Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
303,373 games: White 44.9% / Draw 5.3% / Black 49.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 265,272265K | ||
| 22,81623K | ||
| 6,0506,050 | ||
| 4,1174,117 | ||
| 1,2861,286 | ||
| 929929 | ||
| 800800 | ||
| 680680 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.75 White is better
Best play: 7... Bf5 8. Nc3 e6 9. Nf3 Be7 10. Be2 f6 11. O-O O-O 12. exf6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 550 | |
| 1400–1799 | 25K | |
| 1800–2199 | 206K | |
| 2200 and up | 76K | |
| Masters, over the board | 650 |
Master games
- Grischuk, A. – Svidler, P.
- Morozevich, A. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Vitiugov, N.
- Bologan, V. – Rozentalis, E.
- Pavasovic, D. – Nakamura, H.
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: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line (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 Nc6 7. Be3 (7 moves).
In 303,373 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.9%, Black 49.8% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Bf5, in 87% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Tartakower Variation.
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: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line
The most played answer, 7…Bf5, also scores best for Black: 53.1%, with Black winning 50.3% and White 44.2% of 265K games. Of the main answers, 7…g6 scores lowest: 50.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Bf5.
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: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line has gained ground since 2016: 0.014% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.01%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.01% | 3,641 |
| 2017 | 0.012% | 6,433 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,368 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 13,620 |
| 2020 | 0.0098% | 28,583 |
| 2021 | 0.0091% | 35,718 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 41,203 |
| 2023 | 0.012% | 45,881 |
| 2024 | 0.013% | 47,632 |
| 2025 | 0.014% | 49,549 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.014% | 15,608 |
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
Variations (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line (B03)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-four-pawns-attack-main-line