Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4
What Is The Four Pawns Attack?
The Four Pawns Attack calls the Alekhine's bluff. You invited White to overextend, and 5.f4 accepts in full: four pawns abreast, maximum space, a direct plan to squeeze you off the board. Strike back with 5...dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6, then ...Bf5, ...e6 and ...Be7, finishing development while you prepare ...c5 or ...f6 to crack the center open.
The wall is less frightening than it looks: each advanced pawn leaves weak squares behind it, and d4 is the weakness that defines the line. Every game turns on the fight for d4: when White consolidates, the space advantage grinds Black down, and when one defender is deflected, the whole center collapses. So White presses for a quick d5 break, and you answer energy with energy, developing with threats.
How Should You Respond To The Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack?
67% strike back with 5...dxe5 immediately, and that is the point of allowing this whole line. White has four pawns in the centre and almost no pieces developed, which is impressive to look at and expensive to maintain.
A pawn centre without pieces behind it is a target, so hit it before White finishes developing rather than after. ...dxe5 opens the position while White's king is still in the middle, and ...Bf5, ...Nc6 and ...e6 all pile onto the squares those pawns left behind. Do not sit and admire it. Black scores 53% to 44% over 278 games, so the Four Pawns Attack is far more fragile than it looks.
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| dxe5 | 67% | 237 | |
| g6 | 14% | 48 | |
| Bf5 | 11% | 37 | |
| Nc6 | 3% | 10 |
The Named Lines Of The Four Pawns Attack
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Cambridge Gambit | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 g5 |
| Fianchetto Variation | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 g6 |
| Trifunovic Variation | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 Bf5 |
| Main Line | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 |
| Ilyin-Zhenevsky Variation | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.e6 fxe6 9.c5 |
| Korchnoi Variation | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Bf5 7.Nc3 e6 8.Nf3 Be7 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O f6 |
| Tartakower Variation | 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nc3 e6 9.Nf3 Qd7 10.Be2 O-O-O 11.O-O Be7 |