Winning Chess Tactics - Alekhine's Defense

The Alekhine's defense has never held the respect that has been given to the Sicilian defense and the Ruy Lopez because most masters feel is it a bit too chancy. The idea is for black to provoke an advance in the center at the expense of a tempo (lost by black's king's knight) giving black targets to attack with the idea that white's center may become overextended and collapse.


If you decide to play the Alekhine's defense, the main thing to remember is that after your knight has been chased around the board, you have to play aggressively and begin to attack center that white has built up or you run the risk of losing due to white's strong control of the center.

Here's a great video that shows some of the basic ideas of the Alekhine's Defense.