Editing Modern Defense (section)

==2.d4==

===Main line: 2.d4 Bg7===
White's strongest response to the Modern Defense is 2.d4, to which Black typically responds 2...Bg7. The main continuations are:
* '''3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 c6 5. Nf3 Bg4''' (the Standard Line, ''ECO'' B06)
* '''3. c4''' (''ECO'' A40) '''d6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Be3 e5 6. d5 Nce7''' (7.g4 will be answered by 7...f5 8.gxf5 gxf5 9.Qh5+ Ng6 10.exf5 Qh4 11.Qxh4 Nxh4 12.Nb5 Kd8)
Other possibilities include:
* 3.Bc4 (Bishop Attack)
* 3.Bd2 (Westermann Gambit)
* 3.Bd3 (Wind Gambit)
* 3.f4 (Three Pawns Attack)
* 3.g3
* 3.Nf3

===Fischer's 3.h4!?===
[[Bobby Fischer]] suggested the move 3.h4!? as an unorthodox try against 1...g6 2.d4 Bg7, in his annotation to a game against [[Pal Benko]].<ref>[[Bobby Fischer]], ''[[My 60 Memorable Games]]'', 2008, p. 286</ref> (Fischer played 3.Nc3 in the actual game.) The idea is to pry open Black's {{chessgloss|kingside}} by h4&ndash;h5 followed by hxg6, as ...gxh5 would greatly weaken the cover to Black's king.

===Averbakh System===
{{Chess diagram 
 |tright
 |
 |rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|  |nd|rd
 |pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|bd|pd
 |  |  |  |pd|  |  |pd|  
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
 |  |  |pl|pl|pl|  |  |  
 |  |  |nl|  |  |  |  |  
 |pl|pl|  |  |  |pl|pl|pl
 |rl|  |bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl
 |Averbakh System
}}
The ''Modern Defense, Averbakh System'' (''ECO'' A42) can be reached by the lines:

* 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 (diagram)
* 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 (diagram)

Possible moves for Black at this point include 4...Nf6, 4...Nc6, 4...e5, and 4...Nd7. The move 4...Nf6 
leads to a position of the [[King's Indian Defence]], where White has options 5.Nf3, 5.f3, 5.Be2, 5.f4, and so on. <!-- add more about 4...Nc6, 4...e5 -->
{{clear}}