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Modern Defense win rate

White scored 51.6% (margin 0.5 points) in 31,083 rated games of the Modern Defense, ECO B06, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 15 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 1.9% of all games.

49.5%
46.3%
  • White wins 49.5%
  • Draws 4.2%
  • Black wins 46.3%

31,083 games

How often does White win in the Modern Defense?

White won 49.5% of the 31,083 games, 4.3% were drawn and Black won 46.3%. White's score of 51.6% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.3 points is inside the margin of 0.5 points.

Results of 31,083 Modern Defense games, 1 September 2026.
ResultGamesShare
White wins15,37449.5%
Draws1,3224.3%
Black wins14,38746.3%

Does the Modern Defense score differently at different ratings?

White's score is highest at 2000 and above (52.3%) and lowest at under 1200 (50.2%). That spread of 2.1 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands.

Players rated 1600 to 1999 choose the Modern Defense most often relative to their other openings, in 2.2 percent of their games.

White's score in the Modern Defense by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.
Rating bandGamesShare of the bandWhite scoreMargin (points)
under 12003,7041.4%50.2%1.6
1200 to 159911,2051.9%51.9%0.9
1600 to 199913,0952.2%51.5%0.8
2000 and above3,0792.0%52.3%1.7

How does the Modern Defense do in blitz, rapid and classical?

The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out.

White's score in the Modern Defense by time control, 1 September 2026.
Time controlGamesWhite scoreMargin (points)
Blitz25,01051.4%0.6
Rapid5,93452.1%1.2

What are the most played lines of the Modern Defense?

The most played named line is the Standard Defense, with 1,240 games and a White score of 53.5%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row.

Named lines of the Modern Defense, most played first, 1 September 2026.
LineGamesWhite scoreMargin (points)
Standard Defense1,24053.5%2.7
Two Knights Variation1,22155.0%2.7
Three Pawns Attack1,10151.7%2.9
Standard Line95650.6%3.1
Mongredien Defense, with Nf380951.5%3.4
Geller's System77851.2%3.4
Averbakh System53150.8%4.1
Bishop Attack49052.7%4.3
Two Knights Variation, Suttles Variation35453.0%5.0
Main line and less played lines23,60351.3%0.6

How were these opening statistics measured?

Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full.

Frequently asked questions

What is the win rate of the Modern Defense?

White won 49.5%, drew 4.3% and lost 46.3% of 31,083 games, a White score of 51.6% with a margin of 0.5 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026.

Is the Modern Defense good for White?

At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.3 points is inside the margin of 0.5 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening.

What is the most popular line of the Modern Defense?

The Standard Defense was the most played named line, with 1,240 games, which is 4.0% of the Modern Defense games.

Sources

Related guides and tools

Last updated 2026-10-22.

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