Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nc3
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 b6
The Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nc3 is a chess opening classified as ECO B06, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 b6. It is a line of the Modern Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 680 times by this move order. White won 55%, 3% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4. Be3 (35% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.83 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bf4 e6 6. h4 h6)
- ECO
- B06
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/p1ppppbp/1p4p1/8/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 116 | |
| 1500-1999 | 451 | |
| 2000+ | 113 | |
| All | 680 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Be3 | 239 (35%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 224 (33%) | |
| 4. f4 | 71 (10%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 30 (4%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 20 (3%) | |
| 4. e5 | 15 (2%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 15 (2%) | |
| 4. h4 | 14 (2%) |
Master games
82 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 57%, draw 5%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Maciej Klekowski (2506) – GM Gata Kamsky (2674) 1-0 · 1st Abu Dhabi Super Blitz · 2020-04-15
- IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (2395) – GM Gata Kamsky (2685) 0-1 · Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup · 2019-11-07
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Oskar Wieczorek (2500) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Jun Late · 2023-06-13
- GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2554) – WGM Qian Huang (2450) 0-1 · IMSA Blitz w 2016 · 2016-02-29
- IM Jerzy Slaby (2464) – GM Mikhail Kobalia (2538) 1-0 · Titled Tue 28th Jan Late · 2025-01-28
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nc3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- KingPin-Inc (2340) – Heppe (2474) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- proshua (2379) – beqa4 (2293) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 0s
- mauroisaza (2311) – Calapenos (2326) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Modern Defense: Standard Line 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3
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: Averbakh Variation, Pseudo-Sämisch A42
- Modern Defense: Kotov Variation A42
- Modern Defense: Randspringer Variation A42
- Modern Defense (1. e4 g6) 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.