Modern Defense: Standard Line
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3
The Modern Defense: Standard Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B06, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3. It is a line of the Modern Defense. Black is to move. 7 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11,751 times by this move order. White won 52%, 5% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… d6 (49% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3… d5 4. exd5 Nf6 5. Bc4 c6 6. dxc6)
- ECO
- B06
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppppppbp/6p1/8/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,197 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,227 | |
| 2000+ | 5,327 | |
| All | 11,751 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… d6 Standard Defense | 5,795 (49%) | |
| 3… e6 | 1,582 (13%) | |
| 3… c6 | 1,248 (11%) | |
| 3… c5 Modern Pterodactyl | 1,078 (9%) | |
| 3… b6 Mongredien Defense, with Nc3 | 680 (6%) | |
| 3… d5 Lizard Defense, Mittenberger Gambit | 283 (2%) | |
| 3… a6 | 252 (2%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 249 (2%) |
Master games
6,765 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 18%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) – Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-16
- Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-14
- Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) – Obsidian dev-16.15 (3714) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-06
- Obsidian dev-16.15 (3714) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-04
- LCZero 0.29-dev+_781561 (3586) – Stockfish dev15_20220302 (3612) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-16
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Standard Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2876) – GM gmbrewchess (2996) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- puziko52 (2844) – IM KAPUTVSEMU (2845) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Sunrise34 (2848) – IM ManiacalZerker (2801) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Modern Defense (2. d4 Bg7) 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7
Continuations
- Modern Defense: Lizard Defense, Mittenberger Gambit B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d5
- Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5
- Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nc3 B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 b6
- Modern Defense: Standard Defense B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6
- Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation, Suttles Variation B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 d6
- Modern Defense: Anti-Modern B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. Bc4 d6 5. Qe2
- Modern Defense: Gurgenidze Defense B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. f4 d5 5. e5 h5
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.