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The Modern Defense (also known as the Robatsch Defence after Karl Robatsch) is a hypermodern chess
opening in which Black allows White to occupy the center with pawns on d4 and e4, then proceeds to attack and
undermine this "ideal" center without attempting to occupy it himself. The opening has been most notably used
by British grandmasters Nigel Davies and Colin McNab.
The Modern Defense is closely related to the Pirc Defence, the primary difference being that in the Modern,
Black delays developing his knight to f6. The delay of ...Nf6 attacking White's pawn on e4 gives White the option
of blunting the g7-bishop with c2–c3. There are numerous transpositional possibilities between the two
openings.
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) classifies the Modern Defense as code B06, while codes B07 to
B09 are assigned to the Pirc. The tenth edition of Modern Chess Openings (1965) grouped the Pirc and
Robatsch together as the "Pirc–Robatsch Defense".
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:
Averbakh System
The Modern Defense, Averbakh System (ECO A42) can be reached by the lines:
Further reading
Davies, Nigel (2008). Starting Out: The Modern. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857445664.
The Monkey's Bum is a variation of the Modern Defense, a chess opening. Although it may also be loosely
defined as any approach against the Modern Defense involving an early Bc4 and Qf3, threatening "Scholar's
mate", it is strictly defined by the sequence of moves:
1. e4 g6
2. Bc4 Bg7
3. Qf3 e6
4. d4 Bxd4
5. Ne2 Bg7
6. Nbc3
The Monkey's Bum Deferred is a more respected variation in which White develops his
queen's knight before playing Bc4 and Qf3.
Origin
The Monkey's Bum was discovered and championed by IM Nigel Povah in the 1970s
during a wave of popularity for the Modern Defence. In 1972,
after Keene and Botterill published their book The Modern Defence, Povah began
looking for a response to the opening. He happened across the game Ljubojević–
Keene, Palma de Mallorca 1971, which started 1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Bc4 Bg7 4.f4 Nf6 and
eventually ended in a draw. Intrigued by Ljubojević's early Bc4, Povah began
investigating a rapid assault on f7 with 3.Qf3. When he showed the first few moves to
Ken Coates, a friend at Leeds, Coates declared, "If that works then I'm a monkey's
bum!" The name stuck. The Monkey's Bum first appeared in print five years later in
the British Chess Magazine. Povah wrote an article on the theory of the Monkey's Bum,
in which he stated that although he had never yet lost with the variation, it was still "in
its infancy".
Analysis
In playing the Monkey's Bum, White's idea is to gain active piece play by a sacrifice of
the d4-pawn, much like the Smith-Morra Gambit. In practice however, such
compensation proves tenuous in the Monkey's Bum proper, as evidenced by the
following game:
N. Povah–S. Kagan, Birmingham 1977
1.e4 g6 2.Bc4 Bg7 3.Qf3 e6 4.d4 Bxd4 5.Ne2 Bg7 6.Nbc3 Nc6 7.Bf4 Ne5 8.Bxe5 Bxe5 9.Qe3 d6 10.0–
0–0 Bd7 11.f4 Bg7 12.g4 a6 13.h4 b5 14.Bb3 a5 15.a4 bxa4 16.Nxa4 h5 17.e5 Nh6 18.exd6 Nxg4
19.Qc5 c6 20.Nd4 Bxd4 21.Rxd4 0–0 22.Nb6 Rb8 23.Nxd7 Qxd7 24.Ba4 Qb7 25.b3 Qb6 26.Qxb6 Rxb6
27.Rc4 Rd8 28.Bxc6 Rxd6 29.Bf3 Ne3 30.Ra4 Rb4 31.Rxa5 Rxf4 32.Bb7 Rb6 33.Ba8 Nf5 34.Kb2 Nxh4
35.Ka3 Nf5 36.c4 Nd4 37.Rb1 Nc2+ 38.Ka2 Nb4+ 39.Kb2 Rb8 40.c5 Nd3+ 0–1
A much more popular and respected approach against the Modern Defense is
the Monkey's Bum Deferred. It has been employed by such notable grandmasters
as John Nunn, Sergei Rublevsky and Judit Polgár. It is distinct from the Monkey's
Bum proper in that the attempt to create the "Scholar's mate" threat with Bc4 and
Qf3 only occurs after White has developed his queen's knight. A typical sequence
of the Monkey's Bum Deferred is 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 d6 5.Qf3 (see
diagram). Usually White will castle kingside and undertake an attack by means of
the pawn thrust f2–f4.
The following spectacular game is probably the most famous success of the
Monkey's Bum Deferred and forced it to be considered with respect by the chess
world:
Polgar–Shirov, Donner Memorial, Amsterdam, 1995
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 d6 5.Qf3 e6 6.Nge2 b5 7.Bb3 a5 8.a3 Ba6 9.d5 cxd5 10.exd5 e5
11.Ne4 Qc7 12.c4 bxc4 13.Ba4+ Nd7 14.N2c3 Ke7 15.Nxd6 Qxd6 16.Ne4 Qxd5 17.Bg5+ Ndf6 18.Rd1
Qb7 19.Rd7+ Qxd7 20.Bxd7 h6 21.Qd1 1–0
References
Povah, Nigel (August 1977). "Monkey Business with 2♗c4 against the
Modern Defence". British Chess Magazine. 97 (8): 350–53.
Modern Defense, North Sea Variation
The North Sea Variation is an opening variation in chess. It is a line in the Modern Defense complex that
occurs after the moves:
1. e4 g6
2. d4 Nf6!?
3. e5 Nh5
Discussion
According to Jim Bickford,[1] one of the characteristics of this defense is the "cork-screw" maneuver
the knight makes by traveling to the second rank via f6 and h5. In the introduction to his monograph,
Bickford quotes the late Tony Miles as saying "The black knights are better on the second rank – a
shame it takes two moves for them to get there." This joke is a reference to the fact that black
knights on the second rank would likely occupy the squares d7 or e7; however, in the uncommon
openings favored by Miles they tend to wind up on less characteristic squares along that rank, such
as f7, g7, c7 and b7.
Magnus Carlsen employed the defense against Michael Adams at the 2010 Olympiad in Khanty-
Mansiysk.[2]
See also
List of chess openings
List of chess openings named after places
References
1. ^ The North Sea Variation of the Modern Defence, ECO BO6, Jim Bickford. Syzygy Publishing, 2007.
2. ^ "Michael Adams vs. Magnus Carlsen". ChessGames.com. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
External links
The Modern, North Sea Variation on Brooklyn64
Chessville Reviews – The North Sea Variation of the Modern Defense