Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Tartakower Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
1,761 games: White 48.3% / Draw 5.5% / Black 46.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 409409 | ||
| 346346 | ||
| 322322 | ||
| 186186 | ||
| 166166 | ||
| 9898 | ||
| 4646 | ||
| 3939 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
+3.84 White is clearly better
Even so, Black scores 49.0% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 12. d5 exd5 13. Bxb6 axb6 14. cxd5 Bc5+ 15. Kh1 Nb4 16. Nd4 Bxd4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Tartakower Variation (ECO B03, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nc3 e6 9. Nf3 Qd7 10. Be2 O-O-O 11. O-O Be7 (11 moves).
In 1,761 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 46.3% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 12. a4, in 23% of those games.
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How to play against the Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Tartakower Variation
12. d5 scores best for White: 62.9%, with White winning 60.8% and Black 34.9% of 186 games. The most played, 12. a4, scores 60.6% in 409 games, and 12. c5 scores lowest: 40.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 12. d5.
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, Tartakower Variation (B03)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-four-pawns-attack-tartakower-variation