Andrew Martin: The ABC of Alekhine

Review by Carsten Hansen (chesscafe.com)

In the introduction, English international master Andrew Martin tells us that the repertoire he is about to suggest will be applicable for any player all the way up to grandmaster level. Well, no one is going to accuse him of being understated, but he does have several good ideas in side lines that have a decent reputation and don’t carry an enormous load of theory.

The material is divided as followings:

• Intro
• Inspiring Game 1 + 2 (2 segments)
• Modern Variation: 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Bc4 Game 1 + 2 (2 segments)
• Modern Variation: 6.Be2 (1 segment)
• Modern Variation: 6.Bd3 and others (1 segment)
• Four Pawns Attack 1 + 2 + Summary (3 segments)
• Exchange Variation: Game 1-7 (7 segments)
• Chase Variation Game 1 + 2 (2 segments)
• 3.Nc3 Game 1 + 2 and Summary (2 segments)
• Unusual Lines 1 + 2 (2 segments)
• 2.Nc3 (1 segment)
• Outro (1 segment)

Of course, the above doesn’t tell us much about Black’s opening choices. The most notable ones are:

a) 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6. Martin calls this the Miles Variation in the introductory segment, but in the overview it is referred to as the Modern Variation. This has become a popular choice for black players who are not keen on playing the somewhat passive 4...Bg4 or 4...g6. 5...c6, intending 6...Nd7, makes perfect sense, mainly because the theory isn’t as well-developed as in the lines after 4.Nf3. It is also quite solid and therefore less likely that Black will stumble into some sort prepared wickedness. But the theoretical burden is as much on Black as on White, and studying it isn’t all that interesting.

b) 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 c5 7.d5 g6!?. This is a rather rare move that I was not familiar with prior to this DVD.

c) 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 exd6. This is the most solid answer to the exchange variation, which is usually recommended in repertoire books for White in recent years.

d) 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 d4. This continuation is pretty solid for Black, and it avoids some of the more common traps that White can set.

Martin gives a very decent presentation of the Four Pawns Attack, which left me wondering why this line isn’t played more frequently. However, he doesn’t mention perhaps the highest rated encounter in this variation, where White won an interesting game:

Martin could also have been a more thorough in the 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 d4 line, because he only discusses 4.exf6 for White, completely ignoring 4.Nce2, as played by numerous strong players, including former World Champion Mikhail Tal. It certainly represents more interesting play than the line Martin discusses.

That said, I found this DVD to be pretty good overall. Martin’s chosen lines are not likely to be refuted in the near future, and this DVD will probably only help to make them more popular. If you are interested in the Alekhine as Black, I can easily recommend this DVD as a starting point to explore these lines further.

My assessment of this DVD: Four out of five stars

Original review at www.chesscafe.com