Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pterodactyl
1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Qa5+
The Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pterodactyl is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 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 0%, 0% were drawn and Black won 100%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd2 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.28 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 5. c3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nf6 7. e4 O-O)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1pppbp/6p1/q1p5/3P4/5NP1/PPP1PPBP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 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 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd2 | 2 (100%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Gaffo (1540) – rajimetal2 (1570) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- jouwel14 (1175) – zeiny333 (1279) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 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 Benoni Pterodactyl A40
- Pterodactyl Defense: Fianchetto, Queen Pteranodon 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.