Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4 3. d4 e6
The Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4 3. d4 e6. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 239 times by this move order. White won 54%, 2% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. Bd3 (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.77 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 4. Nh3 h6 5. Qg4 d5 6. f3 h5)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/4p3/4P3/3Pn3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4 3. d4 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 97 | |
| 1500-1999 | 109 | |
| 2000+ | 33 | |
| All | 239 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Bd3 | 104 (44%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 36 (15%) | |
| 4. f3 | 25 (10%) | |
| 4. h4 | 9 (4%) | |
| 4. f4 | 9 (4%) | |
| 4. Qf3 | 9 (4%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 7 (3%) | |
| 4. Qe2 | 4 (2%) |
Master games
12 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 75%, draw 0%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- FM Artem Alek Fedorov (2258) – GM Alexandr Fier (2537) 0-1 · Titled Tue 8th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-08
- IM Gianmarco Leiva (2406) – FM Ulrich Zimmermann (2280) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th Apr Late · 2024-04-30
- FM Edgar Hayrapetyan (2340) – FM Ulrich Zimmermann (2280) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Apr Late · 2024-04-09
- IM Lenin Guerra Tulcan (2310) – FM Ulrich Zimmermann (2280) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th May Late · 2024-05-14
- WFM Alexandra Afanasieva (1914) – GM Alexandr Fier (2566) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Apr Early · 2024-04-09
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ramsou (2576) – trompsk (2438) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Sheeshi123 (2484) – trompsk (2431) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- YaaasQueen (2469) – trompsk (2442) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4
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, 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.