Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
320,199 games: White 44.9% / Draw 4.7% / Black 50.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 228,028228K | ||
| 35,15235K | ||
| 27,26327K | ||
| 25,24525K | ||
| 4,0044,004 | ||
| 224224 | ||
| 6060 | ||
| 4949 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.05 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nb6 5. Bb3 dxe5 6. Qh5 e6 7. dxe5 a5 8. a4 Na6 9. Nh3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 52% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 73K | |
| 1400–1799 | 191K | |
| 1800–2199 | 168K | |
| 2200 and up | 44K | |
| Masters, over the board | 404 |
Master games
- Amin, B. – Giri, A.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Nakamura, H.
- Amin, B. – Movsesian, S.
- Zemlyanskii, I. – Bortnyk, O.
- Thorhallsson, T. – Mamedyarov, S.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation (ECO B03, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4 (4 moves).
In 320,199 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.9%, Black 50.4% and 4.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nb6, in 71% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation
4…c6 scores best for Black: 53.2%, with Black winning 50.5% and White 44.1% of 25K games. The most played, 4…Nb6, scores 53.0% in 228K games, and 4…dxe5 scores lowest: 51.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nb6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.016%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.016% | 5,796 |
| 2017 | 0.016% | 8,928 |
| 2018 | 0.016% | 12,746 |
| 2019 | 0.015% | 18,831 |
| 2020 | 0.014% | 42,350 |
| 2021 | 0.013% | 50,121 |
| 2022 | 0.012% | 44,399 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 43,207 |
| 2024 | 0.011% | 40,386 |
| 2025 | 0.011% | 37,195 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.01% | 11,336 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Alekhine Defense: Balogh Variation (B03)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-balogh-variation