[Event "French Defence - Alekhine Chatard Attack: 4...Be7 and The Alekhine - Chatard Attack - Intro"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/pc4x0yT2/ZBpb10jy"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C13"] [Opening "French Defense: Alekhine-Chatard Attack"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/chessentialsBLOG"] [UTCDate "2023.02.13"] [UTCTime "12:32:01"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/pc4x0yT2/ZBpb10jy"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 { In this study, we will take a look at this natural developing move of the bishop, breaking the pin on the knight on f6 and reinforcing the attack on the pawn on e4. It most commonly leads to a very sharp variation of the 4.Bg5 French called The Alekhine-Chatard Attack. } 5. e5 { This natural move, attacking the knight and forcing it away, is by far the most common move in the position. } { [%cal Re5f6] } (5. Bxf6 { Some people have tried taking on f6 and then playing e5, but it is not a particularly popular approach - which is understandable given that White voluntarily gives up the bishop for a knight for no good and apparent reason. } 5... Bxf6 6. Nf3 { White simply tries to make an argument that the knight is not inferior to the bishop for the moment and continues developing, but the bishop pair is certainly a long-term advantage in Black's hands and after some natural move such as } 6... O-O { Black should have no advantage. }) 5... Nfd7 { This is the logical move, retreating the knight to a safe square and intending to play c5 next, blasting the center with the thematic French defense move. Black is trying to make an argument that the exchange of the dark-squared bishops will be okay for them as they are the side with less space, so it is to their advantage to exchange some pieces. White, on the other hand, is making an argument that the potential exchange of the dark-squared bishops will be to their advantage, as the dark-squares in Black's camp will be weakened. A typical pro-and-con approach for modern chess openings. } 6. h4 { This move, defending the bishop on g5 and intending to sacrifice a pawn, leading to the so-called Alekhine-Chatard Attack, is the main move in this position. It was played back at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century by a strong master of the time Albin - and also by a relatively lesser-known player Chatard - but it was taken seriously only after the game Alekhine - Fahrni, Mannheim, 1914. White's idea is to give up the pawn to open up the file for the rook. This variation will be the main focus of this entire chapter. } { [%cal Gh4g5] } (6. Bxe7 { With that being said, White doesn't necessarily push the h-pawn, but can simply exchange on e7 and try to make an argument that this bishop exchange is very beneficial. This move was played by some very strong players such as Vishy Anand and Veselin Topalov, so it definitely needs to be taken very seriously. I have devoted some more attention to it in the "Analysis" chapter, but I think it is objectively less challenging for Black from the theoretical standpoint. }) *