Alekhine Defense: Sämisch Attack
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3
The Alekhine Defense: Sämisch Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3. 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 1,764 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nxc3 (59% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 3… Nxc3 4. dxc3 g6 5. h4 Bg7 6. h5)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/8/3nP3/8/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 248 | |
| 1500-1999 | 518 | |
| 2000+ | 998 | |
| All | 1,764 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nxc3 | 1,045 (59%) | |
| 3… Nb6 | 292 (17%) | |
| 3… e6 | 238 (13%) | |
| 3… c6 | 154 (9%) | |
| 3… d6 | 12 (1%) | |
| 3… Nf4 | 8 (0%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 6 (0%) | |
| 3… Nb4 | 5 (0%) |
Master games
1,146 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 16%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2644) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2025 · 2025-10-13
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2641) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) 0-1 · Titled Arena Jan 2nd 2021 · 2021-01-02
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2782) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2607) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-17
- GM Daniil Dubov (2711) – GM Benjamin Gledura (2652) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 15th Mar Late · 2022-03-15
- GM Frederik Svane (2645) – GM Nihal Sarin (2716) 0-1 · Chess.com Open PlayIn2 · 2026-03-18
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Sämisch Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM sillyMASTER (2840) – IM rhinoceros2015 (2700) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- BoneCrusher2020 (2724) – CM JoeAssaad (2672) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Xavijhz29 (2646) – notkevich (2729) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5
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.