Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation

What Is The Hunt Variation?

The Hunt Variation takes the Alekhine's bait to the extreme: 5.c5 kicks Black's knight a third time and grabs a huge pawn front. The knight drops back to d5, its best square, where 6.Bc4 hits it once more and 6...e6 covers the threat. White has played five pawn moves in a row, so the pawns on c5, d4 and e5 are both trophy and target for the rest of the game.

Black strikes back immediately with ...dxe5 and ...b6, since the d6 pawn already bites at e5. Your compensation is time and cramping space: develop fast, castle, and keep the chain intact, and Black never breathes. That race decides the games. If your king is still central when lines open, those proud pawns fall one by one.

How Do You Beat The Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation?

Nobody plays this, so there are no percentages worth quoting and anyone offering them is guessing. White has pushed a second pawn to c5 to keep chasing your knight, spending yet another move on a piece rather than on development.

Every pawn move White makes to harass the knight is a move not spent developing, and the bill for that arrives once the centre opens. Retreat the knight where it stays useful, then strike at the overextended chain with ...e6, ...b6 or ...d6 depending on which pawn is least defended. The centre will not hold, and when it collapses White has nothing developed to meet the pieces you have been quietly bringing out.