As Black
Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.e4 Nf6.
It lures White's pawns forward, creating weaknesses and an unbalanced game.
Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero
7 lines
3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 g6 6.Bc4 c6 7.O-O Bg7
4.d4 d6 5.f4 c5
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4 c5 6.d5 e6 7.Nc3 exd5 8.cxd5 c4 9.Nf3 Bg4
4.d4 d6 5.f4 dxe5
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nc3 e6 9.Nf3 Be7
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5
1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 Nfd7 4.d4 e6 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6
3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.O-O O-O
3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.O-O Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.h3 Bh5
Chase Variation
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.c5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.Nc3 d6
Frequently asked questions
Is Alekhine's Defence good for beginners?
It suits players who already have some experience. On OpeningCraft it is aimed at players with Elo 1200 – 1400. It suits players who like attacks, gambits and open positions.
How many lines of Alekhine's Defence do you need to learn?
OpeningCraft teaches 7, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.