Hypermoderns

1. (insert any of white's 20 legal moves here) g6

why does this look so damn good, but the big-name GMs don't use it?

Originally posted by rubberjaw30
1. (insert any of white's 20 legal moves here) g6

why does this look so damn good, but the big-name GMs don't use it?

I don't know if he plays much anymore, but British GM David Norwood played 1...g6 almost exclusively for over a decade. He also wrote an excellent book called "Winning with the Modern."

More recently, GM Tiger Hillarp Persson wrote of his exploits with 1...g6 in his book, "Tiger's Modern."

Grandmaster Jon Speelman co-authored a book on the Modern Defense in the late 1990's with Neil McDonald.

Originally posted by gaychessplayer
I don't know if he plays much anymore, but British GM David Norwood played 1...g6 almost exclusively for over a decade. He also wrote an excellent book called "Winning with the Modern."

More recently, GM Tiger Hillarp Persson wrote of his exploits with 1...g6 in his book, "Tiger's Modern."

Grandmaster Jon Speelman co-authored a book on the Modern Defense in the late 1990's with Neil McDonald.

Writing books and playing the modern are two different things. You will find a few games, but I think they just receive better chances with more classical openings (where the center is more directly contested). Openings also tend to go in and out of style so I'm sure if you wait 5 years, you'll start seeing the modern again.

Originally posted by rubberjaw30
1. (insert any of white's 20 legal moves here) g6

why does this look so damn good, but the big-name GMs don't use it?

just guessing, but it looks like it gives too much information right away. GMs try to keep their opening plans secret as long as possible, keeping maximum amount of options.

Originally posted by rubberjaw30
1. (insert any of white's 20 legal moves here) g6

why does this look so damn good, but the big-name GMs don't use it?

I can't tell you why the GM's do or don't play the Modern. I only know that after experimenting with it as Black (1.e4 g6) I found that if White knew what he was doing and held the center while developing, I found myself without much counterplay and getting squeezed. I went through a phase trying to find an opening response to 1.e4 as Black, where I played the Pirc, the Robatsch (Modern), the Pterodactyl (kind of a Robatsch with an early...c5), the hyper-accelerated Dragon (kind of hard to tell the difference between some lines of the last two anyway, I think), then on to the O'Kelly Sicilian and now, finally, to the Paulsen (aka Kan) Sicilian. So far I'm reasonably happy with the Kan and plan on pursuing it.

There are actually a number of similarities in the openings named. Gradually I decided that I wanted to contest the center from the very first move, without playing into highly favorable White lines with 1.e4e5, and since I had so much experience regarding ...c5 as a "freeing move" in so many of the lines I had been trying, why not get it in right away? I also wanted to get to know one opening for replies to 1.e4, and 1...e5 lets White take the game into countless openings -- Spanish, Italian, Center-Counter, etc., etc., etc.. The Kan is also flexible depending on how White develops. On the other hand, it doesn't offer the aggressive tactical lines that the Najdorf does (at least, not right away).