for Black · intermediate

Modern Defense

2/2
1.e4g6

Black fianchettoes immediately and delays committing the knights. White tends to overextend in the centre. It is highly flexible and transpositional. Black can steer toward Pirc-like or independent structures.

Key ideas
  • Fianchetto the dark-squared bishop and stay flexible
  • Provoke White forward, then strike with ...c5, ...d5 or ...e5
  • Keep move-order options open to reach favourable structures
  • Counterattack the centre with pieces from a hypermodern setup
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Modern Defense44.1M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
51%22.6M52%
23%10.2M50%
7.2%3.2M50%
5.8%2.6M51%
5.5%2.4M52%
1.9%841k49%
1%452k47%
1%450k49%
0.8%355k56%
0.5%223k47%
Famous games in this line35k master games
Caruana, F. (2819) – Carlsen, M. (2875)20190–1So, W. (2815) – Carlsen, M. (2832)20170–1Anand, V. (2767) – Carlsen, M. (2875)20190–1Giri, A. (2760) – Carlsen, M. (2864)2022½–½Vachier Lagrave, Maxime (2819) – Nakamura, Hi (2791)2016½–½Carlsen, Magnus (2863) – Nakamura, Hikaru (2736)20201–0Carlsen, M. (2832) – Firouzja, Alireza (2767)20241–0Caruana, F. (2832) – Aronian, L. (2765)20181–0
Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · Caruana, F.
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Modern Defense: Fianchetto Gambit2.d4 f5Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense2.d4 Nf6 · 1 deeper lineModern Defense: Wind Gambit2.d4 Bg7 3.Bd3Modern Defense: Bishop Attack2.d4 Bg7 3.Bc4 · 1 deeper line
Study this opening
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