Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8
The Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,290 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3. d4 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.73 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 Nf6)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/4P3/8/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 884 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,101 | |
| 2000+ | 305 | |
| All | 2,290 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d4 | 1,474 (64%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 365 (16%) | |
| 3. f4 | 128 (6%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 102 (4%) | |
| 3. c4 | 90 (4%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 65 (3%) | |
| 3. Qf3 | 23 (1%) | |
| 3. e6 | 8 (0%) |
Master games
336 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 15%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2771) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-15
- GM Laurent Fressinet (2717) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2881) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-19
- GM Anish Giri (2782) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 3m+1spm 2018 · 2018-09-07
- GM Anish Giri (2782) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 3m+1spm 2018 · 2018-09-07
- GM Anish Giri (2782) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2018 · 2018-09-07
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM timi16 (2655) – July16Q (2654) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- italyastageleri (2614) – Lmkt (2668) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- InvadedDorms (2677) – mysticgone (2527) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (1. e4 Nf6) 1. e4 Nf6
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Brooklyn Variation, Everglades Variation B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng8 3. d4 f5
More Alekhine Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Modern Line B02
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense B02
- Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation 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.