Alekhine's Gun

Alekhine's Gun is a tripled major-piece battery on an open or half-open file, with the queen placed behind two rooks. The rooks lead the attack while the queen supplies maximum power from the rear, creating intense pressure against a fixed target such as a backward pawn or an exposed king.

The formation is named after Alexander Alekhine, who employed it with decisive effect in several of his games. Placing the queen at the base of the battery allows the rooks to operate with full support; any exchange on the file typically leaves the queen dominating the open line.

To build the gun, first double the rooks on the chosen file, then slide the queen directly behind them. The setup works best when the opponent cannot easily contest the file or dissolve the weakness being targeted.

{"v":1,"type":"board","orientation":"white","fen":"4r1k1/pp3ppp/2p5/3p4/3P4/2P1R3/PP2R1PP/3Q2K1 w - - 0 1","arrows":[{"from":"e2","to":"e8","color":"good"},{"from":"e3","to":"e8","color":"good"},{"from":"d1","to":"e8","color":"good"}],"highlights":[{"square":"e7","color":"bad"}],"caption":"White prepares to complete Alekhine's Gun by sliding the queen to e1.","alt":"White has rooks on e2 and e3 with the queen on d1. Arrows show the intended alignment on the e-file against the weakness on e7."}