The Modern Defense is as provocative and dynamic as a chess opening gets.In the Modern Defense Black dares White to take the centre only to sucker punch it as soon as White thinks he’s got it all under control. Modern Defense players are a nasty bunch. They don’t eschew a mess on the board.
Be flexible. Be problematic. Be modern
The Modern, or the
Robatsch as it is also known - named after Austrian grandmaster and botanist
Karl Robatsch who popularized it in the 1950s and 60s, is not an opening for the dogmatic.
If you like combinative or tactical play this opening is for you!
This is not an opening for classical purists. Instead the Modern offers a flexible hybrid system that borrows from
the Pirc,
the Hippopotamus and even
the Dragon whenever those plans and ideas serve the purpose of getting a fighting game. The Modern is like a much more tactical version of the
Alekhine’s Defense, chock full of material sacrifices, imbalances and wild tactics.
You’ll find yourself shoving your g-pawn up the board with reckless abandon, or leaving a hole around your kingside all to get the final blow in. And, this is what makes it so
very effective at the club level.
Comes with an optional 19+ hours of precise and personal instruction by CM Vjekoslav Nemec
Ambush your opponents like the top players do
The most well-known proponent of this opening is, of course, Swedish grandmaster
Tiger Hillarp Persson, who is a direct inspiration for this repertoire. But, even at top level the Modern is employed on a regular basis. World Champion,
Magnus Carlsen, has won with it, as well as other top players such as
Aronian,
Nepomniachtchi,
Svidler,
Mamedov,
Gashimov,
Rapport and
Šarić have all won at least one classical game with the Modern.
Fight your way up the ranks
Our guide to this inspired opening is Candidate Master
Vjekoslav Nemec from Croatia who came to club chess relatively late but worked his way up the chess ranks to Candidate Master level relatively quickly, using the Modern as his main weapon.
The goal of this course is to reach playable positions where Black is at least not worse and armed with ideas and principles that will allow you to gradually outplay your opponent because you have a better understanding of the resulting positions.
Send White packing his bags early. Modernize your chess!
