Alekhine's Defense: Mokele-Mbembe Variation
Alekhine’s Defense, Mokele-Mbembe Variation
Definition
The Mokele-Mbembe Variation is a modern sideline of the Alekhine’s Defense that arises after the moves 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 g6. It occurs specifically against White’s aggressive Four-Pawns Attack (4.c4 Nb6 5.f4), and its hallmark is Black’s decision to postpone the immediate liquidation of the e5-pawn with …dxe5 in favour of a kingside fianchetto with …g6 and …Bg7.
Typical Move Order
- e4 Nf6
- e5 Nd5
- d4 d6
- c4 Nb6
- f4 g6 ↣ Mokele-Mbembe Variation
The continuation most often runs 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 O-O 8.Be2 dxe5 or 8…c5, when the struggle revolves around whether Black can successfully undermine the massive white centre without being overrun.
Strategic Ideas for Black
- Delayed centre hit: By refraining from 5…dxe5, Black keeps the e-pawn on the board, hoping later to attack White’s centre with the combined blows …c5 and …dxe5, often under more favourable circumstances.
- Fianchetto pressure: The bishop on g7 exerts long-range pressure against the dark squares, especially d4 and e5, and can become a powerful piece once the centre opens.
- Flexible knight routes: The Alekhine knight on b6 may re-route via d7 or a4 depending on how the pawn structure unfolds.
- King safety: Castling quickly (…Bg7, …O-O) gives Black a secure king before opening the position.
Plans for White
- Space advantage: White owns pawns on e5, d4, c4 and f4 and seeks to use them to cramp Black’s pieces.
- Rapid development: Because Black has ceded space, White can aim for quick piece activity with Be3, Qd2, 0-0-0, sometimes echoing a King’s Indian Attack versus the fianchetto.
- Central break f5 or d5: At an opportune moment White may lash out with f5 or d5 to blast open lines toward the g7-bishop and the black king.
Historical Significance
The variation appeared in high-level play in the early 1980s, championed by a group of New York and “Brooklyn” grandmasters such as Lev Alburt, Michael Wilder and Roman Dzindzichashvili who were searching for a more dynamic answer to the then-popular Four-Pawns Attack. The whimsical name “Mokele-Mbembe” refers to a legendary dinosaur-like creature said to inhabit the Congo River basin. According to Alburt, the new line was “big, mysterious, and potentially very dangerous”—just like its namesake.
Illustrative Game
The following encounter shows typical ideas for both sides:
Lev Alburt – Daniel Shapiro, New York Open 1991.
Notice how Black struck at the white centre with …c5 and …dxe5,
then exploited the g7-bishop’s pressure to generate a decisive kingside attack.
Interesting Facts & Anecdotes
- The alternative, more tongue-in-cheek name “Brooklyn Variation” arose because many of its early adopters played in the famed Manhattan and Brooklyn chess clubs.
- GM Sergey Tiviakov, though an avowed 1.e4-e5 player with White, has called the Mokele-Mbembe “one of the most resilient ways for Black to meet the Four-Pawns.”
- Because the pawn structure often resembles certain lines of the King’s Indian Defence, some annotators joke that the Alekhine knight has “teleported to g7 and become a bishop.”
- The variation is still topical in correspondence and engine chess, where Black’s flexible move order leaves ample room for original play.
Summary
In essence, the Mokele-Mbembe Variation offers Black a fighting, strategically unbalanced alternative to the heavily analysed main lines of the Alekhine. By delaying …dxe5 and embracing a kingside fianchetto, Black invites a complex struggle in which understanding of pawn breaks and piece activity outweighs rote memorisation—living up to its exotic, almost prehistoric name.