Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (6… Nb6 7. Ne2)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nb6 7. Ne2
The Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 is a chess opening classified as ECO D72, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nb6 7. Ne2. It is a line of the Neo-Grünfeld Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 7… O-O (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.49 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 7… O-O 8. O-O Na6 9. a4 c5 10. d5)
- ECO
- D72
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/1n4p1/8/3PP3/6P1/PP2NPBP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nb6 7. Ne2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… O-O | 2 (100%) |
Master games
10 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 60%, draw 0%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Benjamin Bok (2592) – IM Keaton Kiewra (2269) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Apr Late · 2025-04-08
- IM Vladimir Seliverstov (2462) – FM Felix Meissner (2381) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Feb Late · 2022-02-08
- FM Sadig Mammadov (2313) – IM Yusup Atabayev (2446) 1-0 · 2nd Sunday GM June 2022 · 2022-06-16
- IM Saha Suvrajit (2362) – FM V A V Rajesh (2395) 1-0 · TATA 50th ch-IND National Premier 2012 · 2012-10-11
- WFM Diana Lomaia (2068) – GM Bella Khotenashvili (2463) 0-1 · 78th ch-GEO w 2021 · 2021-06-13
Search all games of the Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- St_w1 (2205) – tysonmomo (2152) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- orace (2152) – Joaquin_Pilco (2091) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (3. g3 d5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5
More Neo-Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Goglidze Attack D70
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with Nf3 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 (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 D77
- Neo-Grünfeld Defense: Classical Variation, Modern Defense D77
- 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.