Tree path 3 levels Queen's Pawn Game › Modern Defense › Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl
- Chess Codex
- Queen's Pawn Game A40
- Modern Defense A40
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl A40 you are here
Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl
Overview
Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl 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.
Play reaches this position via 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 c5 4. d5 Qa5+, after 8 plies of opening development.
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
- 8
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
8,171 games · White 50.8% / Draw 3.9% / Black 45.3%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bd2 | 5,067 | |
| Qd2 | 1,269 | |
| Nc3 | 1,221 | |
| Nd2 | 606 | |
| Ke2 | 8 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:44:35
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Submissions are reviewed before publishing.