ECO B06
Modern Defense
Also known as: Robatsch Defense
The Modern Defence begins 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7, with Black fianchettoing the king's bishop and cheerfully handing White a broad pawn centre. The plan is hypermodern: let White build the centre, then undermine it with blows like ...c5, ...d6 and ...e5, or with a quick queenside advance. Closely related to the Pirc, the Modern keeps the king's knight at home for now, preserving extra flexibility about where and when to strike.
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7
Strategic ideas
The Modern is a hypermodern opening in the truest sense: Black voluntarily cedes the centre, inviting White to occupy it and then attacking that centre from the flanks. The fianchettoed bishop on g7 rakes the long diagonal and lends support to the freeing breaks ...c5 and ...e5. Black's whole strategy is to provoke White into overextending and then to strike at the base of the pawn chain.
The point of delaying ...Nf6 is flexibility. Without the knight committed to f6, Black avoids certain pins and pawn-storm targets and keeps open a wider range of plans - a quick ...c5 against White's d4, the Gurgenidze-style ...c6 and ...d5, or queenside expansion with ...a6 and ...b5. This chameleon-like quality lets the Modern transpose into many neighbouring structures while retaining its own independent identity.
Main variations
If White erects the classical big centre with c2-c4, play often takes on a King's Indian character, and Black responds with ...d6 and a timely ...e5 or ...c5. A favourite try for ambitious players is the setup with Be3, Qd2, f3 and long castling - the so-called 150 Attack - aiming to trade off the g7-bishop with Bh6 and storm the black king. Against a broad e4/d4/f4 centre, the Austrian Attack transposes into sharp Pirc-like positions.
Black's own choices give the opening much of its variety. The direct ...a6 lines, popularized as the Tiger's Modern, prepare a rapid ...b5 and queenside play, while the Gurgenidze system with ...c6 and ...d5 stakes a claim in the centre against White's pawns. Because ...Nf6 is held back, Black can tailor the setup to the position, which is exactly the practical appeal of the Modern.
History and background
The Modern Defence, also known as the Robatsch Defence after the Austrian grandmaster Karl Robatsch, rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as hypermodern ideas were re-examined and rehabilitated. Where the classical schools insisted on occupying the centre with pawns, the Modern embraced the opposite creed of attacking it from afar. It has since been adopted as a flexible, combative surprise weapon by many grandmasters, and its close kinship with the Pirc keeps the two openings forever intertwined in theory and practice.
Key ideas
- 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 fianchettoes and hands White a broad centre on purpose.
- Black undermines the centre with ...c5, ...d6 and ...e5 or a quick ...b5.
- Delaying ...Nf6 keeps extra flexibility and dodges some pins and targets.
- The g7-bishop's long diagonal supports the central pawn breaks.
- Closely related to the Pirc, with which it frequently transposes.
- Also called the Robatsch Defence, a hypermodern surprise weapon.
Typical plans
White
- Build a broad centre with c2-c4, often reaching King's Indian structures.
- Adopt the 150 Attack (Be3, Qd2, f3, Bh6) to trade the g7-bishop and attack.
- Choose the Austrian Attack with f4 for a big, aggressive pawn centre.
- Use the space advantage to restrain Black's ...c5 and ...e5 breaks.
- Castle long and storm the black king when Black delays development.
Black
- Fianchetto and pressure the centre from the flanks in hypermodern style.
- Strike with ...c5 or ...e5 to undermine White's broad pawn front.
- Try the ...a6 and ...b5 plan of the Tiger's Modern for queenside play.
- Consider the Gurgenidze ...c6 and ...d5 to contest the centre directly.
- Keep ...Nf6 in reserve to tailor the setup to White's chosen scheme.