Modern Defense

• At a glance

  Modern Defense

  650 games, 56%: your second opening with Black. No move the engine calls broken, but three quiet positions where you lose, and a d4 square your opponents hand you.

  20 cards, one idea each. Swipe to move on.

• The big idea

  The Modern is a patience contract. With 1…g6 and 2…Bg7, you let White take the whole center. The price: space, and positions where one slow move gets punished right away.

• The big idea

  What you buy: a g7 bishop aiming at d4 from move two, and the right to pick your structure after seeing White's.

• The big idea

  650 games, 56%, a bit below your overall score with Black (57.6%).

• The big idea

  The file finds no recurring move that the engine says costs you a lot: your leaks are choices of plan, in four or five specific positions.

• The big idea

  That's the best news possible, because a plan gets fixed in one session.

• The big idea

  The thread of the course: when White keeps a pawn on d4, you hit it (…c5, …Nc6, …e5). When they push it to d5, the d4 square becomes yours for the whole game.

• The big idea

  And when they play quietly, with Nf3, e4 and Bc4, you attack e4 instead of pushing slow pawns.

• Principle

  Hit d4 above all

  Your games: 38× · 55% of points

  The g7 bishop aims at d4 from 2…Bg7. Add a pawn (…c5, …e5) or a knight (…Nc6): White has to decide right now.

• Principle

  If d5, the d4 square is yours

  Your games: 9× · 89% of points

  When White pushes d5, no pawn can ever attack d4 again. Your knight settles there, and …c5 supports it.

• Principle

  No slow move against Nf3 and e4

  Without Nc3, …b5-b4 has nothing to chase. Against the quiet system, attack e4: …d6 then …Nf6.

• Principle

  Block the h-pawn before anything else

  Against Be3, Qd2 and queenside castling, answer h4 with …h5, then open the c-file with …c5.

• Principle

  Give up the g7 bishop only for a structure

  Your games: 13× · 58% of points

  …Bxc3+ is worth it when it leaves two doubled, isolated c-pawns on c3 and c4. Otherwise, the g7 bishop stays your best piece.

• Imbalance

  Space versus targets

  Your games: 55× · 57% of points

  White has the center (c4, d4, e4). You have a g7 bishop aiming at d4 and pawns ready to hit it.

• Imbalance

  The doubled c-pawns

  Your games: 10× · 60% of points

  After …Bxc3+ bxc3, c3 and c4 have no neighboring pawn left to defend them: they are targets for the whole game.

• Imbalance

  The f6-f7 structure

  Your games: 10× · 30% of points

  In the Caro-Modern, …exf6 gives you doubled f-pawns, but also the e-file, and the f6 pawn holds e5 and g5.

• Imbalance

  Kings on opposite sides

  Against White's queenside castling, your king waits in the center: the race is decided on the c- and h-files.

• The trade-off

  What you gain

  • One simple plan against almost everything: hit d4.
  • 3…c5 against 3.Nc3: your best results in the whole family.
  • Strong squares (d4) that White often hands you on their own.
• The trade-off

  What you give up

  • A slow move against Nf3 and e4 gets punished right away: 3…a6 scores 33% there.
  • Against the Be3-Qd2 attack in the 1.e4 move order, you drop to 35%.
  • The Caro-Modern leaves you a passive structure if you have no plan: 27%.
• That's all

  Your turn

  These ideas only stick once you play the moves. The chapters make you find the right ones.

  Start chapter 1

Card 1 of 20: Modern Defense

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