French Defense, Alekhine-Chatard Attack

The Alekhine-Chatard Attack arises after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4. Nfd7 means that the knight from f6 retreats to d7. The move 6.h4 is not an isolated pawn rush: it prepares a material offer intended to open lines on the kingside, the half of the board where that king begins.

The sequence is written in algebraic notation: squares such as e4 combine a column letter and row number; N means knight, B bishop, R rook, and Q queen; pawn moves normally show their destination, x marks a capture, and + marks check. Moves are read in pairs, White first and Black second; dots before a move shown alone indicate Black's turn.

The traditional acceptance is 6...Bxg5 7.hxg5 Qxg5. Black has removed the bishop from g5 and won the pawn that reached g5, but the black queen has come out early. White has cleared the h-file, the vertical line from h1 to h8, so the rook can pressure h7, and can bring the remaining pieces out with threats. The compensation, the benefits received for the pawn, is sufficient only if those pieces enter play quickly.

White accepts a material deficit to gain moves for bringing pieces out, pressure h7, and keep the black king in the center.

Black tries to trade attacking pieces, find a safe square for the queen, and prove that the extra pawn can be kept without allowing a decisive attack.

Black can also decline the sacrifice by avoiding the capture on g5. White then keeps the h-pawn but has already advanced it and must justify that move through active play. The position may resemble other French branches with immediate threats for both sides, such as the Burn Variation, but the pawn arrangement and concrete responses are different.