Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Mikenas Variation
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 d6
The Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Mikenas Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 d6. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 15 times by this move order. White won 60%, 0% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 7. cxd6 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.44 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 7. Nxd5 exd5 8. Bxd5 dxe5 9. Qb3 Bxc5)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3pp3/2PnP3/2B5/2N5/PP1P1PPP/R1BQK1NR w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 14 | |
| All | 15 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. cxd6 | 8 (53%) | |
| 7. Nxd5 | 5 (33%) | |
| 7. Bxd5 | 1 (7%) | |
| 7. Qf3 | 1 (7%) |
Master games
4 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 25%, draw 0%, Black 75%). The strongest:
- CM Shukhrat Makhmudov (2115) – Kirill Reshetkov (2197) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 22nd June · 2021-06-22
- CM Grigory Sharankov (2238) – WFM Olga Yushko (2033) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Jun Late · 2025-06-10
- FM Vasile Carafizi (2127) – CM Alexej Cherepov (2008) 0-1 · Titled Tue 25th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-25
- CM Nikolaos Skiadopoulos (1854) – Daniel Herman (1927) 0-1 · Titled Tue 16th Jan Early · 2024-01-16
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Mikenas Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- dr-tom (2312) – BenDerq (2299) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- emam_m (2263) – FROL2222 (2265) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- MohammedAbed1 (2241) – Amaya64 (2247) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Lasker Simul Gambit 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Mikenas Gambit B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 Nd5 5. Bc4 e6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Nxd5 exd5 8. Bxd5
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, Matsukevich 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
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Modern Line B02
- Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense 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.