Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg5
The Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B07, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg5. 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 5,320 times by this move order. White won 52%, 4% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bg7 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.49 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… Bg7 5. Qd2 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. O-O-O)
- ECO
- B07
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/3p1np1/6B1/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,981 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,482 | |
| 2000+ | 857 | |
| All | 5,320 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bg7 | 4,857 (91%) | |
| 4… h6 | 203 (4%) | |
| 4… c6 | 154 (3%) | |
| 4… Nbd7 | 77 (1%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 5 (0%) | |
| 4… e6 | 4 (0%) | |
| 4… Nfd7 | 4 (0%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
1,588 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 51%, draw 18%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.30-dag-bord-lf_784968 (3589) – SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3491) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3491) – LCZero 0.30-dag-bord-lf_784968 (3589) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) – Stockfish 202008260719_nn-82215d0fd0df (3551) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-04
- Stockfish 202008260719_nn-82215d0fd0df (3551) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-01
- Stoofvlees II b5 (3492) – Igel 3.5.5 (3502) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
Search all games of the Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM SpeedMonkey (2633) – FM umagon20 (2754) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Yaponets (2579) – FM Petr_Mikhalchenko (2619) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- SouthWind06 (2563) – FM Petr_Mikhalchenko (2596) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Pirc Defense (3. Nc3 g6) 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6
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: 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: Chinese Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Kholmov System B07
- Pirc Defense: Sveshnikov System B07
- Pirc Defense: Classical Variation (3… g6 4. Nf3) B08
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.