Reti Opening/Alekhine Defense (Nf3/Nf6) as the best first move

I believe the Reti Opening/Alekhine Defense (Nf3/Nf6) are the best first move for white and black respectively, for the following reasons:

1. The move counters King's Pawn Opening, which exposes the king to less danger than Queen's Pawn Opening.
2. The move claims two central squares by developing a Knight.
3. The move provides a great foundation for Queen's Pawn Opening and other openings.
4. Jeffery Xiong played Nf3 as his first move when he defeated Magnus Carlsen.

Stockfish also prefers Nf3 on very high depth (several hours of analysis).

I will update this post if I find more information.

google ran alphazero on a supercomputer a few years back and analyzed the opening in extreme depth, then published the results. It concluded e4 and d4 were the two best first moves objectively - not too surprising but also not that meaningful or important. If I remember correctly I think it didn't have a preference between e4 vs. d4.

As for alekhines defense - it's definitely not the most objectively sound response to e4. Personally I prefer the nimzowitsch sicilian to the alekhines, but I'd rather just play a normal sicilian.

The way to analyze the opening is not via some purely abstract, theoretical statement like "this move controls 2 squares, one near the king, the other near the queen, blah blah blah". Talk about the actual positions that the opening will reach, that's alot more interesting.

While 1. Nf3 is certainly in contention for the best first move (alongside 1. c4, 1. d4, and 1. e4), the Alekhine's is nowhere near the best anti-e4 defense.

Your first point is the only outright incorrect point, but it is incorrect on two accounts. The Alekhine's doesn't "counter" KPO, I don't know where you got this misinformation. Also, e4 conventionally exposes the king to more danger than d4, in exchange for offering better development (castling in four moves and allowing the queen out on move 2).

Your other two points are correct but just a matter of personal taste.

Don't use Stockfish as an objective analysis of opening strength, as it doesn't evaluate the current position.