Alekhine's Defence: provoke the centre to attack it

The key idea

Every pawn advance gains space and creates a weakness, because the pawn that goes up stops being defended by its neighbours. Black provokes those advances on purpose and then attacks them with ...c5, ...d6 and pieces. The question that decides the game: is White's centre a steamroller or a target?

Example 1 · White holds back: the Modern Variation

Instead of pushing everything he can, White restrains himself with 4.Nf3. Less space and much less to defend.

1. c4 I chase his knight again and gain space. Here's the decision that defines the whole game: I can keep pushing — some players go f4 and set up four pawns in a row — or I can stop here. Every extra pawn is extra space and also one more piece tied to defending it.
2. Nb6 The knight retreats for the third time. It sounds terrible and he's happy about it: in exchange for those three tempi, I've moved four pawns that can never go back.
3. exd6 I resolve the tension before he resolves it on his terms. With a big centre, the moment of the trade is chosen by whoever has more to lose by waiting.
4. cxd6 Recapturing towards the centre, which opens the c-file for him.
5. h3 A breathing move, so his bishop doesn't land on g4 pinning the knight that defends d4. Notice what I'm doing without realising: spending tempi holding the centre up, which is exactly Black's plan.
6. Bf5 The bishop comes out anyway, to a diagonal where it's a nuisance.
7. Nc3 I develop and reinforce the centre.
8. Bg7 And Black completes the fianchetto. Valuation: a comfortable edge for White, around three quarters of a pawn. The Modern works precisely because it ISN'T greedy — White keeps exactly the space he can defend.

Example 2 · The Four Pawns: the centre that stretches too far

With c4, d4, e5 and f4 White builds the biggest centre possible. Now Black is to move — and that's where the bet begins.

1. dxe5 Four white pawns in a row: c4, d4, e5 and f4. The picture is frightening, and it's exactly what I was after from move 1. Now I start dismantling it, and I start with the trade that forces him to decide what he recaptures with.
2. fxe5 He recaptures with the f-pawn, which suited him best… and commits him most: his e5 pawn is left advanced and his f-file open towards his own king.
3. Nc6 I attack d4, which is the base. With four pawns in the centre, White has four things to defend and only two pieces developed.
4. Be3 He reinforces d4, as he must.
5. Bf5 And I bring the bishop out BEFORE closing with ...e6, which is the lesson you already saw in the Slav: the piece your structure is going to shut in comes out first.
6. Nc3 White finishes developing.
7. e6 Now I shut the house, with the bishop already outside. And look at the balance: he has more space and I have four of his pawns to aim at, none of which can go backwards.
8. Nf3 A level position, and a hard one for both. That's the honest verdict on the Alekhine: it doesn't refute 1.e4 and doesn't pretend to — it swaps a game where White develops comfortably for one where he has an enormous centre to hold up. If you like defending and counterattacking, it's your opening; if not, you'll feel steamrolled.

Practice

You're White against the Alekhine. Gain space, but don't overdo it: every extra pawn is a piece of yours tied to defending it. Chase the knight, resolve the tension and develop.

1. Space, and the knight moved for the third time. Here you decide whether to keep pushing or keep what you can defend. Chase the d5 knight with the queenside pawn you haven't moved yet.
2. You resolve the tension before he does it on his terms. With a big centre, the timing of the trade belongs to whoever loses most by waiting. Trade on d6 to clarify the centre on your terms.
3. Breathing room so his bishop can't pin the defender of d4. A modest, necessary move. Prevent ...Bg4, which would pin the knight holding your centre.
4. Development and a reinforced centre. A comfortable edge without overstretching: that's the Modern Variation. Bring the b1 knight to its natural square, supporting the centre.

The Alekhine comes down to one question: is a big centre a steamroller or a target? As White, the answer is not to overdo it — take the space you can defend and develop, and the edge comes on its own. As Black, provoke the advances and attack the base with ...c5 and ...Nc6, bringing the bishop out before you shut the house. And keep the general principle, which works in any opening: a pawn that advances gains space and loses its neighbours' protection, so every advance is at once a conquest and a debt.