Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense
Chess opening · ECO A40 · 2 half-moves
1. d4 g6
The Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense is reached after 1. d4 g6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Queen's Pawn Game with 1… g6.
How often it is played
The Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense and its variations appeared in 0.93% of games — 28,047 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 56 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 49%, 3.5% were drawn and Black won 47%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.68 — a clear edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 | 5.1% |
| Queen's Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 | 4.5% |
| Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 | 2.3% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Modern Defense: Averbakh System | 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 | 0.05% |
| Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Benoni | 1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 | 0.01% |
| Pterodactyl Defense: Queen Pterodactyl, Quiet Line | 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3 | 0.01% |
| Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation, Fianchetto Defense | 1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. Nc3 d5 | 0.00% |
| Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation | 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 f5 | 0.00% |
| Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense | 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 e5 | 0.00% |
| Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch | 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. f3 | 0.00% |
| Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon | 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Qa5 | 0.00% |
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