Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Qa5
The Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. 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 63 times by this move order. White won 48%, 3% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bd2 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.70 (Stockfish, depth 33; best line 6. Qc2 Nf6 7. Nf3 d6 8. e4 e5)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1ppp1p/6p1/q1pP4/2P5/2P5/P3PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Qa5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 23 | |
| 2000+ | 37 | |
| All | 63 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bd2 | 27 (43%) | |
| 6. Qc2 | 17 (27%) | |
| 6. Qb3 | 8 (13%) | |
| 6. Qd3 | 5 (8%) | |
| 6. e4 | 3 (5%) | |
| 6. Bb2 | 2 (3%) | |
| 6. Nf3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
87 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 10%, Black 54%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Rustemov (2525) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 2nd Mar · 2021-03-02
- GM Artem Chernobay (2490) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 13th Apr · 2021-04-13
- IM Rudik Makarian (2458) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 23rd Mar · 2021-03-23
- FM Lukas Winterberg (2402) – GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2700) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th Dec Late · 2022-12-13
- GM Hrant Melkumyan (2673) – GM Murey, J. (2428) 1-0 · 16th ch-EUR Indiv 2015 · 2015-03-05
Search all games of the Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Rudi128 (2374) – damithk (2520) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Mexico-Cuba (2470) – Isidora2024 (2393) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- TheFinnisher (2452) – Vizhma7 (2404) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
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 Benoni Pterodactyl 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.