Pirc Defense: Sveshnikov System
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3
The Pirc Defense: Sveshnikov System is a chess opening classified as ECO B07, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3. 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 328 times by this move order. White won 51%, 7% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bg7 (97% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4… Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nge2 e5 7. O-O)
- ECO
- B07
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/3p1np1/8/3PP3/2N3P1/PPP2P1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 66 | |
| 1500-1999 | 122 | |
| 2000+ | 140 | |
| All | 328 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bg7 | 317 (97%) | |
| 4… c6 | 3 (1%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 3 (1%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… Nbd7 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… h5 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… Qd7 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… Bd7 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
686 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 22%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2796) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2738) 1-0 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2017-07-01
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2717) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2779) 0-1 · FIDE World Rapid 2013 · 2013-06-08
- GM Sergey Grigoriants (2561) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2717) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2017 · 2017-12-26
- GM Luke J McShane (2640) – GM Onischuk, V. (2637) 0-1 · World Rapid 2017 · 2017-12-27
- GM Dariusz Swiercz (2647) – GM Michal Krasenkow (2614) 0-1 · TCh-TUR Super League 2016 · 2016-07-27
Search all games of the Pirc Defense: Sveshnikov System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Euphoria1230 (2565) – Shahin_Za_Shiraz (2545) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- IM AjedrezEstrategico (2508) – chEss653447 (2594) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM NeverW84M8 (2557) – NM manneredmonkey (2537) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 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: Byrne Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Chinese Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Kholmov 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.