Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Benoni Pterodactyl
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Qa5
The Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Benoni Pterodactyl is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 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 16 times by this move order. White won 56%, 0% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd2 (88% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.97 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 5. Bd2 d6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. e4 O-O)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1pppbp/6p1/q1pP4/2P5/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Qa5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 16 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd2 | 14 (88%) | |
| 5. e4 | 1 (6%) | |
| 5. Qc2 | 1 (6%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Superbri212 (2204) – Jf_p (2191) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- RrealSquare (1991) – caeszar98 (2030) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- evgeny33 (1917) – Agapchaga (1913) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 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: Central, 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.