Exeter Chess Club: The Ideas behind the Modern Defence

This is the most modest centre that White can build up. Black can easily get a share of the centre with ...e7-e5 but that doesn't do the Bg7 any good, so Black must also be careful to keep White's pieces under control and look for any active play that is going. It's actually quite an annoying system to play against! (See the games Cramling-Yrjola, and Kauranen-Richardson)

Geller system

This is another quiet system - White does not bite off more than can be chewed, and supports the d-Pawn against any pressure from the Bg7. Black can play ...c7-c5 and/or ...e7-e5 which may open up the long dark diagonal again. (See Filip-Bronstein).

Three-Pawn centre

This centre takes a little while to set up but is quite solid and can be dangerous once White gets some pieces behind it. Black must hit back with moves like ...c7- c5 and ...e7-e5. (See the games Stein-Suttles and Byrne-Donner below.)

Pseudo-Austrian centre

This is one of the most dangerous systems for White (as we saw in Charity-Teichmann), and many Black players try to move into a solid Hedgehog or Gurgenidze system in response (Games: Hedgehog: Barczay-Ivkov, Keres-Navarovsky, Engedal-Davies, Gurgenidze: Herrera-Garcia)

Pseudo-Samisch centre

White can play quietly behind this centre but can also use it to launch a King's-side Pawn storm with moves like g2-g4 and h2-h4. Black must try to keep this storm under control while hitting back in the centre or on the Queen's-side.

Averbakh centre

White can transfer the weight of the attack to the Queens'-side by playing c1- c4 before developing the Queen's Knight. This can be very like - even become - lines of the King's Indian Defence (Games: Korchnoi-Fischer).

Ideas for Black

Dark square strategy

This is the most common sort of central counter-attack. Black must be careful to get the King out of the way before opening up lines in the centre. (Games: Kauranen-Richardson, Cramling-Yrjola)

Light square blockade (Gurgenidze)

This is a very solid system which Black players often play against dangerous White systems like the Pseudo-Austrian. Black should aim to hold things tight on the King's-side and gradually move into White's Queen's-side.

This is almost a separate opening, and can actually arise commonly from the Caro-Kann Defence. Below I give several whole games to give you a feel for this way of playing, and if you want to take up this strategy, I recommend you play over all of them (as notes to Herrera-Garcia).

Queen's-side attack

Black hopes to make trouble on the Queen's-side - either opening a file or nudging the Knight away from the defence of e4. Black must be careful though, because White can also try to make use of open lines there if White has not castled Queen's-side. But if the White King is to be found there, the Black Bg7 is already pointing straight at him!

(Games: Crawley-Hodgson, Nunn-Shirov, Polajzer-Davies)

Hedgehog strategy

Black can set this arrangement up against more or less any White system. It is not a strategy in itself, just a way of waiting. It is very flexible and Black can try to make a break at any point on the board, but Black can get stuck without any active play because Black cannot get enough pieces to any one spot on the board. White can then pick a time and place to break through. So Black cannot just curl up, but should aim to break up White's centre with moves like ...c7-c5 (Games: Barczay-Ivkov, Keres-Navarovsky, Engedal-Davies).

Variations of the Modern and Pirc Defences

Byrne variation: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Bg5

White can play with pieces or follow up with f2-f4.

System with Be3: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3

Usually White plays Qd2, maybe with a Samisch-style centre, maybe not.

System with h3: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be37

One idea is to play a sort of classical variation with Bc4.

Classical variation: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Be2

A modest system aiming for quick development and a small edge.

Austrian Attack: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4

An aggressive line grabbing space in the centre and King's-side.

Gurgenidze system: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. f4 d5

A blockading line, useful against the Austrian Attack.

Monkey's Bum: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. Bc4 d6 5. Qf3

An anti-Gurgenidze idea: "If that works, then I'm a Monkey's Bum!" (Nunn-Shirov)

System with Bc4: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 (or 3. Nf3) 3...d6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qe2

White often follows with e4-e5; with early Nf3 White may play quietly with c3

Geller's system: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c3 d6 4. Nf3

Another modest system hoping to blot out the Bg7

King Fianchetto variation: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nge2 Nf6 5. g3

A quiet line with slow play: Black can play standard moves.

Three Pawns attack: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c3 d6 4. f4

Another space-grabbing line, but not very good on piece development.

Variations with an early Be2: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be2

White intends to follow up with h2-h4 or g2-g4, hoping for an attack.

Averbakh Variation: 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 d6

A move towards Queen's-side openings like the King's Indian or Benoni

P.S. The Modern Defence and related openings.

The Modern Defence is just the fianchetto of the King's Bishop while delaying the development of the King's Knight. If the King's Knight is played to f6 early on, we may have transposed into one of two other openings: the Pirc Defence or the King's Indian Defence.

The Pirc Defence is usually played with the move order 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3, which stops White moving into a Queen's-side opening with c2-c4. With a Modern Defence move order White can play something like 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 when a later ...Nf6 will transpose into the King's Indian Defence. This is a good fighting defence to the Queen's-side openings, which many Grandmasters like to play, and usually begins 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 (see Korchnoi-Fischer).

If you don't like playing the King's Indian Defence (it is very complicated - whole books have been written about single variations of the Defence!) but still want to play the Modern Defence, you don't have to play ...Nf6 and instead you can find some other move after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3, like 4...Nc6, 4...Nd7 or even 4...f5. On the other hand, Black's side in these various lines of the Averbakh Variation can be tricky to handle.

One clever move order is 1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. c4 when 3...e5 is the idea. If White now pushes on here with 4. d5 you can play 4...f5, and if White plays 4. dxe5 dxe5 5. Qxd1+ Kxd1 then your King's Bishop can come out to c5 instead of being stuck on g7. If you don't want to White to be able to move over to a Queen's-side opening at all, you can always play the Pirc Defence with an early ...Nf6 and Nb1-c3.

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These related documents (modern.html) were last modified on 6 Feb 98 by [cool blue cat]