Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation

1. Nf3 d6

Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation after 1. Nf3 d6 87654321abcdefgh

The Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 d6. It is a line of the Zukertort Opening. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 21,458 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (38% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.49 (Stockfish, depth 59; best line 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7)

ECO
A04
Moves
2 plies
FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/3p4/8/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 2
PGN
1. Nf3 d6

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average ratingGamesWhite / draw / Black
0-14996,79650%46%
1500-199910,11150%45%
2000+4,55150%44%
All21,45850%45%

Most played moves

MoveGamesWhite / draw / Black
2. d48,149 (38%)51%44%
2. g34,141 (19%)51%45%
2. e43,042 (14%)48%47%
2. c42,194 (10%)51%43%
2. Nc31,037 (5%)49%47%
2. e3770 (4%)48%48%
2. d3763 (4%)52%44%
2. b3654 (3%)50%46%

Master games

7,947 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 20%, Black 34%). The strongest:

Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

Comes from

Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3) 1. Nf3

Continuations

More Zukertort Opening lines (all)

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.