Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Alburt Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6
The Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Alburt Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B04, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6. 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 534 times by this move order. White won 47%, 7% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bc4 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.88 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 5. c4 Nb6 6. exd6 cxd6 7. h3 Bg7)
- ECO
- B04
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/3p2p1/3nP3/3P4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 26 | |
| 1500-1999 | 221 | |
| 2000+ | 287 | |
| All | 534 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bc4 | 224 (42%) | |
| 5. c4 | 137 (26%) | |
| 5. Be2 | 54 (10%) | |
| 5. exd6 | 32 (6%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 18 (3%) | |
| 5. h3 | 16 (3%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 15 (3%) | |
| 5. c3 | 10 (2%) |
Master games
1,589 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 19%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-4167c1e-BT4-6147500-it332 (3648) – Ethereal 14.40 (3545) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Premier 2024 · 2024-12-13
- Ethereal 14.40 (3545) – LCZero 0.31-dag-4167c1e-BT4-6147500-it332 (3648) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Premier 2024 · 2024-12-10
- Stoofvlees II b4 (3499) – SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3455) 1-0 · TCEC 24 Premier 2023 · 2023-04-02
- SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3455) – Stoofvlees II b4 (3499) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Premier 2023 · 2023-03-30
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 1-0 · Magnus-Alireza 27th Feb · 2021-02-27
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Alburt Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- JelenaZ (2656) – ChessWarrior_222 (2805) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- SackOnTheKing930 (2726) – July16Q (2615) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- sergolvz (2565) – gagoteveyu (2770) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Keres Variation B04 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. a4
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.