Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Panov Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3
The Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Panov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B05, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3. 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 135 times by this move order. White won 56%, 5% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 5… Bh5 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 5… Bxf3 6. Qxf3 dxe5 7. dxe5 e6 8. Qe4)
- ECO
- B05
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p4/3nP3/3P2b1/5N1P/PPP2PP1/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 22 | |
| 1500-1999 | 42 | |
| 2000+ | 71 | |
| All | 135 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Bh5 | 71 (53%) | |
| 5… Bxf3 | 61 (45%) | |
| 5… Bf5 | 2 (1%) | |
| 5… e6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
118 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 15%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Losers 2023 · 2023-07-21
- GM Murali Karthikeyan (2627) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2730) 0-1 · Armageddon Asia&Oceania W · 2023-04-04
- GM Murali Karthikeyan (2627) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2730) 0-1 · Armageddon Asia&Oceania W · 2023-04-04
- GM Ilia Iljiushenok (2533) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2688) 0-1 · World Rapid 2018 · 2018-12-28
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM Mikhail Bryakin (2469) 0-1 · Titled Tue 25th Apr Late · 2023-04-25
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Panov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM Gettingold72 (2566) – IM HelloItsDmitri (2604) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- macnetto (2512) – IM Arrowlimit (2566) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Udemzo (2487) – IM Odirovski (2525) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Main Line 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4
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.