B04

Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Schmid Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

189,377 games: White 46.2% / Draw 5.3% / Black 48.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	69,80670K
	29,37429K
	23,41423K
	14,34414K
	11,52312K
	8,1748,174
	7,4517,451
	6,7486,748

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.94 White is better

Best play: 5. a4 a5 6. Nc3 Na6 7. Ne4 dxe5 8. Nxe5 g6 9. Bxa6 Rxa6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	6,670
1400–1799	47K
1800–2199	120K
2200 and up	37K
Masters, over the board	701

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H. 1–0, 2016
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Nakamura, H. 0–1, 2007
Dobrov, V. – Nakamura, H. 0–1, 2019
Dobrov, V. – Nakamura, H. 0–1, 2019
Luther, T. – Sakaev, K. ½–½, 2001

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: Modern Variation, Schmid Variation (ECO B04, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nb6 (4 moves).

In 189,377 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.2%, Black 48.5% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. exd6, in 37% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Schmid Variation

5. Be2 scores best for White: 50.5%, with White winning 47.4% and Black 46.3% of 23K games. The most played, 5. exd6, scores 48.5% in 70K games, and 5. c4 scores lowest: 46.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. a4.

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

Popularity by year

The Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Schmid Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.0089% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0063% in 2025.

0.0055%0.0063%0.0089%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0055%	1,954
2017	0.0074%	4,089
2018	0.0078%	6,126
2019	0.0081%	10,057
2020	0.0089%	26,084
2021	0.0076%	29,759
2022	0.0073%	27,265
2023	0.0071%	26,706
2024	0.0073%	26,072
2025	0.0063%	22,026
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0061%	6,742

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: Modern Variation, Schmid Variation (B04)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-modern-variation-schmid-variation