Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 (4… Bg7 5. Nf3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3
The Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 is a chess opening classified as ECO D73, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3. 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 17 times by this move order. White won 59%, 6% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (82% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.06 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 5… c6 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 Bf5 8. Bb2)
- ECO
- D73
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/5np1/3p4/2PP4/5NP1/PP2PPBP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 3 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 7 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 17 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… O-O | 14 (82%) | |
| 5… c6 | 2 (12%) | |
| 5… dxc4 | 1 (6%) |
Master games
37 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 59%, draw 9%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson (2537) – GM Pengxiang Zhang (2567) 1-0 · LCC Superblitz GpC · 2024-12-07
- GM Benjamin Bok (2560) – IM Niklas Schmider (2384) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 23rd Jul 2026 · 2026-07-23
- FM Danil Najdin (2285) – GM Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian (2554) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 12th Jan · 2021-01-12
- GM Benjamin Bok (2621) – CM Arman Ghevondyan (2216) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Jan Late · 2024-01-23
- GM Benjamin Bok (2618) – Ja Gireman (2185) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Oct Late · 2022-10-25
Search all games of the Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with g3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ShakkiVemmu (2239) – MaxKochet (2235) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- ShakkiVemmu (2240) – MaxKochet (2234) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- UMslayerz (2127) – M2413 (2124) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
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 (6… Nb6 7. Ne2) D72
- 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.