The Pirc is a flexible hypermodern opening: 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6. Black concedes the centre, fianchettoes the bishop and prepares the ...e5 or ...c5 counter-strikes. The main branches are gathered here: the Austrian Attack, the Classical System, the 150 Attack and the Byrne System. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
The thin arrow on the board shows the next move.
You can also play the move on the board: pick the piece up and put it on the square.
The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The Pirc Defence (named after the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc) is one of the principal hypermodern openings. Black deliberately hands White the pawn centre, develops the bishop to g7 with ...g6 and prepares the ...e5 or ...c5 breaks.
The main idea is flexibility and counterattack. Black does not fight for the centre with pawns in the opening but lets White occupy it, in order to strike at it later and use it as a target. Meanwhile the g7 bishop rakes the long diagonal.
The price is conceded space: if Black is slow with the counterplay, White crushes him with the centre and an attack. So the Pirc demands active, precise play rather than passive waiting.
The most aggressive route is the Austrian Attack 4.f4: White builds the e4-d4-f4 centre and goes for a kingside pawn storm. Quieter is the Classical System 4.Nf3 with natural development and castling.
The fashionable modern plan is the 150 Attack (4.Be3, Qd2, f3, queenside castling and the h4-h5 storm), along with the related Byrne System with 4.Bg5. All of them target Black's king, which makes central counterplay a matter of survival.
The Pirc is a flexible fianchetto set-up: ...d6, ...Nf6, ...g6 and ...Bg7. Black lets White take the centre in order to shake it later with ...e5 or ...c5, backed up by the g7 bishop.
The key is choosing the right break. Against the Be3 and Qd2 system, ...c6 and ...b5 with queenside play works well. Against the classical set-up with Nf3 and Be2, prepare ...e5. The main thing is that the break happens at all.
The main danger is the Austrian Attack (4.f4): White pushes four central pawns forward. There is no time to dawdle here - ...c5 or ...e5 is needed at once, or Black's position simply collapses.
The most aggressive is the Austrian Attack 4.f4, with the plan of e5 and a direct attack on the king. Maximally unpleasant for an unprepared opponent, but it needs precision: the pawn avalanche can become a weakness too.
The classical route is 4.Nf3 and 5.Be2 with short castling: White simply holds the centre and plays for space. A reliable, risk-free choice.
And today's most popular plan is 4.Be3, Qd2, f3 with queenside castling and the g4-h4 storm. Against a fianchetto it works almost every time: the black king sits behind the bishop, and opening the h-file becomes the main threat.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
White's most aggressive plan: the e4 and f4 pawns advance and e5 is prepared with an attack on the king. Black waits for the moment for the ...c5 or ...e5 counter-strike.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
Black's main mistake: setting the pieces up by rote without striking at the centre. Then White's pawns simply roll forward and take all the space.
A mistake for White: pushing the pawn before the pieces are gathered. Black answers ...dxe5 and gets excellent play on the opened lines.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
They are close relatives. In the Pirc Black plays ...Nf6 early (1...d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6), while in the Modern he delays it (1...g6) and keeps more flexibility. One often transposes into the other.
It is not passivity but strategy: Black lets White occupy the centre in order to strike at it later with ...e5 and ...c5. But the counterplay has to be active and timely - otherwise White's space advantage becomes decisive.
It is a simple and formidable plan for White: Be3, Qd2, f3, queenside castling and the h4-h5 pawn storm. The name is an English joke: the scheme is so straightforward that players rated around 150 on the old English scale can handle it successfully.
It suits players who like counterattacking and are willing to defend accurately. The set-up is simple and easy to remember, but you have to play actively: the Pirc punishes passivity, while teaching the valuable idea of the central counter-strike.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
Самая тяжёлая часть любительского турнира - не найти игроков, а расписать туры и не запутаться в очках. Эту часть закрывает приложение, причём бесплатно и без регистрации по анкете.
Vibe Chess проводит шахматные тусовки — вечера-нетворкинги в городах России - Москве, Санкт-Петербурге, Казани, Екатеринбурге, Новосибирске и других. Для компаний проводим корпоративные шахматные турниры, а все города и форматы собраны на главной странице.
Открой приложение Vibe Chess - там расписание встреч и шахматных мероприятий в разных городах России, запись и твои турниры.
