Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
31,020,164 games: White 49.5% / Draw 4.9% / Black 45.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 11,629,11611.6M | ||
| 4,846,1994.8M | ||
| 4,622,6464.6M | ||
| 4,405,8994.4M | ||
| 1,906,1191.9M | ||
| 1,377,9221.4M | ||
| 529,902530K | ||
| 497,663498K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.62 White is slightly better
Best play: 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Qd2 c5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 9.4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 22.3M | |
| 1800–2199 | 16.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 2.4M | |
| Masters, over the board | 25K |
Master games
- Topalov, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
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
Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense (ECO A40, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, reached after 1. d4 g6 (1 move).
In 31,020,164 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 45.7% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. c4, in 37% of those games.
It branches into 14 named variations; the most played are Modern Defense and Pterodactyl Defense: Queen Pterodactyl, Quiet Line. In all, 17 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense
2. Nf3 scores best for White: 52.6%, with White winning 49.9% and Black 44.8% of 4.8M games. The most played, 2. c4, scores 51.9% in 11.6M games, and 2. e3 scores lowest: 49.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 2. e4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense has stayed between 1.1% and 1.2% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (1.2% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.1% | 375,288 |
| 2017 | 1.1% | 596,644 |
| 2018 | 1.1% | 896,496 |
| 2019 | 1.2% | 1,481,885 |
| 2020 | 1.2% | 3,443,800 |
| 2021 | 1.2% | 4,621,036 |
| 2022 | 1.2% | 4,625,427 |
| 2023 | 1.2% | 4,588,850 |
| 2024 | 1.2% | 4,357,804 |
| 2025 | 1.2% | 4,196,037 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.2% | 1,331,520 |
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 (14)
- A40 Colle System: Pterodactyl Variation 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 Qa5+
- A40 Colle System: Siroccopteryx Variation 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qa5+
- A41 Modern Defense 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6
- A42 Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. f3
- A40 Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 f5
- A40 Modern Defense: Lizard Defense, Pirc-Diemer Gambit 2. h4 Nf6 3. h5
- A41 Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 e5
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Beefeater Pterodactyl 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 c5 4. d5 Qa5+
- A42 Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Bogolubovia 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Nc3 c5 5. Nge2 Qa5
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Benoni Pterodactyl 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Qa5
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Qa5
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pterodactyl 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Qa5+
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Queen Pterodactyl, Quiet Line 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3
All 17 named lines that continue from here
- A40 Colle System: Pterodactyl Variation 4 moves
- A40 Colle System: Siroccopteryx Variation 5 moves
- A41 Modern Defense 3 moves
- A42 Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch 5 moves
- A40 Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation 5 moves
- A40 Modern Defense: Lizard Defense, Pirc-Diemer Gambit 3 moves
- A41 Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense 3 moves
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Beefeater Pterodactyl 6 moves
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl 4 moves
- A42 Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Bogolubovia 5 moves
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Benoni Pterodactyl 4 moves
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon 5 moves
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pterodactyl 4 moves
- A40 Pterodactyl Defense: Queen Pterodactyl, Quiet Line 4 moves
- A42 Averbakh System 4 moves
- A42 Modern Defense: Kotov Variation 4 moves
- A42 Modern Defense: Randspringer Variation 4 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense (A40)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-pawn-game-modern-defense