The Pirc Defense is a King’s Pawn Opening beginning with 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 

 

Of the black defenses to the King’s Pawn Opening that don’t involve a direct challenge to white’s central space, the Pirc Defense probably has the best reputation.  Black plays …d6 on move one to make sure that they can play …Nf6 on move 2 without the f6 knight getting harassed immediately by e4-e5 (as in the Alekhine Defense)

 

 

For example, 3. e5? dxe5 4. dxe5 Qxd1+ 5. Kxd1 Ng4

And black will win at least a pawn. Not what white has in mind!

Black’s pawn structure in the Pirc Defense appears to block the development of the dark-squared bishop, but black will fianchetto this bishop and place it on g7, where it will be a guardian of the king and exert pressure on the long diagonal.

Since black does not contest the center immediately, there are few imminent tactics or tension between the two armies.  White is free to build up in the center as he pleases, and this a huge variety of set-ups are possible. Therefore, the Pirc Defense is better understood in terms of ideas than in terms of concrete variations – but some double-edged, precise continuations certainly exist!

Let’s consider some of white’s options:

• White can play an early f4, taking more space and preparing to play e5 (The Austrian Attack)
• White can castle queenside and “pawn-storm” the enemy king after black castles to the kingside.
• White focuses on completing development and making their strong center unassailable (The Classical System)

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 – The Austrian Attack

This is one of white’s most aggressive options against the Pirc Defense.  White takes as much space at black will allow, and gets ready to thrust forward in the center before black finishes development.

In a similar variation, white plays 4. Bg5 and only then 5. f4 – activating the dark bishop before advancing the f-pawn! This is arguably even more aggressive, although the extra move it requires and the far-from-home placement of the dark bishop allow black some extra possibilities.

Play may continue 4…Bg7 5. Nf3 0-0.  Now white can either continue with their development by playing a move like 6. Bd3, or strike in the center with 6. e5, which we’ll examine below

6…Nfd7 7. h4 is one of white’s most aggressive lines. It seems to violate opening principles to begin an attack on the flank without finishing development, but white has succeeded in driving the knight away and blunting black’s dark-squared bishop and wants to launch a quick strike!

7…c5 (black should fight back against white’s big center!) 8. h5 cxd4 9. hxg6

9…dxc3 10. gxf7+ Rxf7 11. Bc4.  White temporarily sacrifices a piece, but hopes to win some material back due to the pinned rook, and the black king is exposed. This double-edged line is a good example of how the Austrian Attack can proceed!

White Launches a Pawn Storm

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2

This is a well-known set-up from some other openings, such as some of white’s most aggressive lines against the Sicilian Defense.  White prepares to castle queenside.

By avoiding kingside castling, white is free to launch his kingside pawns forward without leaving his own king wide open. The Queen-and-bishop battery may also enable white to play Bh6 at some point, exchanging off black’s powerful dark-squared bishop.

5…c6 6. f3 b5 (Black begins queenside expansion, both to drive the knight away from c3 and to begin operations against the white king after white castles long!) 7. g4 Nbd7 8. 0-0-0 0-0 9. h4:

The stage is set for an exciting battle! Black has played 9…Qa5 here in some games, threatening to play …b4 next turn, kick the white knight away, and win the a2 pawn.

But this threat can be defended (say, with 10. Kb1), and white’s attack looks dangerous.

Because the lack of immediate central tension, both sides have tremendous flexibility in the set-up they choose.  Some Pirc Defense players have tried to delay kingside castling to stay flexible and keep white guessing, and to answer white’s early g4 by responding with …h5, confronting the white offensive head-on.

White’s attack can come quite fast after black castles, so this might be one of the exceptions to the opening principles in that delaying castling as black may serve you well – especially because the center is at little risk of getting blown open.

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 – The Classical Variation

In this variation, white is content to develop their pieces and maintain a space advantage.

After 4…Bg7, 5. Be2 is the mainline, but I used to like playing the 5. h3 here with the white pieces.

Isn’t it a violation of the opening principles to make a flank pawn move instead of developing a piece? Not always. When you have a space advantage, it often makes sense to restrict the opponent’s pieces and prevent exchanges, leaving your opponent with too little space for their chessmen to breathe.

White spends a move to prevent …Bg4, making it hard for black to develop this bishop to a useful square at all!

5…0-0 6. Be3 (another useful function of the h3 move is now seen – black cannot play …Ng4 to harass this bishop) 6…c6

7. a4! Is white’s most popular move. You can’t find moves like this unless you proactively consider your opponent’s ideas, and always ask yourself “What is my opponent seeking to accomplish?” every time they move! This is a crucial habit for chess improvement in general – not just the opening.

White prevents black from expanding on the queenside with …b5, and retains a space advantage and can easily finish development.

The main downside of the Classical Variation against the Pirc Defense, from white’s perspective, is that it doesn’t put as much pressure on black as the Austrian attack or the kingside pawn storm.  But for players who like to play positionally, this might be the way to go.

Conclusion

The Pirc Defense is a complex opening system that should be taken seriously.  Though black doesn’t contest the center, they often succeed in pressuring it from afar.  Black is able to get castled very quickly on the kingside, and the dark-squared bishop on g7 acts as a wonderful defender of the king as it exerts pressure down the long diagonal.

White has many weapons at his disposal to seek an advantage – from the aggressive Austrian Attack to the more modest Classical Variation. A complex game is all but assured in any case

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to sign up in the box below – I’ll send you a free “Move by Move Guide to Chess Thinking” and make sure you never miss new content.

Blake