Semi-Open · a defense for Black
Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl
6/6
1.e4g62.d4Bg73.Nc3c5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl522k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
27%141k52%
19%99k55%
2.8%14k55%
1.8%9.6k37%
0.7%3.5k43%
0.3%1.4k39%
0.2%88839%
0.2%84745%
Famous games in this line889 master games
Mamedyarov, S.. (2770) – Nakamura, Hi (2736)Sutovsky, Emil (2651) – Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (2704)Saric, Iv (2669) – Piorun, K. (2651)Almasi, Z. (2689) – Istratescu, A. (2602)Bacrot, E. (2678) – Piorun, K. (2608)Short, Nigel D (2660) – Adianto, Utut (2615)Solodovnichenko, Y. (2584) – Guseinov, G. (2614)Ramirez, Alejandro (2593) – Kacheishvili, Giorgi (2598)Heroes of this opening Mamedyarov, S.. · Kasimdzhanov, Rustam · Piorun, K. · Almasi, Z.
- Family
- Modern Defense
- Category
- Semi-Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- B06
- Line
- 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5
FianchettoHypermodern
★ Read the guide: Modern DefenseExplore all 40 Modern Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Anhanguera4.Be3Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Rhamphorhynchus4.dxc5 Qa5Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Siroccopteryx4.Nf3 Qa5 5.Bc4Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Pteranodon4.dxc5 Bxc3 5.bxc3 Qa5
Nearby lines in the family
From the archives
Letting White build the entire centre while fianchettoing quietly was considered close to disrespectful; Ufimtsev was playing it in the late 1930s, and Karl Robatsch did the theoretical work that turned it into a system — across much of Europe it is still called the Robatsch Defence. The big centre is not an asset — it's a target.
Study this opening