Pirc Defense (1… d6 2. d4)

1. e4 d6 2. d4

Pirc Defense after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 87654321abcdefgh

The Pirc Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 148,631 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nf6 (55% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 2… Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Rg1)

ECO
B00
Moves
3 plies
FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/3p4/8/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2
PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average ratingGamesWhite / draw / Black
0-149944,36150%46%
1500-199975,13949%47%
2000+29,13150%45%
All148,63150%46%

Most played moves

MoveGamesWhite / draw / Black
2… Nf6
Pirc Defense (2. d4 Nf6)		82,344 (55%)49%47%
2… g617,880 (12%)50%46%
2… c611,078 (7%)50%46%
2… e5
Maróczy Defense		10,321 (7%)49%45%
2… e69,214 (6%)51%45%
2… Nd7
Antal Defense		6,956 (5%)48%48%
2… Nc62,731 (2%)53%42%
2… c51,453 (1%)53%42%

Master games

7,741 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 16%, Black 39%). The strongest:

Search all games of the Pirc Defense and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

Comes from

Pirc Defense (1. e4 d6) 1. e4 d6

Continuations

More Pirc Defense lines (all)

Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.