Caissa Codex
A40

Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine

Chess diagram: Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine after 2. Nf3

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

1,525,055 games: White 48.2% / Draw 4.0% / Black 47.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Krebs 906,241906K
397,023397K
Zukertort Opening: Vos Gambit 105,928106K
70,05170K
12,25812K
8,2568,256
7,2027,202
4,5604,560

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 19, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.22 The position is about equal

Best play: 2... e4 3. Nfd2 d5 4. c4 c6 5. Nc3 Be6 6. e3 f5 7. cxd5

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 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 1.9M
1400–1799 1.4M
1800–2199 806K
2200 and up 64K
Masters, over the board 2

Master games

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

Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine (ECO A40, Flank Openings) is a declined gambit in the Englund Gambit, reached after 1. d4 e5 2. Nf3 (2 moves).

In 1,525,055 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 47.8% and 4.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…e4, in 59% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Krebs. In all, 3 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine

The most played answer, 2…e4 (Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Krebs), also scores best for Black: 51.3%, with Black winning 49.4% and White 46.8% of 906K games. Of the main answers, 2…exd4 scores lowest: 47.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2…e4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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 Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine is played more than three times as often as in 2016: 0.067% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.022%.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.022%7,881
20170.025%13,958
20180.03%23,575
20190.036%44,430
20200.046%135,957
20210.059%231,849
20220.065%244,518
20230.067%252,422
20240.068%243,525
20250.067%232,009
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.067%72,944

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 (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. Nf3, the position after Englund Gambit also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 3 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine (A40)”. Lichess data as of 19 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/englund-gambit-declined-reversed-alekhine

https://chesscodex.org/openings/englund-gambit-declined-reversed-alekhine