Handling the Modern Defense: b6 as White

The Modern Defence is a hypermodern setup — Black lets you occupy the centre with pawns and then tries to undermine it. By playing b6, Black signals they intend to put their bishop on b7 and attack your e4- and d4-pawns from the long diagonal. Your job as White is straightforward: build a strong centre, develop quickly, and not let Black's pressure slow you down. The opening moves 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 b6 4.Nf3 give you classical central occupation with both knights developed. You already control the centre, your pieces are active, and Black's kingside fianchetto has not yet created any immediate threats. The engine's +1.08 evaluation reflects that you have a comfortable space advantage and easier development — Black will need to work hard to equalise.

Stockfish's top choice here is 4...d6, continuing with 5.Be3 a6 6.Qd2. Black shores up the e5 square, prepares to develop the light-squared bishop, and plays a6 to gain queenside space. This line is solid but passive — Black is conceding space and asking you to prove you can break through. As White, you should continue with natural developing moves: Be3 to control the centre and connect your rooks, Qd2 to support the d4-pawn, followed by castling queenside in many lines. Your game plan is to expand with moves like h4-h5 or f4, using your space advantage to start an attack before Black fully coordinates. Notice that 4...d6 is actually Black's third most popular reply (11,619 games) and the highest-scoring for White at 53.4% — so your position is promising.

Black players overwhelmingly choose 4...Bb7, appearing in 713,290 of the 770,574 games — by far the most common reply. It's the obvious move: Black develops the light-squared bishop exactly where they planned. Against this, White scores 51.2%, which is solid but slightly lower than against other replies. That suggests Black's main idea is workable, but you still hold the advantage. Other notable options include: 4...e6 (15,612 games, White scores 52.6%), 4...c5 (6,417 games, White scores 56.4%), 4...Ba6 (6,195 games, White scores 53.9%), and 4...Nf6 (4,794 games, White scores 57.2%). Notice the scoring trend: the less natural the move, the better your results. Against 4...c5, Black is trying to break the centre immediately, but you can simply capture or support d4 — the 56.4% score shows it tends to backfire.

The most common error Black makes in this position is 4...Nf6. This is classified as an inaccuracy that costs roughly 0.8 pawns of equity — Stockfish says 4...d6 was clearly better. The problem with 4...Nf6 is that Black neglects the centre and allows you to push e5 with tempo. After 4...Nf6 5.e5, the knight has to retreat (usually to g8 or e4), and Black has lost time while you gain space. Even though 4...Nf6 is played only 4,794 times out of 770,000 games, it's the highest-scoring reply for White at 57.2%. If you see your opponent play this, seize the moment: advance e4-e5 and chase the knight. Black's position will already be uncomfortable, and your advantage will grow beyond the already comfortable +1.08 starting point.