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alekhine's defense Modern Alekhine Revisited
Home > Chess > opening analysis > archive > alekhine's defense modern alekhine revisited
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ALEKHINE'S DEFENSE
The modern Alekhine revisited
THE MODERN ALEKHINE REVISTED
By Jeremy Silman (game notes by Kerim Soley)
In my early 20s I gave Alekhine’s Defense a try (quite successfully, I should add). As the
years rolled by, though, it was clear that this opening never gained complete respectability
(Grandmasters Alburt and Bagirov seemed to be the only ones who continued carrying the
Alekhine torch), and some titled players I talked to simply said, “It’s unsound. White gets an
edge without too much trouble.”
Lately I’ve been eyeing Alekhine’s Defense again and it seems that Black is uncovering
many new ideas that make this opening extremely interesting. After 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4
d6 4.Nf3 I don’t completely trust either of the main line moves 4…Bg4 and 4…g6. Any
Alekhine aficionado that wishes to assuage my doubts concerned 4…Bg4 and 4…g6 are
welcomed to respond.
A SOLID SYSTEM
However, both 4…Nc6!? (A crazy line brought back from the dead by the German players
Fleck and Haakert) and the solid 4…dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 (and what’s going on with 5…Nd7!?.
The sacrifice 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qh5+ Ke6 may or may not be good, while it’s not clear if White
can really claim an advantage with 6.Nf3) show that it’s far too early to claim an easy ride for
White.
A THRILL A MINUTE
The game below, annotated by the winner (though I’ve made slight adjustments to his notes),
is a good illustration of why I no longer have faith in the old main line with 4…Bg4.
Kerim Soley (TUR, 2212) - Robert McCorry (ENG, 2188)
IECG, CA-2004
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nc3 0-0 10.
Be3 d5
10…a5 11.b3 Na6 12.Qd2 Nd7 13.Rad1 Bg6 14.Bf4 dxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.
Bxe5, White is slightly better – Hubner.
11.c5 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nc8
12…N6d7 13.b4 a6 14.f4 Nc6 15.Rb1 Kh8 16.a4 was slightly better for White in Bjelajac-
Vukic, Yugoslavia 1977.
13.f4
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_opng_anlys/072003_alekhine_modern_var_innovation.html (1 of 3)22/05/05 11:27:27
alekhine's defense Modern Alekhine Revisited
WHITE IS MORE COMFORTABLE
13...Nc6
Other moves:
A) 13…f5 14.b4 b6 15.a3 c6 16.Kh2 Rf7 17.Na4 White is slightly better, Byrne-Vukic,
Bugojno 1978.
B) 13…Bh4 14.Bd3 g6 15.b4 (15.Qg4 Kh8 16.b4 Nc6 17.Rab1 White is slightly better,
Diesen-Vaganian, Hastings 1974/75) 15…Ne7 16.b5 Nd7 17.Qe2 Kh8 18.Kh2 Rg8 19.Rg1
h5 20.Qf3 c6 21.Rab1 Rb8 22.f5!? with a White initiative.
14.f5
The critical move. The older alternate 14.b4 also seems cheerless for Black in my (Silman)
opinion.
14…exf5
White stands better after both 14…Bg5 15.f4 Bh4 and 14…Bh4 15.Bd3, VonBahr-Friberg,
Sweden 2002.
15.Bf3 f4 16.Bxf4 Bg5 17.Bg3
The “obvious” 17.Nxd5 has been tried on several occasions, but White hasn’t managed to get
anything after 17…Bxf4 18.Nxf4 N8e7. For example: 19.Ne2 (19.d5, 1/2-1/2, Gallagher –
Bagirov, Eupen op 1993) 19…Qd7 20.Bg2 (20.Bg4 Qd5) 20…Rfd8 21.Qa4 Nxd4 22.Qxd4
Qxd4 23.Nxd4 Rxd4 24.Bxb7 Rad8 and Black’s active pieces, especially after the Knight
joins in with …Ng6, gives Black plenty of play – Silman.
17…N8e7 18.Bg4 f5
Alternates:
A) 18…b6 19.f4 Bh6 20.cxb6 axb6 21.Qd3 Nb4 22.Qe2 White stands better, Peli- Guzek,
ICCF World Cup 6-7, 1990.
B) 18…g6 19.f4 and now:
B.1) 19…Nxe5 20.Bf2 a6 21.Bc8 Bh6 22.Qb1 Nf5 23.Re1 Nh4, 1-0, Chopin-Piguet, corr.
1993.
B.2) 19…Bh6 20.Bh4 a6 21.Bg5 Bg7 22.f5 f6 23.exf6 Bxf6 24.Bxf6 Rxf6 25.fxg6 Rxg6 26.
Kh1 b6 27.cxb6 cxb6 28.Qd2 Qd6 29.Rae1 Rf8 30.Rxf8+, 1-0, Chopin-Piguet, France district
ch. 1993
19.exf6 Rxf6 20.f4 Bh6 21.Bh4
In Sax-Ivanchuk, Tilburg 1989 White played 21.Qd3 and won after 21…Kh8 (Or 21…Nb4
22.Qe2 Nbc6 23.Bh4 Nxd4 24.Qd2 Nec6 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Ne2 Nxe2+
27.Qxe2 d4 28.Be6+ Kh8 29.Qh5, 1-0, Gibney-Migicovsky, Canada) 22.f5 Bg5 23.h4 Bh6
24.Nb5 Rc8 25.Be5 Ng8 26.Rae1 Qd7 27.Bh3 Qf7 28.Qg3 a6 29.Nc3 Nge7 30.Bxf6 Qxf6 31.
Re6 Qxd4+ 32.Kh1 Rf8 33.Rfe1 Qxc5 34.Qxc7 Qf2 35.Rxe7 Bf4 36.R7e2 Qf3+ 37.Bg2 Qg3
38.Qxf4 Qxf4 39.Re8 Qxf5 40.Nxd5 h6 41.Nc7 Rg8 42.Rxg8+ Kxg8 43.Bd5+, 1-0.
21…Rxf4
21…Rf8 22.Qd3 Kh8 23.f5.
22.Qe2!
A strong novelty. Previously White tried 22.Be6+ Kh8 23.Rxf4 Bxf4 24.Nxd5 but this didn’t
prove too successful: 24…Bg3 25.Bxg3 Nxd5 26.Qf3 Nf6 27.Rd1 Nxd4 (27…Qe7 28.d5
Nd8 29.b4 Nxe6 30.dxe6 Qxe6 31.Qxb7 Rf8 32.Qg2 c6 33.Re1 Qc4 34.Qxc6 Qxb4 35.Qd6
Rc8 36.Bf2 h6 37.Qg3 Qb7 38.Qd3 Rf8 39.Qd6 Rc8, 1/2-1/2, DeLagontrie- Carleton, corr.,
NATT4 1995) 28.Qe3 Qe7 29.Rxd4 Re8 30.Bh4, 1/2-1/2, Walker- Crombleholme, BPCF op
1990.
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alekhine's defense Modern Alekhine Revisited
22…Qf8 23.Bg3 Rf6 24.Nb5 Qf7 25.Rxf6 Qxf6 26.Rf1 Qg5
26…Nxd4 27.Qd1 Be3+ 28.Kh1 is winning for White.
27.Nxc7
Better than 27.Bxc7? Qe3+ 28.Qxe3 Bxe3+ 29.Kg2 a6 30.Be6 White is just slightly better.
27…Qe3+
27…Nxd4? 28.Qf2 Nef5/Ndf5 29.Nxa8.
28.Qxe3 Bxe3+ 29.Kg2 Rd8 30.Bd6 Ng6 31.Be6+ Kh8 32.Bxd5 Nxd4 33.Bxb7 Nf5 34.Ne6
Re8
34…Rd7 won’t change the result after 35.Be4 Rf7 36.Rd1.
35.Bd5
35.Rxf5?? Nh4+.
35…Bd2
Other moves also fail:
35…Ngh4+ 36.Kh2.
35…Bd4 36.Nxd4 Ne3+ 37.Kg1 Nxd5 38.Rf7.
35…h6 36.Kf3 Ngh4+ 37.Ke2.
36.Kg1 Ne3 37.Nc7 Rb8
37. …Rd8 38.Rf7 Nxd5 39.Nxd5.
38.Rf7 Rxb2
38…a5 39.Ne6 Re8 40.Nxg7.
39.Rd7 Rb8 40.Nb5! Re8 41.Be6 a6 42.Nc7 Rc8 43.Nxa6 Nc2 44.c6 Nd4 45.Bd5, 1-
0.
Copyright © 2005 Jeremy Silman
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Home > Chess > opening analysis > archive > alekhine's defense modern alekhine revisited
Search Our Site
Search The Web
ALEKHINE'S DEFENSE
The modern Alekhine revisited
THE MODERN ALEKHINE REVISTED
By Jeremy Silman (game notes by Kerim Soley)
In my early 20s I gave Alekhine’s Defense a try (quite successfully, I should add). As the
years rolled by, though, it was clear that this opening never gained complete respectability
(Grandmasters Alburt and Bagirov seemed to be the only ones who continued carrying the
Alekhine torch), and some titled players I talked to simply said, “It’s unsound. White gets an
edge without too much trouble.”
Lately I’ve been eyeing Alekhine’s Defense again and it seems that Black is uncovering
many new ideas that make this opening extremely interesting. After 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4
d6 4.Nf3 I don’t completely trust either of the main line moves 4…Bg4 and 4…g6. Any
Alekhine aficionado that wishes to assuage my doubts concerned 4…Bg4 and 4…g6 are
welcomed to respond.
A SOLID SYSTEM
However, both 4…Nc6!? (A crazy line brought back from the dead by the German players
Fleck and Haakert) and the solid 4…dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 (and what’s going on with 5…Nd7!?.
The sacrifice 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qh5+ Ke6 may or may not be good, while it’s not clear if White
can really claim an advantage with 6.Nf3) show that it’s far too early to claim an easy ride for
White.
A THRILL A MINUTE
The game below, annotated by the winner (though I’ve made slight adjustments to his notes),
is a good illustration of why I no longer have faith in the old main line with 4…Bg4.
Kerim Soley (TUR, 2212) - Robert McCorry (ENG, 2188)
IECG, CA-2004
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nc3 0-0 10.
Be3 d5
10…a5 11.b3 Na6 12.Qd2 Nd7 13.Rad1 Bg6 14.Bf4 dxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.
Bxe5, White is slightly better – Hubner.
11.c5 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nc8
12…N6d7 13.b4 a6 14.f4 Nc6 15.Rb1 Kh8 16.a4 was slightly better for White in Bjelajac-
Vukic, Yugoslavia 1977.
13.f4
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_opng_anlys/072003_alekhine_modern_var_innovation.html (1 of 3)22/05/05 11:27:27
alekhine's defense Modern Alekhine Revisited
WHITE IS MORE COMFORTABLE
13...Nc6
Other moves:
A) 13…f5 14.b4 b6 15.a3 c6 16.Kh2 Rf7 17.Na4 White is slightly better, Byrne-Vukic,
Bugojno 1978.
B) 13…Bh4 14.Bd3 g6 15.b4 (15.Qg4 Kh8 16.b4 Nc6 17.Rab1 White is slightly better,
Diesen-Vaganian, Hastings 1974/75) 15…Ne7 16.b5 Nd7 17.Qe2 Kh8 18.Kh2 Rg8 19.Rg1
h5 20.Qf3 c6 21.Rab1 Rb8 22.f5!? with a White initiative.
14.f5
The critical move. The older alternate 14.b4 also seems cheerless for Black in my (Silman)
opinion.
14…exf5
White stands better after both 14…Bg5 15.f4 Bh4 and 14…Bh4 15.Bd3, VonBahr-Friberg,
Sweden 2002.
15.Bf3 f4 16.Bxf4 Bg5 17.Bg3
The “obvious” 17.Nxd5 has been tried on several occasions, but White hasn’t managed to get
anything after 17…Bxf4 18.Nxf4 N8e7. For example: 19.Ne2 (19.d5, 1/2-1/2, Gallagher –
Bagirov, Eupen op 1993) 19…Qd7 20.Bg2 (20.Bg4 Qd5) 20…Rfd8 21.Qa4 Nxd4 22.Qxd4
Qxd4 23.Nxd4 Rxd4 24.Bxb7 Rad8 and Black’s active pieces, especially after the Knight
joins in with …Ng6, gives Black plenty of play – Silman.
17…N8e7 18.Bg4 f5
Alternates:
A) 18…b6 19.f4 Bh6 20.cxb6 axb6 21.Qd3 Nb4 22.Qe2 White stands better, Peli- Guzek,
ICCF World Cup 6-7, 1990.
B) 18…g6 19.f4 and now:
B.1) 19…Nxe5 20.Bf2 a6 21.Bc8 Bh6 22.Qb1 Nf5 23.Re1 Nh4, 1-0, Chopin-Piguet, corr.
1993.
B.2) 19…Bh6 20.Bh4 a6 21.Bg5 Bg7 22.f5 f6 23.exf6 Bxf6 24.Bxf6 Rxf6 25.fxg6 Rxg6 26.
Kh1 b6 27.cxb6 cxb6 28.Qd2 Qd6 29.Rae1 Rf8 30.Rxf8+, 1-0, Chopin-Piguet, France district
ch. 1993
19.exf6 Rxf6 20.f4 Bh6 21.Bh4
In Sax-Ivanchuk, Tilburg 1989 White played 21.Qd3 and won after 21…Kh8 (Or 21…Nb4
22.Qe2 Nbc6 23.Bh4 Nxd4 24.Qd2 Nec6 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Ne2 Nxe2+
27.Qxe2 d4 28.Be6+ Kh8 29.Qh5, 1-0, Gibney-Migicovsky, Canada) 22.f5 Bg5 23.h4 Bh6
24.Nb5 Rc8 25.Be5 Ng8 26.Rae1 Qd7 27.Bh3 Qf7 28.Qg3 a6 29.Nc3 Nge7 30.Bxf6 Qxf6 31.
Re6 Qxd4+ 32.Kh1 Rf8 33.Rfe1 Qxc5 34.Qxc7 Qf2 35.Rxe7 Bf4 36.R7e2 Qf3+ 37.Bg2 Qg3
38.Qxf4 Qxf4 39.Re8 Qxf5 40.Nxd5 h6 41.Nc7 Rg8 42.Rxg8+ Kxg8 43.Bd5+, 1-0.
21…Rxf4
21…Rf8 22.Qd3 Kh8 23.f5.
22.Qe2!
A strong novelty. Previously White tried 22.Be6+ Kh8 23.Rxf4 Bxf4 24.Nxd5 but this didn’t
prove too successful: 24…Bg3 25.Bxg3 Nxd5 26.Qf3 Nf6 27.Rd1 Nxd4 (27…Qe7 28.d5
Nd8 29.b4 Nxe6 30.dxe6 Qxe6 31.Qxb7 Rf8 32.Qg2 c6 33.Re1 Qc4 34.Qxc6 Qxb4 35.Qd6
Rc8 36.Bf2 h6 37.Qg3 Qb7 38.Qd3 Rf8 39.Qd6 Rc8, 1/2-1/2, DeLagontrie- Carleton, corr.,
NATT4 1995) 28.Qe3 Qe7 29.Rxd4 Re8 30.Bh4, 1/2-1/2, Walker- Crombleholme, BPCF op
1990.
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alekhine's defense Modern Alekhine Revisited
22…Qf8 23.Bg3 Rf6 24.Nb5 Qf7 25.Rxf6 Qxf6 26.Rf1 Qg5
26…Nxd4 27.Qd1 Be3+ 28.Kh1 is winning for White.
27.Nxc7
Better than 27.Bxc7? Qe3+ 28.Qxe3 Bxe3+ 29.Kg2 a6 30.Be6 White is just slightly better.
27…Qe3+
27…Nxd4? 28.Qf2 Nef5/Ndf5 29.Nxa8.
28.Qxe3 Bxe3+ 29.Kg2 Rd8 30.Bd6 Ng6 31.Be6+ Kh8 32.Bxd5 Nxd4 33.Bxb7 Nf5 34.Ne6
Re8
34…Rd7 won’t change the result after 35.Be4 Rf7 36.Rd1.
35.Bd5
35.Rxf5?? Nh4+.
35…Bd2
Other moves also fail:
35…Ngh4+ 36.Kh2.
35…Bd4 36.Nxd4 Ne3+ 37.Kg1 Nxd5 38.Rf7.
35…h6 36.Kf3 Ngh4+ 37.Ke2.
36.Kg1 Ne3 37.Nc7 Rb8
37. …Rd8 38.Rf7 Nxd5 39.Nxd5.
38.Rf7 Rxb2
38…a5 39.Ne6 Re8 40.Nxg7.
39.Rd7 Rb8 40.Nb5! Re8 41.Be6 a6 42.Nc7 Rc8 43.Nxa6 Nc2 44.c6 Nd4 45.Bd5, 1-
0.
Copyright © 2005 Jeremy Silman
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