Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Beefeater Pterodactyl
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5
The Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Beefeater Pterodactyl is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5. It is a line of the Pterodactyl Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3 times by this move order. White won 0%, 33% were drawn and Black won 67%. The most popular continuation is 7. Bd2 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.90 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 7. Bd2 Nd7 8. Nf3 Ngf6 9. Bd3 Ng4)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp2pp1p/3p2p1/q1pP4/2P1P3/2P5/P4PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. Bd2 | 2 (67%) | |
| 7. Qc2 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 0%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- FM Efstathios Gazis (2141) – CM Paulo Fanha (1665) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 14th Dec · 2021-12-14
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Prenzl (2427) – SuryaWahyudi (2449) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- nagerdugi (1825) – thatoneguy12343 (1782) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Zander1946 (1108) – cjdrox (1202) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 3s
Comes from
Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense 1. d4 g6
More Pterodactyl Defense lines (all)
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl A40
- Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Benoni Pterodactyl A40
- Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon A40
- Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pterodactyl A40
- Pterodactyl Defense: Queen Pterodactyl, Quiet Line A40
- Pterodactyl Defense A42
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Bogolubovia A42
- Pterodactyl Defense: Austrian, Austriadactylus Western B06
- Pterodactyl Defense: Austrian, Grand Prix Pterodactyl B06
- Pterodactyl Defense: Austrian, Pteranodon B06
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Anhanguera B06
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Quetzalcoatlus 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.