Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4
The Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B06, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4. It is a line of the Modern Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 5,385 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3… d6 (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.40 (Stockfish, depth 59; best line 3… d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. Nf3)
- ECO
- B06
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppppppbp/6p1/8/3PPP2/8/PPP3PP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 573 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,719 | |
| 2000+ | 1,093 | |
| All | 5,385 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… d6 | 2,380 (44%) | |
| 3… e6 | 1,016 (19%) | |
| 3… c5 | 505 (9%) | |
| 3… b6 | 426 (8%) | |
| 3… d5 | 329 (6%) | |
| 3… c6 | 317 (6%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 118 (2%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 115 (2%) |
Master games
695 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 14%, Black 52%). The strongest:
- GM Ruben Felgaer (2564) – GM David Anton Guijarro (2624) 0-1 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-03
- GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez (2559) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2616) 1-0 · PRO League Group Stage · 2019-03-13
- GM Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko (2569) – GM Alexander Zubov (2598) 0-1 · Online Winter Cup Final · 2025-12-21
- GM Igor-Alexandre Nataf (2534) – IM Alexander Donchenko (2570) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-FRA Top 12 2015 · 2015-06-07
- FM Tymon Czernek (2401) – GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2655) 1/2-1/2 · 26th ch-EUR Indiv 2026 · 2026-04-10
Search all games of the Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- DikiyDjo (2686) – GM Yarebore (2935) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM AngelitoRT (2880) – bombokobombo123456 (2657) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- KM2200 (2520) – IM Aphelios00 (2700) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Modern Defense (2. d4 Bg7) 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7
Continuations
- Pterodactyl Defense: Austrian, Austriadactylus Western B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4 c5 4. Nf3 Qa5+
- Pterodactyl Defense: Austrian, Pteranodon B06 · 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4 c5 4. c3 Qa5
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.