of having to babysit loose pawns if the attack fails or they aren't lost beforehand. Over the board, do you think many amateur players will be prepared for the Chase?
Also, if pfren wanders back in here... let's say I DO play the Chase variation. Do you think there are any particular upshots to playing either 5.Bc4 or instead bringing the knight out first with 5.Nc3.
The four pawns attack is very ambitious... and very commital. I never liked to play like that as white, but my good friend GM Kotronias did, although at some point he seemed to lose interest, and switched to saner lines.
Have a look at this book- most of the suggested lines are sound, and err... "interesting".
http://www.everymanchess.com/chess/books/Beating_Unusual_Chess_Defences%3A_1_e4%3ADealing_with_the_Scandinavian%2C_Pirc%2C_Modern%2C_Alekhine_and_other_tricky_lines
5.Nc3 in the chase looks more exact than 5.Bc4, although Black has no big issues to solve after say 5...e6 6.d4!? d6. But it does make the ...c6 lines less attractive.
Awesome, thanks for the recommendation :)
I imagine at some stage the desire to win does draw you towards saner lines, as you say, but for now I won't mind a little insanity in my own games, haha. Though perhaps a few defeats will change my mind :P
An an ex alekhine player i confirm that i just loved to see this on the board. "We" are usually prepared for it since it's exactly the type of position which appeals an alekhine lover. In fact i think I had a perfect (100%, out of 20+ games no white player ever managed to hold a draw) score against it in correspondence games on gameknot,against equal opposition. It's not bad in itself (even karpov used it a couple of times) but very committal; white has to act quickly and precisely to prove that he can find good play before his fragile centre crumbles. It really takes just a couple of passive moves to end up with a bunch of weak pawns and no play at all.
If you are willing to study a non trivial amound of theory, the 4PA is good, but you have to decide whether it's really worth memorizing several deep razor sharp lines for meeting such a rarely seen defence. And don't even think to try to play the 4PA on general principles alone, it's not going to end well, there are too many temping pitfalls.
By the way, the book pfen linked is indeed excellent and covers the modern variation 4.Nf3; i can confirm it's the most unpleasant variation to face as black.
Cool, thanks for your input :)
Out of interest, what would you recommend against the Alekhine? Given that not very many black players will play 1.Nf6, I'd rather not devote too much time to deep theoretical lines. Is there another alternative which offers white good chances and doesn't require a lot of theoretical knowledge?
What an Alekhine player does not want to see is 2. d3
^Care to elaborate, PawnGrabber? 2.d3 is - to my tastes - a little passive. Sure, I could play slowly and build up something like a King's Indian Attack setup but I have to say, I dislike the idea of locking that bishop in on move 2!
If you don't wish devoting too much time, then 2.Nc3 is worth looking at- although after 2...e5 play might transpose to the four knights/ four knights scotch, which may not be what you play against 1...e5.
Hmm, I may look into that as I do have some knowledge in the Scotch. I'm going to acquire the book you recommended though, so most likely I'll be going with something a little more ambitious ;)
^Care to elaborate, PawnGrabber? 2.d3 is - to my tastes - a little passive. Sure, I could play slowly and build up something like a King's Indian Attack setup but I have to say, I dislike the idea of locking that bishop in on move 2!
It's not passive. It keeps the position closed and prepares KIA setup. Imagine you were an Alekhine player. That would be an opening disaster.
What you don't want is being over ambitious against Alekhine. That's the point of the move Nf6 - to provoke you.
I have to disagree here. After 2...e5 White is playing a Philidor with colors reversed which really is passive. It's not bad but it's not dangerous either.
In my opinion play most Aljechin players after 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 and not e5. The reason being that they want an unbalanced game.
And I disagree that I as Aljechin player would be most afraid of 2. ... d3. It would fill me with joy. The LSB of white can be quite cumbersome in the Aljechin. Now not anymore.
The LSB of white can be very strong at the a2-g8 diagonal. The move e6 can be quite annoying. And it can be quite difficult to get enough defensive resources on the king side (that knight is chased away to the king side).
EDIT: Forgot to answer about the chase variation. The games of Nezmehtdinov are awesome. Did not know that that variation was that vulnerable. I liked it to play, because it is rather difficult for white to prevent counterplay.
Hey guys and girls,
I'm looking to get into playing chess competitively and as someone who likes exciting, attacking chess I've become interested in the Chase variation of Alekhine's Defence. I understand that there is a deal of strategy involved as you weaken the d5 square early on but I'm quite a fan of Rashid Nezhmetdinov and he used it to beat Vladas Mikenas in two games which I shall post below.
My question though is for all of you Alekhine experts out there and is thus: while this is not the most challenging line for black, it is also not the most common and I'm wondering how you would rate white's practical, over the board chances. Also, what are the key ideas and threats (for and against) to look out for in the Chase variation?