The Bishop Attack | Modern Defense Opening Theory

The Bishop Attack is a seldom played, but very venomous sideline for white against the Modern Defense!

For an introduction to the Modern Defense, watch this video on the basics:    • Modern Defense | Ideas, Principles an...  

When playing the bishop attack (developing his bishop to c4 on move three), white is going against the common principles of classical chess, which are most often followed when facing a hyper-modern opening. There are four more common and more sensible (from a classical perspective) options. Normal moves are developing either of the knights, or playing c4 or f4, expanding in the center.

Bc4, the Bishop Attack, simply puts the piece on the most active square and immediately targets the f7 weakness. Targeting f7 is not the main point, but the pressure may come in handy, and in many positions Bc4 may force black to play the move e6, thus further weakening the dark squares around his king.

Black has four main responses to 3. Bc4:

3...d6 – the most commonly played move. Leads to sort of equal positions in which black doesn’t have much to play for and he also has no easy ways to create imbalances in the position.

3...c6 – probably the best response black could go for. It prepares d5, and often leads to immense weaknesses on the dark squares, but makes black’s position very solid.

3...c5 – the most aggressive response for black, and my favorite. This move gives the most winning chances to black because it makes the position sharp, imbalanced and hard to understand – exactly what black is aiming for with an opening such as the Modern!

3...e6 – this is the best move according to the engines. It prevents any Qf3 ideas and relieves the pressure off the f7 pawn, but it does come with a serious downside. Black has now played both g6 and e6, weakening his dark squares irreparably, and if white manages to exchange the g7 bishop, things could get dangerous around the black king.

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