The Grünfeld is therefore a key hypermodern opening, showing in stark terms how a large pawn centre can either be a powerful battering ram or a target for attack.

It gained popularity after Ernst Grünfeld introduced it into international play at the Bad Pistyan Tournament 7–28 April 1922, where, in his first game with the defense, he drew Friedrich Sämisch in 22 moves.

The defence was later adopted by a number of prominent players, including Vasily Smyslov, Viktor Korchnoi, Leonid Stein and Bobby Fischer.

Garry Kasparov often used the defence, including in his World Championship matches against Anatoly Karpov in 1986, 1987 and 1990, and Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. Notable 21st-century players who have employed the opening include Magnus Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Loek van Wely, Peter Svidler, Peter Leko, Viswanathan Anand, Luke McShane, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gata Kamsky.

Anand faced the Grünfeld against Magnus Carlsen during the first game of the World Chess Championship 2014 and drew in a Rook and Queen ending.

The Game of the Century between Donald Byrne and 13-year-old Bobby Fischer on October 17, 1956, featured this opening, although arriving in the Grünfeld via a transposition of moves (using 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.d4 0-0 5.Bf4 d5).

In the late 1970s, however, Karpov, Kasparov and others found different methods to play the Exchange Variation with White, often involving an early Rb1 to remove the rook from the sensitive a1–h8 diagonal, as well as attempting to hinder the development of Black's queenside.

Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand are the leading practitioners as White, and Ľubomír Ftáčnik has had many fine results with the black pieces.

Systems in which White delays the development Nc3 are known as the Neo-Grünfeld Defence (ECO code D70–D79); typical move orders are 1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.c4 d5 or, more commonly, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 d5 (the latter is known as the Kemeri Variation).