Alekhine Defense: Exchange Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6
The Alekhine Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B03, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. 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 2,348 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5… cxd6 (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.48 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… exd6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. h3 Bf5 8. Bd3)
- ECO
- B03
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/1n1P4/8/2PP4/8/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 70 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,194 | |
| 2000+ | 1,084 | |
| All | 2,348 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… cxd6 | 1,264 (54%) | |
| 5… exd6 | 1,055 (45%) | |
| 5… Qxd6 | 27 (1%) | |
| 5… Nxc4 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
3,089 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 20%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-23
- Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-23
- LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-23
- Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-23
- KomodoDragon3.3 (3592) – LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3628) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-30
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Freerunning (2743) – CM JoeAssaad (2665) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Cuentatorneos (2654) – gagoteveyu (2750) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- FM TrixR4Kidzzz (2697) – CM JoeAssaad (2662) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (3… d6 4. c4) 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Exchange Variation, Voronezh Variation B03 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6 cxd6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Rc1 O-O 9. b3
- Alekhine Defense: Exchange Variation, Karpov Variation B03 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6 cxd6 6. Nc3 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O Bf5 11. Bf4
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.