Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 c5 4. d5 Qa5+
The Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 c5 4. d5 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 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd2 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.97 (Stockfish, depth 33; best line 5. Bd2 Qd8 6. Nc3 d6 7. Bd3 e6)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1pppbp/6p1/q1pP4/2P1P3/8/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 c5 4. d5 Qa5+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd2 | 1 (50%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 1 (50%) |
Master games
5 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 20%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2668) – FM Nikolai Gritsenko (2309) 1-0 · Titled Tue 24th Oct Late · 2023-10-24
- WIM Viktoriya Tarasova (2226) – GM Alexander Rustemov (2525) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 30th Mar · 2021-03-30
- IM Boris Markoja (2440) – Hinko Krumpak (2084) 1-0 · 28th ch-SLO 2018 · 2018-04-27
- Devnani Kush (2230) – FM Csaba Zoltan Varga (2111) 1/2-1/2 · FSIM March 2024 · 2024-03-12
Search all games of the Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Pterodactyl and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- suriye (1459) – Rzm (1449) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Requiem84 (1296) – or20021994 (1294) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense 1. d4 g6
More Pterodactyl Defense lines (all)
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Beefeater 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.