Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 d6 7. Bg5
The Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 d6 7. Bg5. 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 3 times by this move order. White won 67%, 0% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 7… Nc6 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.20 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 7… h6 8. Bf4 Be6 9. Qc2 dxc5 10. Nf3)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p4/2P1P1B1/8/2P5/PP3PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 d6 7. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Nc6 | 2 (67%) | |
| 7… h6 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
3 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 0%, Black 67%). The strongest:
- Nemanja Savic (2117) – Nemanja Cvetkovic (2219) 0-1 · Letnji Open Jezero 2015 · 2015-08-10
- Alexandr G Viktorov (2288) – Vladimir Menshov (1798) 1-0 · Open ch-Odoyev 2018 · 2018-06-04
- Artur Artemiev (1879) – Ilya Abramov (2049) 0-1 · 16th Moscow Open A 2020 · 2020-01-30
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- grand58 (2050) – Ryman1 (2020) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- hesham_sakr1 (2004) – Sarren8797 (1742) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 0s
- Thambolenyoka (1918) – MASHLIMITED (1821) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Lasker Variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5
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, 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
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.