Alekhine Defense (3. d4 d6)
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6
The Alekhine Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B03, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12,851 times by this move order. White won 46%, 5% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4. c4 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 56; best line 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Bf5)
- ECO
- B03
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p4/3nP3/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,321 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,605 | |
| 2000+ | 4,925 | |
| All | 12,851 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. c4 Alekhine Defense (3… d6 4. c4) | 5,309 (41%) | |
| 4. Nf3 Modern Variation | 3,079 (24%) | |
| 4. exd6 | 1,679 (13%) | |
| 4. f4 | 1,487 (12%) | |
| 4. Bc4 Balogh Variation | 984 (8%) | |
| 4. c3 | 75 (1%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 61 (0%) | |
| 4. Qf3 | 36 (0%) |
Master games
785 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 13%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2786) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2716) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-11
- GM Sam Shankland (2731) – GM Richard Rapport (2735) 1/2-1/2 · Champions Showdown Rapid · 2019-02-21
- GM Sam Shankland (2731) – GM Richard Rapport (2735) 0-1 · Champions Showdown Rapid · 2019-02-21
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Alexander Riazantsev (2638) 1-0 · Play for Russia Prelim · 2020-05-12
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 1st Feb A · 2022-02-01
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- 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
- IM beatles_21 (2746) – CM JoeAssaad (2674) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (2… Nd5 3. d4) 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense (3… d6 4. c4) B03 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4
- Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation B03 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation B04 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3
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.