Modern Defense: Averbakh System
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Statistics from Lichess
4,118,333 games: White 48.9% / Draw 4.9% / Black 46.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation | 1,738,7551.7M | |
| Modern Defense: Kotov Variation | 804,918805K | |
| 506,063506K | ||
| 268,788269K | ||
| 263,135263K | ||
| 138,439138K | ||
| 105,619106K | ||
| 87,48087K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.48 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... c5 5. Nge2 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 7. Be3 Nxd4 8. Bxd4 Bxd4 9. Qxd4
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 52% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 164K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 530K | |
| Masters, over the board | 9,259 |
Master games
- Praggnanandhaa, R. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – Kasparov, G.
- Caruana, F. – Firouzja, A.
- Nakamura, H. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Anand, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Modern Defense: Averbakh System (ECO A42, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Modern Defense, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 (4 moves).
In 4,118,333 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 46.1% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nf6, in 42% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Modern Defense: Kotov Variation and Modern Defense: Randspringer Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Modern Defense: Averbakh System
4…Nc6 (Modern Defense: Kotov Variation) scores best for Black: 51.7%, with Black winning 49.1% and White 45.7% of 805K games. The most played, 4…Nf6, scores 48.2% in 1.7M games, and 4…c6 scores lowest: 47.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…c5.
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 Modern Defense: Averbakh System peaked in 2018 at 0.19% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.16% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.16% | 57,885 |
| 2017 | 0.18% | 100,615 |
| 2018 | 0.19% | 150,881 |
| 2019 | 0.18% | 223,214 |
| 2020 | 0.16% | 479,103 |
| 2021 | 0.15% | 584,674 |
| 2022 | 0.15% | 581,902 |
| 2023 | 0.16% | 588,848 |
| 2024 | 0.16% | 560,687 |
| 2025 | 0.16% | 541,945 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.16% | 176,703 |
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)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Modern Defense: Averbakh System (A42)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/modern-defense-averbakh-system