The Modern Defense is a hypermodern chess opening

Chess opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...

 in which Black allows White to occupy the center with pawns on d4 and e4, then proceeds to attack and undermine this "ideal" center without attempting to occupy it himself. The opening has been most notably used by British Grandmasters Nigel Davies

Nigel Davies (chess player)

Nigel Davies is an English chess Grandmaster, chess coach and writer.Davies won the British Boys Championship in 1979 and the British Rapidplay Chess Championhship in 1987.-External links:* Nigel Davies' own website...

 and Colin McNab

Colin McNab

Colin A. McNab was Scotland's second chess Grandmaster, fulfilling the requirements for the title in 1992 just after Paul Motwani. After achieving his three norms, he strained to get his rating up to the required 2500 level, and is possibly unique among Grandmasters in only achieving a published...

.

The Modern Defense is closely related to the Pirc Defence

Pirc Defence

The Pirc Defence |grandmasters]]), sometimes known as the Ufimtsev Defence or Yugoslav Defence, is a chess opening characterised by Black responding to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish an impressive-looking centre with pawns on d4 and e4...

, the primary difference being that in the Modern, Black delays developing his knight to f6. (The delay of ...Nf6 attacking White's pawn on e4 gives White the time to sometimes blockade the g7-bishop with c2–c3.) Transpositional possibilities between the two openings are rife. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...

 classifies the Modern Defense as code B06, while codes B07 to B09 are assigned to the Pirc. The tenth edition of Modern Chess Openings

Modern Chess Openings

Modern Chess Openings is an important reference book on the chess openings, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Clewin Griffith and John Herbert White...

(1965) grouped the Pirc and Robatsch together as the "Pirc–Robatsch Defense".

Main lines

A typical move order for the Modern Defense is 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7, with main lines:

• 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 c6 5. Nf3 Bg4 (ECO code B06);
• 3. c4 (ECO code A40) d6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Be3 e5 6. d5 Ne7 (7.g4 will be answered by 7...f5 8.gxf5 gxf5 9.Qh5+ Ng6 10.exf5 Qh4 11.Qxh4 Nxh4 12.Nb5 Kd8).

Fischer's suggestion: 3.h4!?

In My 60 Memorable Games

My 60 Memorable Games

My 60 Memorable Games is a chess book by Bobby Fischer, first published in 1969. It is a collection of his games dating from the 1957 New Jersey Open to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal. Unlike many players' anthologies, which are often titled My Best Games and include only victories, My 60 Memorable...

(page 386, 2008 edition), Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

 suggests the move 3.h4!? as an enterprising try against 1...g6 2.d4 Bg7, in his annotation to a game against Pal Benko

Pál Benko

Pal Benko is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.- Early life :Benko was born in France but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He emigrated to the United States in 1958, after defecting following the World Student Team...

. (Fischer played 3.Nc3 in the actual game.) The idea is to pry open Black's kingside by h4–h5 followed by hxg6 (...gxh5 would greatly weaken the cover to Black's king) with an ensuing kingside assault.

Unusual White responses

The flexibility and toughness of the Modern Defense has provoked some very aggressive responses by White, including the attack crudely named the Monkey's Bum

Monkey's Bum

The Monkey's Bum is a variation of the Modern Defense, a chess opening. Although it may also be loosely defined as any approach against the Modern Defense involving an early Bc4 and Qf3, threatening "scholar's mate", it is strictly defined by the sequence of moves:The Monkey's Bum Deferred is a...

, a typical sequence being 1.e4 g6 2.Bc4 Bg7 3.Qf3. (A more refined version is the Monkey's Bum Deferred, where White plays Bc4 and Qf3 only after developing his queen's knight.)

Other unusual openings can be reached after 1.e4 g6. The Hippopotamus Defence

Hippopotamus Defence

The Hippopotamus Defence is a name for various irregular chess opening systems in which Black moves a number of his pawns to the third rank, often developing his pieces to the second rank, and does not move any of his pawns to the fourth rank in the opening...

 is one such system. Another is the Norwegian Defence (also known as the North Sea Defence) which begins 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.e5 Nh5. (If White plays 4.g4, Black retreats the knight with 4...Ng7. On 4.Be2, Black can retreat the knight or gambit a pawn with 4...d6!? If White plays 3.Nc3 instead of 3.e5, Black can transpose to the Pirc Defence with 3...d6 or continue in unconventional fashion with 3...d5!?)

Kavalek vs. Suttles

In the following game played at the Nice Olympiad

Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...

 in 1974

21st Chess Olympiad

The 21st Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between June 6 and June 30, 1974, in Nice, France.-References:* OlimpBase...

, Canadian Grandmaster

International Grandmaster

The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....

 Duncan Suttles

Duncan Suttles

Duncan Suttles is an International Grandmaster of chess who was the strongest Canadian player between the eras of Abe Yanofsky and Kevin Spraggett. He is one of the few over-the-board grandmasters who also holds the title of Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess. Suttles has been inactive in...

, one of the Modern's leading exponents, defeats Czech-American Grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek:


1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Be2 Nf6 5. Nc3 (Pirc Defence by transposition

Transposition (chess)

A transposition in chess is a sequence of moves that results in a position which may also be reached by another, more common sequence of moves. Transpositions are particularly common in opening, where a given position may be reached by different sequences of moves...

) 5... a6 6. a4 0-0 7. 0-0 b6 8. Re1 Bb7 9. Bc4 e6 10. Bf4 Nbd7 11. Qd2 b5! (initiating a deep combination; Suttles later remarked that Kavalek has occupied the center and developed his pieces in the manner advocated by Fred Reinfeld

Fred Reinfeld

Fred Reinfeld was an American chess master and a prolific writer on chess and many other subjects, whose books are still read today.-Biography:...

, yet now stands worse) 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. Bxb5 Bxe4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Rxe4 Qxe4 17. Bxd7 Ra8 18. h4 Qb7! (despite his material advantage, White is in trouble; note that his bishop

Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...

on d7 is nearly trapped) 19. d5 e5 20. Bh6 Qxb2 21. h5 Ra1+ 22. Kh2 Qb1 23. Bxg7 Qh1+ 24. Kg3 Kxg7 25. Bh3 Qc1 26. h6+ Kf6 27. c4 Qxd2 28. Nxd2 Kg5 29. Ne4+ Kxh6 30. Bd7 f5 31. Nf6 Ra7 32. Bb5 g5 33. Ng8+ Kg7 34. Ne7 Kf6 35. Nc6 Ra3+ 36. Kh2 h5 37. Nb8 h4 38. Na6 g4 39. Nxc7 Ra2 40. Kg1 g3 41. fxg3 hxg3 42. Kf1 e4 0–1