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Modern Defense

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7

Black fianchettoes at once with 1...g6 and 2...Bg7, letting White take the center and delaying ...Nf6 to keep options open.

Fun fact: Magnus Carlsen beat Michael Adams at the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad with a version of the Modern he calls the Norwegian Rat. Source

Practice this opening

The idea

After 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7, Black lets White take the center with d4 and e4, then undermines it without occupying it. The bishop on g7 aims at d4 and the long diagonal, and Black chooses later between ...d6, ...c6 and ...c5 to attack the center.

The Modern is close to the Pirc. The main difference is that Black delays ...Nf6, which keeps more options open but lets White blunt the bishop with c3, and there are many transpositions between the two. It is also called the Robatsch Defense, after Karl Robatsch.

Plans for White

Take the center and choose how to set up: Nc3 and Nf3 for a classical game, f4 for a big pawn center, or c4 for a King's Indian-style space advantage. Because Black hasn't played ...Nf6, e5 and f4 are easier to arrange.

Plans for Black

Keep the setup flexible and challenge the center at the right moment with ...c5, ...e5 or ...c6 and ...d5. Black can also aim for queenside space with ...a6 and ...b5. The bishop on g7 is Black's best piece, so keep its diagonal open.

Watch out for

For Black, falling behind in space. Without ...Nf6, Black puts no pressure on e4, and if White's center is never challenged, White can attack at leisure.

For White, overextending. A broad center is a target, and once Black strikes with ...c5 or ...e5, the d4 pawn and the long diagonal can become weak.

History

Raymond Keene and David Botterill published The Modern Defence in 1972, and Duncan Suttles was one of its leading exponents, beating Lubomir Kavalek with it at the 1974 Nice Olympiad. Nigel Davies and Colin McNab are among the players who have used it.

Lines