Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. f3
The Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch is a chess opening classified as ECO A42, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. f3. It is a line of the Modern Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 37; best line 5… O-O 6. Ne2 c5 7. Nbc3 Qa5 8. Nc1)
- ECO
- A42
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/2PPP3/4BP2/PP4PP/RN1QKBNR b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Be3 Nf6 5. f3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 4 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… O-O | 4 (100%) |
Master games
3 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 34%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- CM Nikita Nechitaylo (2248) – IM Daniel Barria Zuniga (2341) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Apr Early · 2024-04-23
- IM Virginijus Dambrauskas (2301) – Craig M Whitfield (2121) 1/2-1/2 · 15th South Wales Int 2018 · 2018-07-07
- Moritz Petersen (1711) – Wolfgang Schulz (2074) 0-1 · Lichtenberger Sommer 2014 · 2014-08-21
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Icelos (2180) – yogitheta (2280) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Goncharov-Sergey (2012) – Art_3005 (1930) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Ogon3 (1944) – Rey_Peon (1936) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense 1. d4 g6
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 (3. Nc3 d6) A41
- Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense A41
- Modern Defense: Averbakh System A42
- Modern Defense: Kotov Variation A42
- Modern Defense: Randspringer Variation A42
- Modern Defense (1. e4 g6) B06
- Modern Defense (2. d4 Bg7) 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.