Modern Defense: ...c5 System
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 · B06
Part of Modern Defense
Starting positionWhite to move
0 / 12
The queen attacks c5 and pins the knight
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The idea
Black strikes at d4 with ...c5 right away, treating the Modern as a Sicilian with the bishop already on g7.
Main line: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.dxc5 Qa5 5.Bd2 Qxc5 6.Nf3 Nf6
What White wants
- Meet ...c5 with dxc5 or d5 according to the position
- Develop with Nf3, Be2 and O-O and use the space
- Watch ...Qa5: it attacks c5 while pinning the c3 knight
What Black wants
- Recover the c5 pawn with ...Qa5 and ...Qxc5
- Develop with ...Nf6, ...Nc6 and ...d6 and equalise
- Use the long diagonal and the queenside for counterplay
Key idea
Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.
The queen attacks c5 and pins the knight
After dxc5, ...Qa5 attacks the c5 pawn and pins Nc3 to the king on e1. It is not check, because the knight blocks the diagonal. Bd2 breaks the pin while Black recovers the pawn with ...Qxc5 and continues development.
Common mistake
Trying to preserve the extra c5 pawn with more pawn moves while the king remains in the centre. ...Qa5 combines pressure on c5 with the c3 pin; develop Bd2 and the kingside rather than neglecting those two threats.
Representative position
The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.
rnb1k2r/pp1pppbp/5np1/2q5/4P3/2N2N2/PPPB1PPP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 2 7
Analyze this position