Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Alekhine Variation
The Alekhine Variation of the Budapest Gambit is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.e4. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
295,231 games: White 52.3% / Draw 4.8% / Black 42.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 236,944237K | ||
| Tartakower Defense | 28,14228K | |
| 10,20910K | ||
| 6,3766,376 | ||
| 6,1366,136 | ||
| 4,5864,586 | ||
| 1,8951,895 | ||
| 718718 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.70 White is better
Best play: 4... Nxe5 5. Nc3 Bc5 6. f4 Nec6 7. Qg4 O-O 8. f5 d6 9. Nf3
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 55% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 6,975 | |
| 1400–1799 | 61K | |
| 1800–2199 | 205K | |
| 2200 and up | 45K | |
| Masters, over the board | 231 |
Master games
- Bacrot, E. – Shirov, A.
- Yilmaz, M. – Sevian, S.
- Vidit, S. – Al Modiahki, M.
- Cheparinov, I. – Al Modiahki, M.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Budnikov, 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 27, 2026
Description
The Alekhine Variation of the Budapest Gambit is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.e4. White does not try to keep the extra pawn and concentrates on building a strong pawn centre and a space advantage. Alexander Alekhine showed its strength in his wins against Ilya Rabinovich at Baden-Baden 1925 and Adolf Seitz at Hastings 1925–26. Alekhine wrote that it is considered with good reason to be White's best system against the Budapest Gambit: White hands the pawn back but gains control of d5, though over the next few moves White has to play with extreme precision.
The main line
After 4.e4 the main line is 4...Nxe5 5.f4, and Black must decide where the knight goes. The retreat to the queenside, 5...Nec6, is considered best: there it is safer than on g6 and helps control the central dark squares. 5...Ng6 is probably playable. A disputed point is whether the typical manoeuvre ...Bb4xc3 helps Black, by giving White doubled pawns, or White, by strengthening the centre.
Réti's 4...h5
Taylor considers 4...Nxe5 inferior and recommends a rarely played idea of Richard Réti, 4...h5. He gives the main line as 4...h5 5.h3 Nxe5 6.Be3 Bb4+, with good play for Black.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 52.3% of the 295,231 games and Black 42.8%, and the gap barely changes from one rating band to the next. In 231 master games over the board White won 46.8%, Black 24.2%, and 29.0% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Alekhine Variation
4…d6 (Tartakower Defense) scores best for Black: 49.2%, with Black winning 47.1% and White 48.6% of 28K games. The most played answer, 4…Nxe5, scores lowest: 46.0% in 237K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nxe5.
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 Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Alekhine Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.014% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.012% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.011% | 3,876 |
| 2017 | 0.013% | 7,213 |
| 2018 | 0.014% | 10,920 |
| 2019 | 0.014% | 17,174 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 33,592 |
| 2021 | 0.0099% | 38,681 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 39,855 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 42,647 |
| 2024 | 0.012% | 41,594 |
| 2025 | 0.012% | 41,281 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 12,933 |
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)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Budapest Gambit, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Alekhine Variation (A52)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-budapest-defense-alekhine-variation