Modern Defence
B06 · Played as black · Intermediate · Other Black Defences
Delay everything, commit to nothing, and let White overextend
Also known as Robatsch Defence, Modern, g6 defence.
The main line
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 b5 6.f3 Nd7 7.g4 Bb7 8.h4 h5 9.g5 c5
Strategic ideas
- Fianchetto immediately and delay …Nf6 so White has nothing to gain tempo against
- Keep every option open — the position can become a Pirc, a Sicilian or a Benoni
- Expand on the queenside with …a6 and …b5 while White builds on the kingside
- Invite the 150 Attack and counterattack before White's h-pawn arrives
- Play a genuine provocation opening — White's best is often to overextend and get punished
Key themes
- Flexible — Black commits almost nothing for ten moves and can transpose into half a dozen openings
- Counterattack — The queenside expansion with …a6, …b5 and …c5 is the counterweight to White's centre
- Dynamic — Black's position is objectively loose — only concrete, active play holds it together
Typical plans
The Modern takes the Pirc's idea and pushes it further: Black doesn't even play …Nf6, because that just invites e5 with tempo. Instead Black fianchettoes, plays …a6 and …b5, and lets White build whatever they like. The theory is thin and the understanding required is thick — this is an opening for players who want the game to be about ideas rather than memorised lines. White's most dangerous try, the 150 Attack with Be3, Qd2 and f3, leads to a full-scale race on opposite wings.
Move by move
- e4 — White claims the centre.
- g6 — Black fianchettoes immediately, committing to nothing at all. This could become a Pirc, a Sicilian, a Benoni — Black isn't saying yet.
- d4 — White takes the whole centre, exactly as invited.
- Bg7 — Black completes the fianchetto. Notice …Nf6 hasn't been played — it would only invite e5 with tempo.
- Nc3 — White develops and defends d4.
- d6 — Black shores up e5 and c5, still not committing a piece.
- Be3 — White develops the bishop, heading for the 150 Attack setup — Qd2, f3 and a big pawn storm.
- a6 — Black prepares …b5. The queenside expansion is the whole plan.
- Qd2 — White lines the queen up behind the bishop, eyeing h6 and the dark squares.
- b5 — Black grabs queenside space.
- f3 — White props up e4 and prepares g4 — the storm is starting.
- Nd7 — Black develops the knight, supporting both the …c5 and …e5 breaks.
- g4 — White pushes, gaining kingside space.
- Bb7 — Black develops the bishop to the long diagonal, pointing at e4.
- h4 — White keeps rolling. Both sides are now attacking on opposite wings and neither can afford a slow move.
- h5 — Black jams the h-file before the pawn reaches h5.
- g5 — White pushes past, gaining more space and taking f6 away from Black's pieces.
- c5 — Black hits the centre. White has an enormous space advantage and a committed pawn structure — if the storm doesn't break through, every one of those advanced pawns becomes a weakness. That's the Modern's entire bet.
Where the line leads
White's plans
- Build the big centre and attack with the 150 Attack setup: Be3, Qd2, f3 and h4-h5
- Punish the slow queenside expansion with a4 and a direct kingside pawn storm
- Trade off the g7 bishop with Bh6 — it's the only piece holding Black's position together
Black's plans
- Expand with …a6, …b5 and …c5 — the counterplay has to arrive before White's storm does
- Keep the g7 bishop and never let it get traded off cheaply
- Break in the centre with …c5 or …e5 the moment White commits to the kingside
Modern Defence FAQ
- What are the moves of the Modern Defence?
- The Modern Defence (B06) runs 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 b5 6.f3 Nd7 7.g4 Bb7 8.h4 h5 9.g5 c5. It is played from Black's side of the board.
- What is the idea behind the Modern Defence?
- Delay everything, commit to nothing, and let White overextend. In practice that means: Fianchetto immediately and delay …Nf6 so White has nothing to gain tempo against; Keep every option open — the position can become a Pirc, a Sicilian or a Benoni; Expand on the queenside with …a6 and …b5 while White builds on the kingside.
- Is the Modern Defence good for beginners?
- It is rated Intermediate here: the plans are quick to pick up, but a few moves have to be played accurately to get the position you want.
- What are the plans after the Modern Defence?
- White: Build the big centre and attack with the 150 Attack setup: Be3, Qd2, f3 and h4-h5. Black: Expand with …a6, …b5 and …c5 — the counterplay has to arrive before White's storm does.