Modern Defense: what should White play?

In this Modern Defense tabiya, White holds a comfortable spatial advantage and should target Black's kingside fianchetto immediately with h4. Although played in only 2.5% of games (4.8K recorded), h4 offers the highest scoring rate among the options at 66.1% and carries an engine evaluation of +1.77. The advance takes advantage of Black's slow piece coordination by preparing a direct flank assault against the g6 pawn.

The Aggressive Flank Thrust with h4

By launching h4, White looks to soften Black's kingside before Black can castle or contest the center. In the engine main line h4 d6 Bf4 O-O Qd2 h5, White systematically lines up the queen and dark-squared bishop toward the h6 square to provoke further structural concessions. Another aggressive option is c5, which boasts a +1.78 evaluation across 2.7K recorded games (1.4%), exemplified by c5 b6 h4 h6 Bf4 Ba6.

Classical Development Options

Despite the engine's preference for early wing thrusts, standard development remains far more prevalent in practice. White selects Bd3 in 47.8% of recorded games (91K recorded, scoring 52.9%, eval +1.43), following paths like Bd3 d5 O-O O-O Re1 Nd7. Similarly, Be2 accounts for 40.9% of games (78K recorded, eval +1.49, scoring 52.5%), leading to positions such as Be2 d5 h4 O-O h5 c5.

Developing the Dark-Squared Bishop

A third path involves Bf4, chosen in 7.3% of games (14K recorded) with an evaluation of +1.34 and a 51.0% score for White. This developing move often transitions into flank play, as demonstrated by the illustrative continuation Bf4 d5 h4 O-O h5 b5. While all primary options maintain White's edge, h4 poses the most direct test of Black's setup.