Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Keres Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. a4
The Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Keres Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B04, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. a4. 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 5 times by this move order. White won 40%, 0% were drawn and Black won 60%. The most popular continuation is 7… a5 (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.41 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 7… dxe5 8. a5 N6d7 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. Ng5+)
- ECO
- B04
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/1n1p2p1/4P3/P2P4/1B3N2/1PP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. a4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… a5 | 3 (60%) | |
| 7… O-O | 2 (40%) |
Master games
77 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 28%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-20
- Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) – PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-18
- GM Yifan Hou (2653) – GM Liren Ding (2778) 1/2-1/2 · 7th Hainan Danzhou GM · 2016-07-13
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2649) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2601) 0-1 · 3rd 3-0 Thu 20th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-20
- GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2598) – GM Nihal Sarin (2620) 0-1 · Chess.com Bullet Open 2 · 2020-12-19
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Keres Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- rid21 (2456) – joobree (2482) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- FM ZackMatt (2346) – BarneyGamble (2259) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- bamrz (2138) – kamuskma (2212) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Alburt Variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6
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.