Modern Defense: Complete Guide

The ultimate flexible setup — Black fianchettoes and waits for White to commit. Drill every main line against an adaptive engine, backed by real Lichess win rates and Stockfish evaluations.

53 variations 146,825,439 total games Avg Stockfish +0.62

Play the main line: Modern Defense

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All 53 variations of the Modern Defense

Openings & Plans Modern Defense ECO B06 45M games Anti-Openings Modern Defense ECO B06 45M games Anti-Openings Modern Defense: d4 ECO B06 19M games Anti-Openings Modern Defense: Nf3 ECO B06 12M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense: Nf3 ECO B06 6M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line ECO B06 2M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3: Nc3 ECO B06 2M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense ECO B06 1M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3 ECO B06 1M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack ECO B06 1M games Anti-Openings Modern Defense: Bc4 ECO B06 1M games Anti-Openings Modern Defense: d3 ECO B06 1M games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line: b6 ECO B06 770K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Bishop Attack ECO B06 696K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense: Bc4 ECO B06 544K games Anti-Openings Modern Defense: Nc3 ECO B06 420K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3: e5 ECO B06 418K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack: e6 ECO B06 388K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line: Nf6 ECO B06 370K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nc3 ECO B06 300K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense ECO B06 297K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: b3 ECO B06 278K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line: d6 ECO B06 224K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack: d6 ECO B06 224K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3: c4 ECO B06 214K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: h4 ECO B06 132K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Modern Pterodactyl ECO B06 120K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack: d5 ECO B06 104K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense: Be3 ECO B06 60K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: e5 ECO B06 59K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Neo-Modern Defense ECO A41 58K games Gambits Modern Defense: Wind Gambit ECO B06 56K games Gambits Modern Defense: Lizard Defense, Mittenberger Gambit ECO B06 45K games Gambits Modern Defense: Fianchetto Gambit ECO B06 37K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack: b6 ECO B06 34K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line: c5 ECO B06 30K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack: c6 ECO B06 26K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3: Be3 ECO B06 26K games Anti-Openings Modern Defense: f4 ECO B06 22K games Gambits Modern Defense: Westermann Gambit ECO B06 21K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Three Pawns Attack: c5 ECO B06 20K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense: Bf4 ECO B06 18K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Qf3 ECO B06 16K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line: e6 ECO B06 11K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense: f4 ECO B06 5K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: c3 ECO B06 4K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Defense: Bg5 ECO B06 3K games Gambits Modern Defense: Lizard Defense, Pirc-Diemer Gambit ECO A40 2K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3: Bc4 ECO B06 1K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: g3 ECO B06 1K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Standard Line: c6 ECO B06 1K games Openings & Plans Modern Defense: Mongredien Defense, with Nf3: Bd3 ECO B06 1K games Gambits Modern Defense: Bishop Attack, Bücker Gambit ECO B06 405 games

Frequently asked questions about the Modern Defense

What is the modern in chess?

The Modern is a chess opening family with 53 variations covered on Chessy. Over 147 million Lichess games have reached these positions across all rating levels.