Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Korchnoi Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
833 games: White 42.5% / Draw 8.6% / Black 48.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 191191 | ||
| 172172 | ||
| 158158 | ||
| 100100 | ||
| 3838 | ||
| 3636 | ||
| 3434 | ||
| 2525 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.83 White is better
Best play: 11. Be3 Nc6 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. Qd2 Qe7 14. Rad1 Rad8 15. Kh1 h6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Korchnoi Variation (ECO B03, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Bf5 7. Nc3 e6 8. Nf3 Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O f6 (10 moves).
In 833 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 42.5%, Black 48.9% and 8.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 11. Be3, in 23% of those games.
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How to play against the Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Korchnoi Variation
The most played answer, 11. Be3, also scores best for White: 50.5%, with White winning 46.6% and Black 45.5% of 191 games. Of the main answers, 11. Bf4 scores lowest: 42.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 11. Be3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Korchnoi Variation (B03)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-four-pawns-attack-korchnoi-variation