Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6
The Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B06, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6. It is a line of the Modern Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,287 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3. Nc3 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.90 (Stockfish, depth 49; best line 3. e5 Nh5 4. Nf3 c6 5. Nc3 d6)
- ECO
- B06
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppp1p/5np1/8/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 440 | |
| 1500-1999 | 380 | |
| 2000+ | 467 | |
| All | 1,287 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Nc3 | 522 (41%) | |
| 3. e5 | 433 (34%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 138 (11%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 68 (5%) | |
| 3. Be3 | 31 (2%) | |
| 3. f3 | 30 (2%) | |
| 3. c3 | 25 (2%) | |
| 3. Nd2 | 7 (1%) |
Master games
707 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 13%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2767) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2875) 0-1 · 7th Norway Blitz 2019 · 2019-06-03
- GM Gukesh D (2725) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2022 · 2022-12-06
- GM Alexandr Predke (2676) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2872) 0-1 · World Blitz 2019 · 2019-12-29
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) – GM Shant Sargsyan (2669) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Jun Early · 2025-06-10
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2828) – GM B. Adhiban (2659) 1-0 · Chess24 October Blitz · 2020-10-01
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Dmitry_Kornilovich (2514) – IM Chigorinez (2704) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- FastCavalier (2580) – JoannaWo (2615) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SHEFFFF (2541) – JoannaWo (2602) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Modern Defense (1. e4 g6) 1. e4 g6
Continuations
- Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense, Norwegian Gambit B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. e5 Nh5 4. Be2 d6
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 (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.