The Modern Defence is an extremely flexible hypermodern reply: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7. Black fianchettoes at once without committing the knights and keeps every set-up available. The main branches are gathered here: the Austrian Attack, the Gurgenidze System, the Tiger's Defence and the central counter-strike. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
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The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
The Modern Defence (also known as the Robatsch) begins with 1...g6 - Black fianchettoes the dark-squared bishop at once, in no hurry with ...Nf6. That makes it even more flexible than the Pirc: Black keeps the opponent guessing about his plans for longer.
The main idea is to concede the centre, develop the bishop to g7 and counterattack with ...d6, ...c6, ...c5, ...a6 and ...b5 depending on what White does. The game often transposes into a Pirc, but the move order offers extra independent possibilities.
The Modern Defence is a weapon for players who like unorthodox, asymmetrical play and the psychological pressure of flexible move orders.
If White builds a big centre and goes for the Austrian Attack 4.f4, Black often transposes into a Pirc or counterattacks on the flank. An original independent idea is the Gurgenidze System (3...c6 and ...d5), in which Black strikes at the centre himself.
Very popular is the Tiger's Defence with an early ...a6 and ...b5 (developed by the grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson) - flexible queenside counterplay. The most direct route is the central counter-strike 3...d5, which opens the game at once.
The Modern Defence is an extremely flexible opening: with ...g6 and ...Bg7 Black gives up the centre without committing his structure. The key idea is to strike at White's centre with ...c5 or ...e5 later, once his set-up is visible.
It differs from the King's Indian in move order: the knight is in no hurry to reach f6, so White cannot simply play e4 and d4 and get a ready-made attack. Play often follows the scheme ...d6, ...Nd7, ...a6, ...b5 with queenside pressure.
The price of flexibility is a lack of space. If the pawn break never comes, Black gets squeezed - which is why counterplay cannot be put off here.
The natural plan is to build the biggest centre you can: e4, d4, Nc3, Be3, Qd2 and queenside castling with the attack f3, g4, h4. Against a fianchetto it is one of the most dangerous set-ups: behind the g7 bishop the black king has nowhere to hide.
The more positional route is 4.Nf3 and Be2 with short castling, quietly holding the centre and gradually building up space. If Black never gets in ...c5 or ...e5, White is simply better.
What matters: do not chase an immediate punishment. The Modern Defence looks provocative, but you do not need to refute it tactically - just take the centre and stop the pawn break.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
Black has fianchettoed the bishop and plays ...a6 with the idea of ...b5. The centre is given up deliberately: the plan is built around flank breaks.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
You can only give up the centre with a concrete plan of counterplay. Without a pawn break, Black simply gets a cramped position with nothing to do.
A pawn storm against the fianchetto looks tempting, but without the pieces developed it runs into a counter-strike in the centre.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
Take a short quiz and find out which chess opening suits your MBTI personality type - 16 types, each with its own opening and a walkthrough on the board.
By move order and flexibility. In the Pirc Black plays ...Nf6 early; in the Modern he delays it (1...g6) and keeps his choice of set-up open longer. The Modern often transposes into a Pirc, but it can also lead to independent lines such as the Gurgenidze System.
To stay flexible and avoid revealing the plan too early. Once White's set-up is visible, Black chooses where to put the knights and which breaks to prepare. It is psychologically awkward for the opponent, but it demands understanding rather than memorised lines.
It is the set-up with an early ...a6 and ...b5 developed and popularised by the Swedish grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson. Black unfolds flexible counterplay on the queenside.
It calls for understanding and a taste for unorthodox chess, so it is harder for a beginner than the classical openings. On the other hand it teaches flexibility and counterattack superbly - and unsettles opponents used to standard set-ups.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
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