Pirc Defence
B07 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6
Concede the centre, then undermine it.
Analysing from a photo?
This page needs a FEN or a board you set up by hand. The app reads a position straight from a photograph of a real board or a screenshot, and keeps your saved positions between sessions.
The idea
Black develops with d6, Nf6 and g6, allowing White a large pawn centre and planning to attack it later with c5 or e5. It is the King's Indian idea applied against e4, and the risk is the same: if the counterattack is late or badly timed, Black is simply cramped with no compensation.
Typical plans
- As Black, strike at the centre with c5 or e5 once development is complete.
- As Black, use the fianchettoed bishop's pressure on the long diagonal against d4 and b2.
- As White, play the Austrian Attack with f4 and a direct pawn storm before Black is ready.
What goes wrong
- As Black, delaying the central break until White has consolidated. Timing is everything.
- As White in the Austrian Attack, overextending and leaving the centre loose.
- As Black, allowing e5 by White under favourable circumstances, which can cramp the position permanently.
Using the board above
The board starts at the position after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6. Play the continuation you normally meet, then ask the engine what it would do. That is more useful than reading a line, because it answers the question you actually have, which is what happens in the position you keep reaching.
One caution worth carrying into it: an engine evaluates an opening on the assumption that both sides then play perfectly. A line rated a tenth of a pawn better whose middlegames you have never played is worth less to you than a line rated slightly worse that produces positions you understand. More on that here.