Customer Reviews

Starting Out: Alekhine Defence (Starting Out - Everyman Chess)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a good introduction to 1 e4 Nf6 whether you play it with White or Black.

The author has some recommendations about how to play it. With White, he advises the main line (1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3), and he gives advice on how to play it solidly or tactically and theoretically.

I figured this book wouldn't help me with White, since I play 2 Nc3. But Cox does give a game that goes 1 e4 Nf6 2 Nc3 d5 3 e5 Ne4 4 Nce2 d4 5 c3. That's a good line for White, and Black would be better off with 2...e5, letting White choose between a Vienna and a Four Knights.

Now, what about the Alekhine with Black? You may say you don't play it! But what if you get in a blindfold game, and your opponent plays 1 d4 Nf6 2 e5 (only now do you discover that White's first move was 1 e4). Or maybe you are in a 5-minute game and you want to have some fun with Black and not play your main defence. The author boasts that you can be prepared to meet 1 e4 in 30 minutes. Against the main line, you can try 4...dxe5 5 Nxe5 c6. Against 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4, you play 4...Nb6 5 f4 (if 5 exd6 exd6) dxe5 6 fxe5 c5 7 d5 g6. Against 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 c4 Nb6 4 c5 Nd5 5 Nc3, you play 5...c6, intending to follow this up with ...e6 and ...b6. If White plays 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 Nc3, you play 3...Nxc3 and 4...d5. And if White avoids the Alekhine with 1 e4 Nf6 2 Nc3, you play 2...e5, settling for that Vienna game.

The author also gives recommendations for positional and tactical repertoires for Black.

Years ago, I tried playing the Alekhine in four games. Two opponents played the main line. I tried 4...dxe5 5 Nxe5 g6 (which Cox devotes two games to). The first time I saw this, I continued as Cox recommends, with 6 Bc4 c6. But I soon got in trouble. In the other game, I answered 6 Bc4 with 6...Be6. It's not in this book, but I think it's a good choice.

My other two opponents tried 1 d4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 Nc3 Nxc3 4 dxc3 d6. Now I expected 5 Bc4. I intended to reply 5...Nc6 (not 5...dxe5?? 6 Bxf7, losing the Black Queen) 6 Nf3 dxe5 7 Qxd8+, which is acceptable for Black. But instead, one opponent tried 5 Bf4 dxe5 6 Qxd8+ Kxd8 7 0-0-0+ Bd7 8 Bxe5 f6 9 Bg3 e5, after which I was okay. The other came up with 5 Nf3 dxe5 6 Qxd8+ Kxd8 7 Nxe5 Ke8, which led to a tough fight.

This book is up-to-date and easy to read. I recommend it.

I wanted to try a sound defense to 1. e4 that would give me dynamic play (so I could play for a win against weaker players), but not be super fashionable (so I could hope to ambush a stronger player). As an 1. e4 player myself, I always found the Alekhine a tough nut to crack. Now matter how hard I have tried to throw a wet blanket over the black position, my opponent always seems to find active play. Moreover, elite GMs like Carlsen, Svidler, Ivanchuk, and Ponomariov have played the black side in the past few years. So I bought Cox's book to help me start playing it--and have not been disappointed.

Cox starts the book by offering suggested repertoires for both white and black, based on their style of play (non-theoretical, positional, or tactical). The remainder of the book is well-analyzed illustrative games, divided into chapters corresponding to the major white systems against the Alekhine (Exchange, Chase, Modern, Four Pawns, and unorthodox approaches like 2. Nc3). The book is chock full of useful advice, like the importance of castling queenside for black in the Miles Variation (1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 c6) if white trades queens. Because the book is too short to include a sample game for every major idea in the Alekhine, Cox covers these ideas in the analysis of the early moves of the sample games. Since his analysis is sufficiently brief, I did not feel like I was getting lost in an overgrown thicket of lines and evaluations.

As I was investigating some of Cox's analysis, I came to the realization that subsequent analysis has overturned some of his suggestions. For example, against Kasparov's gambit in the Miles Line (1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 c6 5. Be2 dxe5 6. Nxe5 Bf5 7. g4 Be6 8. c4 Nb6 9. b3 f6 10. Nd3) he opines that black comes out on top by accepting the gambit pawn on d4 (10...Qxd4). However, take a look at Cheparinov - Narciso Dublan 2009 and you will white sac the exchange on top of the pawn--and crush black. Of course one expects that subsequent play will turn up shortcomings in an opening book published 8 years ago, so I do not blame Cox per se.

In spite of its age, I can recommend Cox's book for club players who want an introduction to the Alekhine, since the repertoire suggestions are useful, and you will learn the big ideas behind the Alekhine Defense.

This is one of the best chess books I have. It is incredibly clear and well written. Don't be deterred by the "Starting Out" name-- I can't imagine anyone with a rating under 2000 not being able to learn a whole lot from it. I have something like 120 chess books. Most of them sit on the shelf. Not this one, I am constantly pulling it out. Hell, even if you don't play the Alekhine as black and don't open with 1. e4 as white, I would still get this book.

I have been playing the Alekhine for a long time and Cox's book has really helped my updating on the subject, and view theopening from different angles. Its friendly, easy reading format is most suitable for us blokes with little time to study chess. I find the first pages particularly helpful, where non-theoretical, positional, tactical and solid repertoires are suggested. I recommend studying this book together with other books on the Alekhine, as Cox frequently refers to them. For example, I have previously gone through Nigel Davies' "Alekhine's Defence", where he recommends 4...,c6 as a side-stepping variation for the Kengis: 1e4,Nf6. 2e5,Nd5. 3d4,d6. 4Nf3,c6. I fancied this line. In contrast, Cox does not recommend such choice (page 28)...(I ended up agreeing with Cox on this one! A lovely book. Five stars.

Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence is an extensive guide for intermediate to advanced chess players to the controversial oppening in which Black attacks from its very first move, seeking to provoke White into a central pawn formation that will fall prey to a deadly counterattack. A favorite among many no-holds-barred professional players such as Fischer (and of course Alekhine), and more recently used by Ivanchuck and Short, the Alekhine's Defense move is excellent for the strongly aggressive player. Diagrams, sample games, tips, and warnings guide the reader into learning how to utilize or defend against Alekhine's Defence, in this smooth instructional written by FIDE Master, junior championship winner and international chess player John Cox.