Tree path 4 levels Queen's Pawn Game › Mikenas Defense › Montevideo Defense › Zaire Defense
- Caissa Codex
- Queen's Pawn Game A40
- Mikenas Defense A40
- Montevideo Defense A40
- Zaire Defense A40 you are here
Zaire Defense
Overview
Zaire Defense 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 begins with 8 plies and takes 1. d4 Nc6 2. d5 Nb8 3. e4 Nf6 4. e5 Ng8 to reach the canonical position.
It is a variation of Montevideo 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
- Parent
- Montevideo Defense
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
4,459 games · White 60.0% / Draw 3.7% / Black 36.3%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nf3 | 1,261 | |
| c4 | 1,105 | |
| f4 | 1,064 | |
| Nc3 | 496 | |
| Bc4 | 247 | |
| Bd3 | 77 | |
| Bf4 | 35 | |
| Bg5 | 31 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:44:44
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