Ideas in Alekhine Defense, Brooklyn Variation

Hi Everyone,

I've been playing a lot of the Alekhine defense and stumbled across the Brooklyn variation, which I quite like. The line is 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8, often followed by 3. d4 d6. But I run out of ideas in the following line: 4. f4 dxe5 5. fxe5. Stockfish seems to favor c5, but I can't figure out how to play that well.

Anyone have ideas on how to play into a reasonable position for black? Or is this just an unsound opening? Also, if you have ideas other than d6 after 3. d4 I'd be interested in those as well.

I'm embedding a recent game where I played this line and got crushed in 12. lichess.org/ysvSJdhV/black#3

The opening is no less sound than another. Look who played it too

I've seen that game before - but it seems like 4. Nf3 is weaker than f4. Also if anyone can explain Magnus' 4... c6 that'd be great because I have no idea what that move accomplishes.

I disagree: 4 Nf3 is stronger than 4 f4, also in the regular Alekhine's Defence, i.e. with 2...Nd5 instead of 2...Ng8. 4 Nf3 develops a piece and controls more of the centre than 4 f4.

On 4 f4 the strongest move is 4...c5 indeed: strike at the broad centre. This is typical after f4, also in the regular Alekhine's Defence and in the King's Indian Defence and the Pirc-Ufimtzev Defence.

Your 4...dxe5 trades your central d-pawn for his wing f-pawn and opens the f-file for him and reopens the diagonal c1-h6 for his bishop. That is exactly what white wants when he plays f4.

Carlsen's move 4...c6 is a decent move also in the regular Alekhine's Defence with 2...Nd5.

There exists a video of the Carlsen Fressinet game:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-264pc0-S4

Fressinet could have played 5 Bc4 which also prevents Bg4 (because of Bxf7+) plus it develops a piece. White has a comfortable advantage.

both 4 f4 and 4 Nf3 is playable and both moves give white a clear advantage. Ng8 is a one trick pony, not a main line.

Well, i should be fair, it is better than a lot of other openings people play here at lichess. It doesnt drop a pawn for nothing and it doesnt weaken the pawn structure. White however has more space.

In your game you could habe simply played 7.Qh4+ and won in the spot

Let's be honest, this opening is ridiculous. Don't play it.

This is not ridiculous at all, it is no more ridiculous than 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5 3 Nc3 Qd8, also played by Carlsen. It is reminiscent of Wilhelm Steinitz, who believed in the power of the initial position.

One of the ideas is to play Ng8 to e7, which otherwise also happens in Alekhine's Defence e.g.

If the knight is to go to e7, then the route Ng8-f6-g8-e7 is as efficient as Ng8-f6-d5-e7. This also explains Carlsen's move 4...c6: he aims for the c6-e6 structure. White prevents 5...Bg4 with 5 h3, but then Carlsen just develops 5...Bf5, catching up in development. There are even variations in Alekhine's Defence, where the knight goes Ng8-f6-d5-b6-c8-e7, which takes 2 moves more. This is the main idea about 2...Ng8. The knight is safer at g8 than at d5, where it is driven to b6 with c4 and when it is not very useful and has to be rerouted. At b6 it is absent from the king's side.

The disadvantage of 1...Ng8 is being behind in development. With 2...Nd5 black has 1 more piece into play: Nd5, even central for the time being, while after 2...Ng8 black has 0 pieces into play. Because of the lag in development it is a bad idea to open the position with 4...dxe5: better keep it closed.

Another idea is to play ...h5 and then post the knight from e7 or h6 to f5, where it cannot be dislodged and where it attacks d4.