Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System, Czech Defense
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O c6
The Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System, Czech Defense 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 c6. 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 79 times by this move order. White won 51%, 14% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 7. a4 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.50 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 7. h3 Nbd7 8. a4 Qc7 9. Be3 e5)
- ECO
- B08
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pp2ppbp/2pp1np1/8/3PP3/2N2N2/PPP1BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O c6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 8 | |
| 1500-1999 | 25 | |
| 2000+ | 46 | |
| All | 79 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. a4 | 29 (37%) | |
| 7. h3 | 17 (22%) | |
| 7. e5 | 10 (13%) | |
| 7. Re1 | 9 (11%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 6 (8%) | |
| 7. Bf4 | 3 (4%) | |
| 7. Be3 | 2 (3%) | |
| 7. a3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
402 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 32%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- LCZero v0.26.2-rc1_J92-100 (3543) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-04
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) – LCZero v0.26.2-rc1_J92-100 (3543) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-01
- GM Yangyi Yu (2752) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2882) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Rapid 2019 · 2019-08-11
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM So, W. (2753) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-19
- GM Levon Aronian (2747) – GM So, W. (2747) 1-0 · CCT Final RR 2024 · 2024-12-18
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Meatloaf927 (2697) – NM manneredmonkey (2632) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Skarr_song (2713) – NM manneredmonkey (2616) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- BlackScholesModel (2596) – Shahin_Za_Shiraz (2561) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
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.