Markovich wrote on 05/19/12 at 00:22:05:
This is not a method of play that people who understand this game actually use. It comes up because some people forget, or don't know, that 4...Nxe4 is possible. You see this in scholastic chess so much, it's a joke. I don't agree that Black is White after that, but it does solve all Black's problems.
There is one way for White to play this for a win, and that is 4...Nxe4 5.0-0, But at best White has adequate comp, nothing more. There is one quite devilish possibility that White should be aware of if he intends to play this in the normal way: 4...Ne4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Bd3 dxe4 7.Bxe4 Ne7!?
A bigger joke is how often this happens against supposedly strong opposition. Fully a third of my online blitz games that reach the Four Knights position continue 4.Bc4 (often after some thought). I have also got it over the board against a USCF rating > 2000.
Now, I actually reach this via a transposition from the Alekhine 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5! etc, so I suppose people who allow this have just been move-ordered into an unfamiliar position. More generally though, I think 4.Bc4 shows a lack of familiarity with Open Games, since the theme is common in many lines after 1.e4 e5. In my view, unless the Vienna or 4 Knights are in your repertoire against 1...e5 then playing 2.Nc3 against the Alekhine is simply a mistake. This is a good example of the fundamental importance of 1.e4 e5 to a real chess education.
Thanks for the 7...Ne7!? suggestion. I don't think I have seen that before or, if I have, I have forgotten it. Regardless of its objective value, the psychological effect on top of 4...Nxe4 would be considerable. Black is totally running the game on move 7!