Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 e5
The Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A41, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 e5. 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 62 times by this move order. White won 42%, 5% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 4. d5 (89% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.67 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 4. dxe5 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nxe5 6. f4 Nc6)
- ECO
- A41
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/pppp1pbp/6p1/4p3/2PPP3/8/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 24 | |
| 1500-1999 | 32 | |
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 62 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d5 | 55 (89%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 4 (6%) | |
| 4. dxe5 | 3 (5%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 31%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Riazantsev (2646) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2711) 1/2-1/2 · 69th Moscow Blitz · 2015-09-06
- FM Ivan Zemlyanskii (2492) – GM Klementy Sychev (2542) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 23rd Jan Early · 2024-01-23
- GM Andrei Maksimenko (2484) – GM Daniel Howard Fernandez (2465) 1-0 · Philip Hogarty Mem GM 2019 · 2019-01-03
- FM Vasileios Dim Katsanis (2336) – GM Ihor Samunenkov (2584) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 18th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-18
- WFM Ekaterina Smirnova (2102) – FM Gleb Apryshko (2296) 0-1 · Kolomna Rapid 2018 · 2018-02-16
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM evandrorsilva (2095) – MEMMEDOW50 (2131) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- osama967 (2054) – uekmyf (2137) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 0s
- binxer (2034) – Anatoliy_pro (2112) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 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: 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
- 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.