Alekhine Defense: Normal Variation
B02 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5
White scores 48.4% here across 770 club games — but the 11.0% who answer Bc4 score 44.1%, 4 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 770 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 48.4% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| d4 | 326 | 42.3% | 47.9% | holds up |
| c4 | 289 | 37.5% | 51.2% | holds up |
| Bc4 | 85 | 11.0% | 44.1% | below the line |
| Nf3 | 37 | 4.8% | 39.2% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.
Related openings
- Alekhine Defense B02