Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4
The Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B03, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 984 times by this move order. White won 49%, 3% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nb6 (63% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… Nb6 5. Bb3 dxe5 6. Qh5 e6 7. dxe5)
- ECO
- B03
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p4/3nP3/2BP4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQK1NR b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 271 | |
| 1500-1999 | 484 | |
| 2000+ | 229 | |
| All | 984 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nb6 | 621 (63%) | |
| 4… dxe5 | 129 (13%) | |
| 4… e6 | 101 (10%) | |
| 4… c6 | 98 (10%) | |
| 4… Be6 | 29 (3%) | |
| 4… Nb4 | 4 (0%) | |
| 4… Nf4 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
431 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 16%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Bassem Amin (2631) – GM Anish Giri (2722) 1/2-1/2 · Reykjavik Open 2013 · 2013-02-25
- GM Bassem Amin (2695) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2607) 1-0 · Indjic-Amin Blitz · 2021-03-19
- GM Bassem Amin (2636) – GM Sergei Movsesian (2598) 1/2-1/2 · German Team Cup 2025 · 2025-06-15
- GM Ivan Zemlyanskii (2592) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2601) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2025 · 2025-12-26
- GM Mikhail Panarin (2562) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2601) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th May Late · 2025-05-13
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- sec_acc (2681) – CM JoeAssaad (2659) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- FM Alex-31 (2458) – Mfbestadclol (2783) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- khvichachess (2610) – FM Konnov_Oleg (2581) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (3. d4 d6) 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6
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.