Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3
The Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B04, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. Black is to move. 5 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,079 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bg4 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.46 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… dxe5 5. Nxe5 c6 6. Be2 Bf5 7. O-O)
- ECO
- B04
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p4/3nP3/3P4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 357 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,285 | |
| 2000+ | 1,437 | |
| All | 3,079 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bg4 Modern Variation, Main Line | 1,306 (42%) | |
| 4… dxe5 Modern Variation, Larsen Variation | 692 (22%) | |
| 4… g6 Modern Variation, Alburt Variation | 534 (17%) | |
| 4… Nc6 Modern Variation, Larsen-Haakert Variation | 313 (10%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 91 (3%) | |
| 4… Nb6 Modern Variation, Schmid Variation | 40 (1%) | |
| 4… e6 | 30 (1%) | |
| 4… c5 | 26 (1%) |
Master games
223 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 19%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2784) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 1-0 · 5th Zurich Opening Blitz · 2016-02-12
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) – GM Axel Bachmann (2591) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Nov Late · 2023-11-07
- GM Gata Kamsky (2658) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2704) 1-0 · Chess.com Rapid Wk5 Swiss · 2022-03-12
- GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) – GM Nihal Sarin (2723) 1-0 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 14th May 2026 · 2026-05-14
- GM Aryan Tari (2618) – GM Mateusz Bartel (2638) 0-1 · Sebinhoo Invitational · 2020-12-22
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- JelenaZ (2656) – ChessWarrior_222 (2805) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- IM beatles_21 (2746) – CM JoeAssaad (2674) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- SackOnTheKing930 (2736) – CM JoeAssaad (2666) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (3. d4 d6) 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Alburt Variation B04 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Larsen Variation B04 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Larsen-Haakert Variation B04 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nc6
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Main Line B05 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4
- Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Schmid Variation B04 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nb6
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.