Esta página também existe em português: Português (Brasil)
Pirc Defense (1.e4 d6)
How do Pirc Defense games actually end? Across 58,616 Lichess games that reached the position after 1.e4 d6, White won 47.8%, 4.3% were drawn and Black won 47.9%. Below: the main line move by move, the most played continuations (the favorite is 2.d4), the rating effect and the opening's history.
The main line, move by move
| Move | Position name | Games | White | Draws | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.e4 | King's Pawn Game | 1,601,410 | 49.2% | 4.3% | 46.4% |
| 1...d6 | Pirc Defense | 58,616 | 47.8% | 4.3% | 47.9% |
| 2.d4 | Pirc Defense | 32,765 | 49.6% | 4.4% | 45.9% |
| 2...Nf6 | Pirc Defense | 16,193 | 46.5% | 4.7% | 48.8% |
| 3.Nc3 | - | 10,725 | 47.2% | 4.8% | 48.0% |
The 5 most common continuations (for White)
| Move | Variation | Games | White | Draws | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.d4 | - | 32,765 | 49.6% | 4.4% | 45.9% |
| 2.Nf3 | - | 12,935 | 45.5% | 4.1% | 50.4% |
| 2.f4 | - | 3,797 | 48.7% | 3.7% | 47.7% |
| 2.Bc4 | - | 3,526 | 44.5% | 4.8% | 50.8% |
| 2.Nc3 | - | 2,141 | 48.2% | 4.3% | 47.5% |
How rating changes the same position
| Rating band (average of the pair) | Games | White | Draws | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1600-1799 | 31,087 | 49.1% | 3.9% | 47.0% |
| 2200-2499 | 1,350 | 45.9% | 8.5% | 45.6% |
The story of the opening
The Pirc honors the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc, who systematized it in the mid 20th century. It is a child of the hypermodern revolution: Black hands over the center outright, with d6 and a kingside fianchetto, betting that White's pawn front will become a target rather than an asset. For decades it was dismissed as a dubious provocation, useful only for surprise value.
Its consecration came on the most watched stage of the century: in game 17 of the Fischer versus Spassky match, Reykjavik 1972, Fischer defended with the Pirc as Black and held the draw comfortably. It never became a main elite weapon, but it remains a respected guerrilla choice: it concedes space, sidesteps heavy theory and invites White to stretch just a little too far.
Compare it with every other opening in the opening statistics archive, or visit its neighbors: Alekhine's Defense and Scotch Game. Nerd aside: chess notation is a 64 square code, cousin to the ones living next door, like binary and Morse.
Source: the Lichess open game database (database.lichess.org, CC0 data), months 2014-06, 2015-01, 2016-01, snapshot of 2026-07-09: blitz, rapid and classical games with the players' average rating between 1600 and 2199, aggregated by move sequence. Variation names and ECO codes: lichess-org/chess-openings (CC0).
Last updated: · Methodology and sources