Tree path 3 levels Queen's Pawn Game › Modern Defense › Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation
- Chess Codex
- Queen's Pawn Game A40
- Modern Defense A40
- Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation A40 you are here
Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation
Overview
Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation is a variation within the Flank Openings family, indexed as ECO A40.
The Flank Openings group covers flank openings — systems that delay the central pawn break and instead develop pieces and pawns on the wings.
It is reached after 10 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 f5.
It is a variation of Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense, which itself descends from the root opening Queen's Pawn Game.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- A40
- Group
- Flank Openings (A)
- Plies
- 10
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
131,244 games · White 42.9% / Draw 5.1% / Black 52.0%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nf3 | 31,496 | |
| e4 | 27,661 | |
| h4 | 15,149 | |
| Qc2 | 11,049 | |
| g3 | 9,053 | |
| Bg5 | 8,175 | |
| f3 | 7,941 | |
| g4 | 4,844 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:11:22
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Submissions are reviewed before publishing.