Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation, Modern Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. c4 dxc4
The Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation, Modern Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO D77, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. c4 dxc4. It is a line of the Neo-Grünfeld Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 74 times by this move order. White won 51%, 10% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 7. Na3 (35% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 52; best line 7. Na3 c5 8. Nxc4 Be6 9. Nfe5 Qc8)
- ECO
- D77
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/5np1/8/2pP4/5NP1/PP2PPBP/RNBQ1RK1 w - - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. c4 dxc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 19 | |
| 2000+ | 53 | |
| All | 74 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. Na3 | 26 (35%) | |
| 7. Nc3 | 17 (23%) | |
| 7. Ne5 | 14 (19%) | |
| 7. Qc2 | 8 (11%) | |
| 7. Nbd2 | 5 (7%) | |
| 7. Qa4 | 2 (3%) | |
| 7. a4 | 2 (3%) |
Master games
440 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 27%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2809) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2767) 1-0 · FIDE Candidates 2018 · 2018-03-26
- GM Vladislav Artemiev (2701) – GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2698) 0-1 · 10th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2024-09-28
- GM Pavel Eljanov (2672) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2635) 1-0 · Jerusalem Masters 2024 · 2024-09-25
- GM Aleksey Dreev (2677) – GM Eltaj Safarli (2601) 1-0 · World Blitz 2019 · 2019-12-30
- GM Aleksey Dreev (2649) – GM Eric Hansen (2629) 1-0 · St Louis Fall A 2018 · 2018-10-12
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM Stoichess (2707) – FM ChessWorld2007 (2522) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- StochasticVolatility (2565) – BlindMonster (2496) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 0s
- cherrypie00 (2478) – DrLaPompa (2440) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. c4
More Neo-Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Goglidze Attack D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with Nf3 D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (3. g3 d5) D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation (5. cxd5 Nxd5) D71
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation (5… Nxd5 6. Nf3) D71
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (6… Nb6 7. Ne2) D72
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (4… Bg7 5. Nf3) D73
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (6… Nxd5 7. O-O) D74
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (7… c5 8. O-O) D75
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (7… c5 8. dxc5) D75
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Delayed Exchange Variation (7. O-O Nb6) D76
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation, Polgar Variation D77
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.