← Alekhine's Defense

Practice: Modern Variation (5…Nd7)

The main line of the Alekhine

Black challenges the knight on e5 instead of retreating the knight to b6. The most modern and principled approach, leading to rich middlegame positions with active piece play.

1. e4 Nf6
2. e5 Nd5
3. d4 d6
4. Nf3 dxe5
5. Nxe5 Nd7
♟

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Key strategic ideas

  • 1...Nf6 invites White to chase the knight with e5, gaining space but stretching the pawns thin.
  • Black's plan is to provoke White into pushing pawns, then strike back when the pawn chain becomes overstretched.
  • After White pushes e5, Black retreats the knight and waits for the right moment to break with ...d6 or ...c5.

Common mistakes & traps

  • The Four Pawns Attack (4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 d6 6.e5) looks scary for Black, but 6...Nf5 7.Be3 dxe5 8.fxe5 c5! gives Black excellent counterplay. White's centre starts to fall apart.
  • After 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.exd6 exd6, the position is equal. Black's ...d5 break fixes the knight on b6 and challenges White's centre.

Pawn structure notes

White's stretched pawns (e5, d4, c4) against Black's solid d6 and e6. Black wants to prove that White's centre is a target. After Black plays ...d5, the pawn structure simplifies.

Tips

  • 5…Nd7 is the most active response, challenging White’s centralised knight
  • Black aims to trade pieces and gradually neutralise White’s space advantage
  • This variation has largely replaced the older retreat lines at master level

About this line

This line is rated intermediate. Practice it repeatedly until you can play the entire sequence without thinking. The in-app trainer tracks your perfect streaks and celebrates milestones.