Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
14,718,393 games: White 46.6% / Draw 4.9% / Black 48.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Alekhine Defense | 6,609,8366.6M | |
| Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack | 5,238,1575.2M | |
| 1,147,6691.1M | ||
| 787,043787K | ||
| Alekhine Defense: Sämisch Attack | 639,256639K | |
| 74,11774K | ||
| 57,44657K | ||
| 40,86841K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.77 White is better
Best play: 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 Bf5 6. Nf3 e6 7. Nc3 dxe5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 44% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 9.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.9M | |
| Masters, over the board | 18K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Firouzja, A.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation (ECO B02, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 (2 moves).
In 14,718,393 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.6%, Black 48.5% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. d4, in 45% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Alekhine Defense and Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack. In all, 42 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation
3. Nf3 scores best for White: 49.4%, with White winning 46.9% and Black 48.2% of 1.1M games. The most played, 3. d4, scores 49.1% in 6.6M games, and 3. Bc4 scores lowest: 48.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. c4.
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: Normal Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.68% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.56% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.61% | 217,357 |
| 2017 | 0.66% | 363,025 |
| 2018 | 0.68% | 534,956 |
| 2019 | 0.64% | 793,629 |
| 2020 | 0.59% | 1,725,207 |
| 2021 | 0.54% | 2,100,861 |
| 2022 | 0.55% | 2,060,145 |
| 2023 | 0.56% | 2,113,234 |
| 2024 | 0.57% | 2,033,959 |
| 2025 | 0.56% | 1,926,527 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.55% | 600,248 |
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 (6)
All 42 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- B03 Alekhine Defense 3 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Buckley Attack 3 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Kmoch Variation 5 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Sämisch Attack 3 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack 3 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Welling Variation 3 moves
- B03 Alekhine Defense 3 moves
- B03 O'Sullivan Gambit 3 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Steiner Variation 4 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: The Squirrel 3 moves
- B02 Lasker Variation 4 moves
- B02 Tate Variation 4 moves
- B03 Alekhine Defense 4 moves
- B03 Balogh Variation 4 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Lasker Simul Gambit 6 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit 7 moves
- B04 Modern Variation 4 moves
- B03 Exchange Variation 5 moves
- B03 Four Pawns Attack 5 moves
- B03 Hunt Variation 5 moves
- B04 Alburt Variation 4 moves
- B03 Modern Variation, Alekhine Gambit 6 moves
- B04 Larsen Variation 4 moves
- B04 Larsen-Haakert Variation 4 moves
- B05 Main Line 4 moves
- B04 Schmid Variation 4 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Mikenas Variation 6 moves
- B03 Karpov Variation 11 moves
- B03 Voronezh Variation 9 moves
- B03 Cambridge Gambit 5 moves
- B03 Fianchetto Variation 5 moves
- B03 Ilyin-Zhenevsky Variation 9 moves
- B03 Korchnoi Variation 10 moves
- B03 Main Line 7 moves
- B03 Trifunovic Variation 5 moves
- B02 Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Mikenas Gambit 8 moves
- B05 Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Alekhine Variation 5 moves
- B05 Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Flohr Variation 5 moves
- B04 Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Keres Variation 7 moves
- B05 Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Panov Variation 5 moves
- B03 Alekhine Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Tartakower Variation 11 moves
- B05 Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Vitolins Attack 6 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation (B02)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-normal-variation