Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Lasker Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
923,937 games: White 47.8% / Draw 5.2% / Black 47.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 912,618913K | ||
| 7,7967,796 | ||
| 1,1711,171 | ||
| 1,0161,016 | ||
| 738738 | ||
| 310310 | ||
| 164164 | ||
| 6464 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nd5 5. Nc3 e6 6. d4 d6 7. cxd6 cxd6 8. f4 dxe5 9. fxe5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 54% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 186K | |
| 1400–1799 | 423K | |
| 1800–2199 | 540K | |
| 2200 and up | 149K | |
| Masters, over the board | 616 |
Master games
- Rozentalis, E. – Krasenkow, M.
- Luther, T. – Bauer, C.
- Potkin, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Sveshnikov, E. – Morozevich, A.
- Pap, M. – Khenkin, I.
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: Two Pawns Attack, Lasker Variation (ECO B02, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, reached after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. c5 (4 moves).
In 923,937 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.8%, Black 47.0% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nd5, in 99% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Lasker Simul Gambit and Alekhine Defense: Hunt Variation, Matsukevich Gambit. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Lasker Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.032% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.046%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.046% | 16,337 |
| 2017 | 0.045% | 24,635 |
| 2018 | 0.045% | 35,107 |
| 2019 | 0.041% | 50,850 |
| 2020 | 0.039% | 112,757 |
| 2021 | 0.035% | 138,227 |
| 2022 | 0.035% | 133,021 |
| 2023 | 0.034% | 129,215 |
| 2024 | 0.034% | 122,900 |
| 2025 | 0.032% | 110,152 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.031% | 33,524 |
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 (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Alekhine Defense: Two Pawns Attack, Lasker Variation (B02)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/alekhine-defense-two-pawns-attack-lasker-variation