Caissa Codex
B02

Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense

Chess diagram: Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense after 3…e6

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

129,100 games: White 49.2% / Draw 3.2% / Black 47.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
60,10960K
18,67319K
15,99416K
4,5714,571
4,3794,379
4,0724,072
3,5323,532
3,4943,494

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026

Engine evaluation

+2.06 White is clearly better

Even so, Black scores 49.2% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 4. Nh3 h6 5. Qg4 d5 6. f3 h5 7. Qf4 g5 8. Qe3 g4

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

Overview

Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense (ECO B02, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ne4 3. d4 e6 (3 moves).

In 129,100 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 47.6% and 3.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Bd3, in 47% of those games.

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How to play against the Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense

4. Nf3 scores best for White: 54.2%, with White winning 52.4% and Black 44.0% of 16K games. The most played, 4. Bd3, scores 54.0% in 60K games, and 4. f3 scores lowest: 37.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. Nh3.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3. d4 e6, the position after Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Alekhine Defense: Mokele Mbembe, Vavra Defense (B02)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-mokele-mbembe-vavra-defense

https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-mokele-mbembe-vavra-defense