Modern Defense: Averbakh System
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4
The Modern Defense: Averbakh System is a chess opening classified as ECO A42, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4. It is a line of the Modern Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4,376 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.43 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 4… Nf6 5. h3 e5 6. d5 Nbd7 7. Bg5)
- ECO
- A42
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppp1ppbp/3p2p1/8/2PPP3/2N5/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 323 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,610 | |
| 2000+ | 1,443 | |
| All | 4,376 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 1,679 (38%) | |
| 4… Nc6 Kotov Variation | 894 (20%) | |
| 4… Nd7 | 607 (14%) | |
| 4… c6 | 303 (7%) | |
| 4… e5 | 251 (6%) | |
| 4… e6 | 204 (5%) | |
| 4… a6 | 118 (3%) | |
| 4… c5 | 86 (2%) |
Master games
1,747 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 17%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-25
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-24
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-19
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-19
- Berserk20250622 (3650) – Ethereal14.40 (3618) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Averbakh System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TheEssssjuuus (2590) – IM Aphelios00 (2736) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- omariscof (2551) – IM Chigorinez (2729) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- slabakNo1 (2711) – qdad (2556) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Modern Defense (3. Nc3 d6) 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6
Continuations
- Modern Defense: Kotov Variation A42 · 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 Nc6
- Modern Defense: Randspringer Variation A42 · 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 f5
More Modern Defense lines (all)
- Modern Defense: Semi-Averbakh Variation, Polish Variation A04
- Modern Defense: Semi-Averbakh Variation, Pterodactyl Variation A04
- Modern Defense: Semi-Averbakh Variation, Pterodactyl Variation Accepted A04
- Modern Defense: Beefeater Variation A40
- Modern Defense: Lizard Defense, Pirc-Diemer Gambit A40
- Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense A41
- Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch A42
- Modern Defense (1. e4 g6) B06
- Modern Defense (2. d4 Bg7) B06
- Modern Defense: Anti-Modern B06
- Modern Defense: Bishop Attack B06
- Modern Defense: Bishop Attack, Bücker Gambit B06
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.