B06

Modern Defense: Standard Line

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Statistics from Lichess

6,432,078 games: White 52.5% / Draw 4.7% / Black 42.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Modern Defense: Standard Defense	3,252,0523.3M
	761,870762K
Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl	726,783727K
	634,299634K
Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nc3	343,119343K
	183,622184K
	143,902144K
	117,920118K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.50 White is slightly better

Best play: 3... d5 4. Nxd5 c6 5. Ne3 Qxd4 6. Qxd4 Bxd4 7. f3 Bg7 8. a4

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 53% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	685K
1400–1799	2.2M
1800–2199	3.6M
2200 and up	1.4M
Masters, over the board	24K

Master games

So, W. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2017
Caruana, F. – Aronian, L. 1–0, 2018
Naiditsch, A. – Carlsen, M. 1–0, 2015
Caruana, F. – Kramnik, V. ½–½, 2013
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Aronian, L. 1–0, 2020

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: Standard Line (ECO B06, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Modern Defense, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 (3 moves).

In 6,432,078 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.5%, Black 42.7% and 4.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…d6, in 51% of those games.

It branches into 7 named variations; the most played are Modern Defense: Standard Defense and Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl. In all, 17 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Modern Defense: Standard Line

3…c5 (Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl) scores best for Black: 48.1%, with Black winning 45.7% and White 49.4% of 727K games. The most played, 3…d6, scores 45.5% in 3.3M games, and 3…e6 scores lowest: 41.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…d5.

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: Standard Line has gained ground since 2016: 0.26% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.2%.

0.2%0.26%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.2%	70,286
2017	0.23%	127,729
2018	0.26%	203,404
2019	0.25%	311,220
2020	0.25%	731,630
2021	0.23%	915,519
2022	0.24%	900,824
2023	0.25%	939,786
2024	0.26%	922,785
2025	0.26%	906,823
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.27%	296,539

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 (7)

All 17 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Modern Defense: Standard Line (B06)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/modern-defense-standard-line