 As a player, Makogonov was noted for his positional style.He made several contributions to chess opening theory; there is a Makogonov Variation in the King's Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3) and in the Grünfeld Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 0-0 6.b4).He helped develop the Tartakower System in the Queen's Gambit Declined, which is called the Tartakower–Makogonov–Bondarevsky System or TMB System in Russian.