What Is the Pirc Defense?
The Pirc Defense is 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6. Black lets White build a big pawn center on e4 and d4, puts the bishop on g7, and attacks that center later with ...c5 or ...e5. In British English it's the Pirc Defence. It's named after Vasja Pirc (1907 to 1980), a Slovenian grandmaster who was champion of Yugoslavia five times. In Russia and other former Soviet countries, it's often called the Ufimtsev Defence, after the Soviet master Anatoly Ufimtsev. Its ECO codes are B07 to B09. Is it sound? Yes, but it gives White more room than the main replies to 1.e4 do. In our October 2026 test, Stockfish 19 at depth 30 rated 1.e4 d6 about 0.57 pawns better for White, against about 0.4 after 1.e4 c6 and about 0.23 after 1.e4 e5. Once Black plays 3...g6, the engine's first choice for White was 4.Be3, the 150 Attack, at about 0.71. Our Pirc Defense course has 8 lines, all from Black's side: three against the Austrian Attack, two against the Classical Variation, and one each against the 150 Attack, the Byrne Variation and 4.g3.
Key Moves in the Pirc Defense
White picks the system on move four. 4.f4 is the Austrian Attack, where White puts three pawns in the center. 4.Nf3 is the Classical Variation, and after 4...Bg7, 5.Be2 is the Quiet System and 5.h3 is the Schlechter Variation. 4.Be3 is the 150 Attack, where White follows with Qd2 and often f3. 4.Bg5 is the Byrne Variation, after Robert Byrne, who brought it in during the 1960s. 4.g3 is the Sveshnikov System, where White fianchettoes too, and Anatoly Karpov sometimes played it with Bg2 and Nge2. 4.Bc4 is the Kholmov System, and 4.Be2 Bg7 5.h4 is the Bayonet Attack. Black has other third moves as well. 3...e5 turns the game into a Philidor Defense, 3...c6 is the Czech Defense and 3...Nbd7 is the Lion Defense. At depth 30, the engine's own first choice after 3.Nc3 was 3...e5, at about 0.48 pawns for White. At depth 22, 3...c6 came out about a pawn for White. White can also skip 3.Nc3: Garry Kasparov surprised Yasser Seirawan with 3.f3 at Barcelona in 1989.
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3Pirc Defense Strategy & Ideas
Black's plan is to let White take the center and then hit it. The bishop on g7 aims at d4, and the two pawn breaks are ...c5 and ...e5. In our engine's Classical line, Black castled and then played ...e5 at once, and the queens came off after 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8. Against the Austrian Attack, ...c5 is the main break. After 4.f4 Bg7 5.Be2, Stockfish 19 at depth 22 rated 5...c5 about 0.19 pawns for White, against about 0.51 for castling. In the Classical, ...c5 and ...cxd4 can turn the game into a Sicilian Dragon. White's plans depend on the system. In the Austrian, the f pawn supports the push e5, which drives the f6 knight away. In the 150 Attack, White develops with Be3 and Qd2, and in our engine line the bishop went to h6 at move nine to trade off Black's dark squared bishop. Against that setup, Black's counterplay comes on the queen side: after 4.Be3 c6 5.Qd2, the engine's choice was 5...b5 at once. Our view: the Pirc rewards good timing, because a break that comes too late lets White's center roll forward.
Typical Pawn Structures
The Pirc starts with Black's pawns on d6 and g6 and White's on e4 and d4. The d6 pawn guards c5 and e5, so White's e pawn can't advance to e5 without support. The fianchetto on g7 covers the dark squares around Black's king, and that's why White aims Be3, Qd2 and Bh6 at it in the 150 Attack. If the g7 bishop is traded, f6 and h6 become weak. After ...e5, White can trade on e5, which opens the d file and makes the pawns almost symmetrical, as in our Classical engine line. If White pushes d5 instead, the center closes and the structure looks like a King's Indian Defense. After ...c5 and a trade on d4, Black gets a half open c file, as in the Sicilian. In the Austrian, White's pawns on d4, e4 and f4 take more space, and ...c5 hits the d4 pawn at once.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Stockfish 19 at depth 22 checked each of these. First, for White: pushing the e pawn too soon in the Austrian Attack. After 4.f4 Bg7, our test rated White about 0.57 pawns better. The early 5.e5 let Black equalize with 5...Nfd7, which rated level. For Black, the capture 5...dxe5 was the mistake there, at about half a pawn for White. Second, for Black: chasing the bishop in the 150 Attack. After 4.Be3 c6 5.Qd2 Ng4, White answers 6.Bg5, and Black's knight has to go back. Our test rated White about a pawn better, against about 0.64 after 5...b5. Third, for Black: the wrong recapture in the Austrian. After 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.cxd6, Black must take with 7...Nxe4, which rated about level. 7...exd6? lost more than three pawns, because 8.e5! dxe5 9.fxe5 drives the knight back and lets White's queen reach d6. White's 7.cxd6 was a slip too, since 7.Qe2 kept about half a pawn. The two traps below show more.
Common Traps in the Pirc Defense
The first trap is one White falls into, and Black players should know it. It comes from the Kholmov System: 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 Bg7 5.Qe2 Nc6 6.e5 Nd7 7.e6?! fxe6 8.Qxe6? Nde5!. The knight move uncovers the bishop on c8, which now attacks White's queen, and the knight itself attacks the bishop on c4. After 9.Qd5 e6!, the pawn hits the queen again. Stockfish 19 at depth 22 rated Black almost five pawns better. Even 7.e6 with 8.Nf3 left Black almost two pawns better at depth 20, and the engine's choice after 6...Nd7 was 7.Nf3, at about 0.4 for White. The second trap is one Black has to see. In the Austrian Attack, 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 forks Black's queen and the bishop on g7. The only move is 10...Bxd4!. In our depth 22 test, every other move left White more than three pawns better, and the best of those was 10...Qc8. After 11.Nxd8 Bf2+ 12.Kd2 Be3+ 13.Ke1 Bf2+, White's king has one square each time, and the game ends in a draw by perpetual check. If you'd rather skip the line, the engine's choice at move eight was 8...Bxb5 9.exf7+ Kf8, at about 0.64 pawns for White at depth 20.
Famous Pirc Defense Players & Games
Siegbert Tarrasch used the Austrian Attack to beat Rudolf Charousek in 1896, in just 17 moves. The defense itself only caught on after the Second World War, and by the 1960s it was seen as playable, in large part thanks to the Canadian grandmaster Duncan Suttles. Bobby Fischer lost a Pirc as White to Viktor Korchnoi at Curaçao in 1962. Ten years later, Fischer played the Pirc as Black for the first time in his career, in game 17 of the 1972 World Championship match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavík. Spassky chose the Austrian Attack, and the game ended in a draw by threefold repetition. It was the opening's first appearance in a world championship match. Efim Geller, Anatoly Karpov and Evgeni Vasiukov all used the Classical Variation with success as White, while Zurab Azmaiparashvili scored well against it as Black. In the USSR Championship in Moscow in 1983, Azmaiparashvili used the Pirc to beat Karpov, who was then the reigning world champion. The best known Pirc game is Kasparov's Immortal, Garry Kasparov against Veselin Topalov at Wijk aan Zee in 1999. Kasparov chose the 150 Attack setup, 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.f3 b5, played the rook sacrifice 24.Rxd4!! and won at move 44. Kasparov himself judged the Pirc a poor choice for the strongest tournaments, because it gives White too many chances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Pirc Defense good?▼
Yes. It's sound, but it gives White more room than 1...e5 or 1...c6. In our October 2026 test, Stockfish 19 at depth 30 rated 1.e4 d6 about 0.57 pawns for White, against about 0.4 for 1.e4 c6 and about 0.23 for 1.e4 e5. Kasparov judged it a poor choice for the strongest tournaments, but Azmaiparashvili beat world champion Karpov with it in 1983. Our view: it suits players who like to counterattack, as long as they know when to strike with ...c5 or ...e5.
What is the main line of the Pirc Defense?▼
The Pirc starts 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6, and White then picks a system. The main ones are the Austrian Attack, 4.f4, the Classical Variation, 4.Nf3, and the 150 Attack, 4.Be3. At depth 30, Stockfish 19's first choice was 4.Be3, at about 0.71 pawns for White, with 4.f3 next at about 0.63. At depth 22, 4.f4 Bg7 rated about 0.57 and 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 about 0.42.
How do you play against the Austrian Attack?▼
Develop with 4...Bg7, then castle or strike at once with ...c5. In our test with Stockfish 19 at depth 22, after 5.Nf3, castling rated about 0.62 pawns for White and 5...c5 about 0.67. Against 5.Be2, 5...c5 rated about 0.19. If White pushes 5.e5 at once, retreat with 5...Nfd7, which came out level. Our view: learn the 6.Bb5+ line before you play ...c5 against 5.Nf3, because one wrong move there loses.
What is the 150 Attack against the Pirc?▼
It's 4.Be3 with Qd2, without f3, and then Bh6 to trade off Black's dark squared bishop. British players named it after the 150 grade of the English Chess Federation, about 1825 Elo, because players of that strength can play it well without theory. At depth 30, Stockfish 19's first choice after 3...g6 was 4.Be3, at about 0.71 pawns for White. Our course meets it with 4...c6 5.Qd2, and there our depth 22 test liked 5...b5, at about 0.64.
What is the difference between the Pirc and the Modern Defense?▼
The move order. The Pirc brings the knight to f6 on move two, where it hits e4. The Modern Defense, also called the Robatsch, starts with 1...g6 and fianchettoes first, so the knight can stay home longer. If Black plays ...Nf6 later, the game can turn into a Pirc. In our October 2026 test with Stockfish 19 at depth 30, 1.e4 d6 rated about 0.57 pawns for White and 1.e4 g6 about 0.56.
What traps should I know in the Pirc Defense?▼
Two. Against the Kholmov System, 4.Bc4 Bg7 5.Qe2 Nc6 6.e5 Nd7 7.e6 fxe6 8.Qxe6? Nde5! uncovers Black's c8 bishop on the queen, and White loses material. In the Austrian, 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 forks Black's queen and bishop, and only 10...Bxd4! holds, with a perpetual check after 11.Nxd8 Bf2+.
Related Openings
Ready to Master the Pirc Defense?
Practice every variation with CheckmateX's free interactive trainer. Track your progress, earn mastery points, and build a winning opening repertoire.
Start Training →