An Alekhine's Gun is a formation where a Queen and two Rooks are placed on the same file, creating a formidable attacking force down the board. In the diagram above, White can play 1.Qc1 and create the gun on the c-file. The name comes from Alexander Alekhine, who famously used it in a 1930 game against Aaron Nimzowitsch.
Ideas for when you have an Alekhine's Gun: (1) Coordinate the gun with other pieces and increase the pressure on the targets down the line of attack. Ideas against an Alekhine's Gun: (1) Capture/exchange one of the gun's pieces, (2) Reinforce the defense of any threatened pieces, or move them to a safer square.
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When we started adding a playful touch to chess learning, we looked through thousands of videos and hundreds of books to find the best resources out there. Here's our curated selection of the best content we encountered on Alekhine's Gun. We also included some smaller creators who are growing fast and we believe deserve your attention. Check out these resources if you want to master this tactical pattern.
This wonderful book is for serious improvers only. Konstantin Chernyshov teaches how to visualize positions and tactics in your mind without the board in front of you. With this training, you get better very fast.
An excellent collection of tactical exercises by Yakov Neishstadt. Several annotations and real-life games as sources make it really an ideal way to improve.
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