Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...Nf6/2. e5/2...Nd5/3. c4/3...Nb6/4. a4

Tate variation B02 Alekhine's defence → Two pawns attack → 3...Nb6 4. a4!? · Tate variation A rare move. White's immediate threat is to play a5! and trap Black's knight, so Black needs to either prevent a5 (by playing 4...a5 themselves) or give their knight an escape square (4...d6 or 4...d5). An idea for White is then to use the a3 square to lift their rook (5. Ra3). History 4. a4 was played by International Master Emory Tate in 1991.Tate v Herfel, 1991. Chessgames.com References See also