Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4
The Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B02, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4. It is a line of the Alekhine Defense. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 15,857 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nb6 (94% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.53 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3… Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5)
- ECO
- B02
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/8/3nP3/2P5/8/PP1P1PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,457 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,154 | |
| 2000+ | 4,246 | |
| All | 15,857 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nb6 | 14,938 (94%) | |
| 3… Nf4 The Squirrel | 458 (3%) | |
| 3… Nb4 | 351 (2%) | |
| 3… e6 | 38 (0%) | |
| 3… d6 | 26 (0%) | |
| 3… b6 | 9 (0%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 8 (0%) | |
| 3… b5 | 7 (0%) |
Master games
3,166 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 14%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Levon Aronian (2773) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 0-1 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-11
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2771) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-15
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2767) 1/2-1/2 · SpeedChess Final 2024 · 2024-09-08
- GM Gukesh D (2725) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2022 · 2022-12-06
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2608) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Sep Early · 2024-09-03
Search all games of the Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- El_Banditoff (2736) – July16Q (2665) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Rumple_DarkOne (2587) – ChessWarrior_222 (2799) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- FM AttackSparrow (2659) – IM rhinoceros2015 (2707) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5
Continuations
- Alekhine Defense: The Squirrel B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nf4
- Alekhine Defense: Steiner Variation B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. b3
- Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Lasker Variation B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5
- Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Tate Variation B02 · 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. a4
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.