Alekhine Defense (2… Nd5 3. d4)
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4
The Alekhine Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B03, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 19,292 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3… d6 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.53 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3… d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5)
- ECO
- B03
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/8/3nP3/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3,457 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,861 | |
| 2000+ | 5,974 | |
| All | 19,292 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… d6 Alekhine Defense (3. d4 d6) | 12,851 (67%) | |
| 3… e6 | 2,601 (13%) | |
| 3… Nb6 | 1,215 (6%) | |
| 3… b5 O'Sullivan Gambit | 852 (4%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 752 (4%) | |
| 3… c5 | 301 (2%) | |
| 3… g6 | 283 (1%) | |
| 3… c6 | 164 (1%) |
Master games
568 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 16%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 0-1 · Magnus-Alireza Bullet · 2021-02-22
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2737) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2794) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2024 · 2024-06-13
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2621) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1-0 · Katara Bullet Final 2020 · 2020-08-26
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Jiordani_Jovanovich (2834) – FM stanbad1 (2732) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Tempstream (2720) – FM dclasby (2784) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- JelenaZ (2656) – ChessWarrior_222 (2805) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense (3. d4 d6) B03 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6
- Alekhine Defense: O'Sullivan Gambit B03 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 b5
More Alekhine Defense lines (all)
- Alekhine Defense (1. e4 Nf6) B02
- Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation, Everglades Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Buckley Attack B02
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Lasker Simul Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Mikenas Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Kmoch Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Krejcik Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Krejcik Variation, Krejcik Gambit B02
- Alekhine Defense: Maróczy Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe B02
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.