Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4
The Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,651 times by this move order. White won 55%, 4% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 3. d3 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.42 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3. d4 e6 4. Nh3 h6 5. Qg4 d5)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/8/4P3/4n3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,826 | |
| 1500-1999 | 718 | |
| 2000+ | 107 | |
| All | 2,651 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d3 | 768 (29%) | |
| 3. d4 | 670 (25%) | |
| 3. f3 | 226 (9%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 190 (7%) | |
| 3. Qe2 | 189 (7%) | |
| 3. Qf3 | 132 (5%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 117 (4%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 92 (3%) |
Master games
50 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 14%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Mikhail Golubev (2461) – GM Dmitry Kokarev (2611) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 15th Sept · 2020-09-15
- GM Levon Aronian (2729) – FM Ulrich Zimmermann (2280) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st May Early · 2024-05-21
- IM Aron Pasti (2436) – GM Alexandr Fier (2537) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 8th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-08
- IM Kim Yew Chan (2383) – GM Alexandr Fier (2537) 0-1 · Titled Tue 8th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-08
- IM Sahib Singh (2374) – GM Alexandr Fier (2537) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 3rd Sep 2026 · 2026-09-03
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- onthewaygm (2593) – trompsk (2472) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- AjedrezGuerreroYT (2591) – trompsk (2427) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- ramsou (2576) – trompsk (2438) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense (1. e4 Nf6) 1. e4 Nf6
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Modern Line B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4 3. d4 f6
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4 3. d4 e6
More Alekhine Defense lines (all)
- 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: Normal Variation B02
- Alekhine Defense: Scandinavian Variation 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.