Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Ljubojevic Variation
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Bc4
The Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Ljubojevic Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B09, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Bc4. It is a line of the Pirc Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 50 times by this move order. White won 48%, 8% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.02 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Bd2 Qxc5 8. Qe2)
- ECO
- B09
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/3p1np1/8/2BPPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R1BQK1NR b KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 15 | |
| 1500-1999 | 20 | |
| 2000+ | 15 | |
| All | 50 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… O-O | 30 (60%) | |
| 5… c6 | 6 (12%) | |
| 5… Bg4 | 5 (10%) | |
| 5… Nc6 | 3 (6%) | |
| 5… Nxe4 | 2 (4%) | |
| 5… c5 | 1 (2%) | |
| 5… e6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 5… b6 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
11 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 55%, draw 0%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- FM Mihael Ankerst (2377) – GM Mahammad Muradli (2555) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th Feb Late · 2024-02-06
- FM Mihael Ankerst (2370) – GM Mahammad Muradli (2540) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess Q2Sw · 2022-11-12
- Hongchi Peng (2169) – FM Yan Liu (2403) 0-1 · 1st Hainan Open 2016 · 2016-12-16
- WFM Radmila Kovacevic (2113) – FM Mario Sibilio (2279) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th Jun Late · 2022-06-14
- WFM Sophie Morris-Suzuki (2043) – IM Masha Klinova (2275) 1-0 · Women's Speed Chess Q2 · 2021-05-29
Search all games of the Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Ljubojevic Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Dolfm (2415) – Dutchpjotr (2390) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- andis238 (2306) – Sergejs-Gromovs (2365) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- andis238 (2278) – jmperezpalencia (2343) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack (3… g6 4. f4) 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4
More Pirc Defense lines (all)
- Pirc Defense (1. e4 d6) B00
- Pirc Defense (1… d6 2. d4) B00
- Pirc Defense (2. d4 Nf6) B00
- Pirc Defense: Roscher Gambit B00
- Pirc Defense (3. Nc3 g6) B07
- Pirc Defense: 150 Attack B07
- Pirc Defense: 150 Attack, Inner Doll Defense B07
- Pirc Defense: 150 Attack, Sveshnikov-Jansa Attack B07
- Pirc Defense: Bayonet Attack B07
- Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Chinese Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Kholmov System B07
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.