Openings · B06

Modern Defence

Fianchetto first and decide the rest later: the most flexible answer to 1.e4, and the least forgiving of drift.

1.e4 g6played as Black

Play it through on the board below, and 6 moves into the main line.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded. The line runs on past the moves that define the opening and into the main line, because two moves is not a drill.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
h8
g
f
e
d
c
b
a
Your move 1 of 40/4
  1. 1.e4g6
  2. 2.d4Bg7
  3. 3.Nc3d6
  4. 4.Nf3a6

White is answering…

The idea

1…g6 keeps every option. Black can transpose to a Pirc with …Nf6, play the pure Modern with …a6 and …b5 on the queenside, or hit the centre with …c5 and …d6 — and White has to be ready for all of them from move two.

The cost of that flexibility is that Black is not fighting for the centre yet. Every Modern game is a race between White's pawns and Black's counterplay, and a Black player who develops without a plan loses that race by move fifteen.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Turning it into a Pirc by accident

After 6.e5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
The mistake
Playing …Nf6 into the Austrian set-up without meaning to be in a Pirc.
Why it costs
The knight on f6 gives f4–f5 and e4–e5 something to hit, and White gains the tempo that makes the attack run. The Modern's whole point was to leave that square empty until White commits.
Instead
…c5 or …a6 and …b5 first. If you want to be in a Pirc, choose it on move two — the Modern move order exists to keep out of it.

Letting the knight leave g8 against Qd2

After 6.Bh6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
The mistake
Developing …Nf6 once White has played Be3 and Qd2.
Why it costs
The knight on g8 is what guards h6. While it stands there, Bh6 just loses the bishop, because …Bxh6 cannot be met by Qxh6. Once it goes to f6, Bh6 trades off the piece that holds the dark squares and h4–h5 follows. The engine only rates it slightly better for White, but White's is the side that is easy to play.
Instead
Leave the knight at home and get on with …b5, …Bb7 and …Nd7. Against the 150 Attack the knight on g8 is a defender, not an undeveloped piece.

The early ...d5

After 4.Nc3
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
The mistake
Striking in the centre before the bishop and the knight are out.
Why it costs
3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 gains a tempo on the queen, and Black has a Scandinavian in which he has spent a move on …g6 rather than on developing. The fianchetto and the early …d5 are two different plans.
Instead
…Bg7 and …d6 first. The …d5 break belongs later, after …c6 or …Nd7 has prepared it.

In real games between beginners

  • 1 in 130games end with Black giving checkmate by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 54.
  • 1 in 37games end with Black getting checkmated by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 33.

From 5,736 Lichess games in this opening between players rated under 1200, blitz and slower, September 2026. How we counted.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 g6, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 4 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. d4+0.6
  2. Nf3+0.6
  3. c3+0.4
  4. Nc3+0.4
  5. Be2+0.3
  6. c4+0.2

The engine's main line from d4: d4 Bg7 Nf3 d6 Nc3 Nf6 Be3 O-O.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

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