Modern defence

The Modern defence

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8	File:Chessboard480.svg a8 black rook b8 black knight c8 black bishop d8 black queen e8 black king g8 black knight h8 black rook a7 black pawn b7 black pawn c7 black pawn d7 black pawn e7 black pawn f7 black pawn g7 black bishop h7 black pawn g6 black pawn d4 white pawn e4 white pawn a2 white pawn b2 white pawn c2 white pawn f2 white pawn g2 white pawn h2 white pawn a1 white rook b1 white knight c1 white bishop d1 white queen e1 white king f1 white bishop g1 white knight h1 white rook								8
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	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

The Modern defence is a chess opening. It is almost the only defence which can be played against any opening move; and it may be played as an opening move itself. It consists in the immediate fianchetto of the king's bishop (KB). The first moves might be:

1.e4 g6

2.d4 Bg7

The opening is hypermodern. Black does not occupy the centre, he counter-attacks the centre built up by his opponent. He will probably play ...d6 next, then develop his K-side, then perhaps counter-attack the white centre with ...c5. The system is extremely flexible, and there are many transpositions. There are players, including a few grandmasters, who play almost nothing but the Modern with white and black.