Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System, Chigorin Line
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O Nc6
The Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System, Chigorin Line is a chess opening classified as ECO B08, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O Nc6. It is a line of the Pirc Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 108 times by this move order. White won 53%, 6% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 7. d5 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.57 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 7. d5 Nb8 8. Be3 c6 9. a4 Nbd7)
- ECO
- B08
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/2np1np1/8/3PP3/2N2N2/PPP1BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 6 7- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 15 | |
| 1500-1999 | 35 | |
| 2000+ | 58 | |
| All | 108 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. d5 | 42 (39%) | |
| 7. h3 | 29 (27%) | |
| 7. Be3 | 14 (13%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 6 (6%) | |
| 7. Re1 | 5 (5%) | |
| 7. e5 | 4 (4%) | |
| 7. a3 | 3 (3%) | |
| 7. a4 | 2 (2%) |
Master games
208 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 28%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- LCZero v0.25.1-sv-t60-3010 (3809) – AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-06
- AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) – LCZero v0.25.1-sv-t60-3010 (3809) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-02
- Fire 8_beta (3729) – Stockfish 202005232210 (3796) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-05
- Stockfish 202005232210 (3796) – Fire 8_beta (3729) 1-0 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-01
- Ethereal 12.43 (3470) – Komodo 2576.00 (3505) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-04
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MothToTheFlame (2653) – hierasousse (2551) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- TestoTester (2596) – Retired_master04 (2408) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- Siirtopakko99 (2518) – iustin1503 (2485) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 600 + 5s
Comes from
Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2
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.