Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Rhamphorhynchus
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. dxc5 Qa5
The Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Rhamphorhynchus is a chess opening classified as ECO B06, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. dxc5 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 106 times by this move order. White won 58%, 4% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd2 (66% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.92 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 5. Ne2 Nf6 6. e5 Ng4 7. Nd4 Nxe5)
- ECO
- B06
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1pppbp/6p1/q1P5/4P3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. dxc5 Qa5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 27 | |
| 2000+ | 75 | |
| All | 106 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd2 | 70 (66%) | |
| 5. Ne2 | 14 (13%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 10 (9%) | |
| 5. Be3 | 7 (7%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 3 (3%) | |
| 5. Qd3 | 2 (2%) |
Master games
127 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 61%, draw 12%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Erwin L'Ami (2610) – IM Prantik Roy (2351) 1-0 · Dutch Open 2017 · 2017-07-31
- FM Borgaonkar Akshay (2418) – GM Pa Iniyan (2513) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 24th Dec Early · 2024-12-24
- GM Asghar Golizadeh (2455) – IM Rudik Makarian (2468) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 13th Apr · 2021-04-13
- GM Emil Mirzoev (2455) – IM Egor Bogdanov (2409) 0-1 · Uppsala GM 2019 · 2019-10-26
- IM Szidonia Lazarne Vajda (2333) – GM Adam Horvath (2528) 1-0 · 34th Zalakaros Open 2015 · 2015-05-17
Search all games of the Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Rhamphorhynchus and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Normal_one (2689) – Pblu35 (2636) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- FNENAD (2565) – Dziczkacy (2621) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- FM Ragnar_Lothbrok85 (2546) – bja555 (2519) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5
More Pterodactyl Defense lines (all)
- Pterodactyl Defense: Central, Benoni Beefeater Pterodactyl A40
- 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
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.