Modern Defense: Averbakh System
A42 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4
Black scores 53.0% here across 430 club games — but the 17.2% who answer Nc6 score 48.0%, 5 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 430 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 53.0% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nf6 | 186 | 43.3% | 56.5% | holds up |
| Nc6 | 74 | 17.2% | 48.0% | below the line |
| Nd7 | 54 | 12.6% | 59.3% | holds up |
| c6 | 36 | 8.4% | 38.9% | below the line |
| e5 | 26 | 6.0% | 53.8% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.