June 30, 2026

[Katherine Wise](https://blog.duolingo.com/author/katherine/)

# Chess openings: What is Alekhine’s Defense?

Learn how to use Alekhine’s Defense to level up your game!

Learning openings requires understanding chess notation, the system for naming pieces and moves. [Get a refresher on chess notation here](https://blog.duolingo.com/chess-notation/)!

## Alekhine’s Defense: 3 quick facts

- Alekhine’s Defense, named for the fourth World Chess Champion [Alexander Alekhine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Alekhine?ref=blog.duolingo.com), is a flexible, counterattacking [hypermodern](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#hypermodern) opening for Black. While [sound](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#sound), it’s a rare choice for [grandmasters](https://blog.duolingo.com/how-to-become-a-chess-grandmaster/).
- It breaks several [standard opening principles](https://blog.duolingo.com/chess-opening-moves-tips/), such as not moving the same piece more than once and controlling the center with [pawns](https://blog.duolingo.com/chess-pawn/#do%E2%80%99s-and-don%E2%80%99ts-with-the-pawn). Because of its unusual ideas, it’s generally a better choice for intermediate to advanced players.
- This opening often leads to [open](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#open), [imbalanced](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#imbalanced), and [active](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#active) positions.

## Alekhine’s Defense: the moves

Here are the moves for Alekhine’s Defense:

💡

1\. e4 Nf6

## Challenge opening principles

For more advanced players who want to surprise their opponents with an offbeat, [dynamic](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#dynamic) answer to [1\. e4](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/#e4), Alekhine’s Defense is well worth exploring.

If you’re looking for more openings, check out [our guide featuring over 30 options](https://blog.duolingo.com/popular-chess-openings/) for every skill level!