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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...g6

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The latest reviewed version was checked on 11 May 2022. There are 5 pending changes awaiting review.
Modern Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black kingh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black pawnh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqkbnr/pppppp1p/6p1/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w

Moves: 1.e4 g6
ECO code: B06
Parent: King's Pawn Opening

Modern Defense

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The Modern or Robatsch Defense. Black makes clear intentions to fianchetto a Bishop, and embraces the Hypermodern approach of controlling the centre. Today it is a viable strategy, but it once was known as the joke of openings.


The first modern defenses were played in the 19th century. These involved a 1…g6 and 2…e6 setup which was usually played in the modern of that time. That setup was horrible and people were used to playing open, tactical games with the King's Gambit and Evans Gambit. As a result, the modern defense was considered to be a very bad opening. No one knew how to use its flexibility and dynamism to its potential.


In the mid-19th century, John Cochrane played some players from India. The Indian players have an interesting style of play. They responded to 1.d4 with …Nf6 and used a setup with a kingside Fianchetto. One of them played the Grunfeld but others played the King's Indian Defense. For the early opening, their pieces were in the last 3 ranks. These games have been recorded and will be important later on.

However, the modern Defense got even worse when Wilhelm Steinitz beat Augustus Mongredien who used the modern in under 30 moves. Mongredien used an awkward, inferior Hippopotamus (we'll get to that soon) and this made people stray away from it. Luckily for the Modern, the games from the Indian Players sparked hypermodernism in Europe. Players like Aaron Nimzowitsch and Richard Retí claimed that a large centre was a target for attack. Instead, they proposed flexible setups with fianchettoing instead of usual ways of development. It may seem good to the Modern, and it kind of was, but the Hypermodern players at that time preferred Queenside fianchettos, especially the Queen's Indian. Aaron Nimzowitsch also liked to play it safe, but the modern is actually very risky. As a result, it was never deeply analysed.


Until after WWII. Vasja Pirc invented an opening named after him. He would play …d6 and …Nf6, then Fianchetto his kingside bishop. This opening became popular and then people started the wonder, wouldn’t the bishop be more effective if it wasn’t blocked by the knight? And so the modern was analysed and employed by many, even Mikhail Botvinnik. The first system to be employed successfully is the g6/d6/c6/b5 system. The queenside expansion is highly unusual, but it was effective. However, the system that really took off is the 'Hippopotamus'. It has the double Fianchetto, controlling both long diagonals. Then, the pawns are pushed to e6 and d6 to place the knights behind them, not blocking the bishops. Then, the flank pawns are usually pushed to a6/h6. This makes an indestructible fortress, with a barricade on the fifth rank. It lulls white to attack it and overextend, then hit back with a powerful counterattack.

Many other systems were invented, too. The Gurgundize merges the Caro-Kann with the Modern, making it more passive but also more safe and solid. Then, Tiger's Modern was invented. It uses a6 to support the expansion on b5 instead of c6, allowing the queenside Fianchetto to be much more effective. And finally, the pterodactyl combines c5 with the modern, but it is too simple for high level play.

Moves:

2. d4
2. Nf3
2. f4

White has also the possibility to launch a quick attack on the f7 pawn by the means of 2. Bc4 and Qf3 or play 2. h4

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. e4 g6
2 3 4
Main Line d4
Bg7		 Nc3
d6		 f4
Nf6		 ∞
Nf3
Bg7		 d4
d6		 ∞
f4
Bg7		 Nf3
d6		 ∞
Monkey's Bum Bc4
Bg7		 Qf3
e6		 d4
Bxd4		 =

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Wikipedia has related information at Modern Defence

References

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  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.
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