I would play conventional chess openings first. Learn how to play for control of the center before playing hypermodern openings.
The whole idea behind hypermodern opening is to give up control of the center of the board and than attack it. But if you have never played to control the center with pawns you can't really understand what your are giving up and what you are attacking which can make things difficult.
I agree with the reply above; as a beginner, I too know the allure of the "exotic" hypermodern approach to chess. I mean, the name's cool enough by itself. I try not play hypermodern, though, because it is too difficult to grasp, especially on white, for a beginner like me or you. Try Scotch or 1. e4, 2. B-g4, 3. f3 (4. N-d3). The former was taught to me by a member of this sight; he called it the Bishop's Opening. If are going to play Hypermodern, play it on black as a response to 1. d4. The Grunfield Defense is what I'm practicing because it uses a center pawn as well as the option of Fianchetto. It's (on black) 1. N-f6, 2. e6, 3. d5. You may want to consult a more advanced player on whether or not the order needs to be specific.
oh, and don't play Romantic-style!
the alekhine I think is one of the hardest Hypermodern openings to master. I once read that to play the Alekhine you must become a specialist in that opening. If you want to play it, I suggest buy a book on it and study! Learn the meaning of the moves played. Perhaps the Pirc might be the better option to go hypermodern? where you play d6 before Nf6. (And there is not necessarily need to play g6 and Bg7 either).
Another Hypermodern opening I use is the Nimzowich defence (e4 Nc6) which can go either hypermodern or revert back to the classicals:
This is only one example of lines that come out of the nimzowitch where black is trying to get f5 in...
first 5 moves aren't hard its about after move 10 you have bad space fischer used it so its not horrible
What is the meaning of this defence? How should white attack? I wonder if I played it well with white.....
Black was not really a strong player, he made many big mistakes....... But I don't know what the sequence is of the Alekhine.... Please help me....
Black was a horrible player, actually.
The mentioned defense has a major drawback of allowing white a free hand in the centre. True, all hypermodern openings are like this, but this one more so as white can actually keep the pawns in the centre for longer than most queen-pawn openings, if not forever.
The merits of this opening is its complex nature. Many people, even masters, do not understand the subtle transpositions this opening can contain. The mentioned defense can transpose into a hedgehog system (with white's cooperation) which normally opens 1. c4 c5, in which black plays in true hypermodern style by relegating most of his pieces to the 6th rank and waiting for his opponent to make an inaccuracy then pounces on this inaccuracy. The Hedgehog system is very complex itself, even in the main, non-transpositional line and requires just as much study as mainline Alekhine defenses.
That is not to say that the main line of the Alekhine does not have merits for black. The main one of these would be his superior dark square control and excellent counterattacking chances via a c5 break or an e5 break. After ...g6 and ...Bg7, play could very well become that of a KID, however, with most of the black pieces shifted to the queenside. This would create an interesting situation. The pieces want to go queenside, the pawns kingside...which one should you choose? In theory, white is supposed to have a +/= advantage in the best lines of the alekhine, however, the complexities of this opening provide black with excellent chances to mix things up, from kingside attacks to queenside attacks, transpositions and even the main line. Overall, I do not use the Alekhine system, but I see nothing wrong with it. This is only because i favour antoher opening, in time I will get bored and come here.
On paper, it appears that Alekhine's Defense (or almost any hypermodern defense) doesn't work very well because of the following things that happen:
1. Black loses tempo (by moving the same piece multiple times)
2. White gains tempo and a strong control of the center via his central pawns.
3. White gains a significant spacial advantage. Often times with a hypermodern defense, Black utilizes the last 3 ranks while White has firm control of 4-5.
However, modern chess has shown that while a spacial advantage is good, it doesn't necessarily make or break any position. The key to modern chess is PIECE ACTIVITY. Even though White gets to move multiple pawns in the opening, it doesn't do him that much good because Black still developed a piece. And when White develops a piece, then Black has the opportunity to do the same. Thus Black isn't harmed that much.
In short, Alekhine's Defense probably gives a small advantage to White, but ultimately it's play strength and the activity of your pieces that determines which side has a better position and who will win. So if you're comfortable playing Alekhine's Defense, you'll probably be able to beat a lot of people with it, even though there are stronger defenses for Black.
Hi guys,
I'm fairly new to chess and after discovering Hypermodernist play I've decided to try out Alekhine's Defence.
Unfortunately, it seems that I cannot do much, as after baiting the white e pawn I generally find myself just moving the f6 knight around (à la Two Pawns Attack).
What should I do in such a situation? I'm fairly intrigued by Hypermodernism, so would it be wise to play 'conventionally' before daring to explore such novel schools of thought?