Pirc Defense

The Pirc Defense, pronounced "peerts" and called the Ufimtsev Defense in much of the former Soviet Union, starts with 1...d6. The pawn guards e5, so Black can follow with ...Nf6 without the knight being driven off by e4-e5. Black then adds ...g6 and ...Bg7, granting White a pawn center and aiming to undermine it later with pieces and flank breaks. Many sources reserve the name for 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6, and 1...d6 frequently transposes elsewhere. The setup resembles the Modern Defense (1...g6), where ...Nf6 is postponed, and the King's Indian, except that White has put the knight on c3 rather than playing c4.

2. d4 is by far the most frequent reply, and 2. Nf3 comes second. The knight move gives up an early f2-f4, and Black can then choose a Sicilian structure via 2...c5 or Philidor territory via 2...e5. After 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3, Black need not fianchetto: 3...c6 is the Czech or Pribyl System, while 3...e5 and 3...Nbd7 usually aim to reach a sound Philidor. 3. Nf3 instead is the Roscher Gambit.

White's fourth move shapes the game. The Austrian Attack, 4. f4, sets up a three-pawn center meant to support e4-e5; after 4...Bg7 5. Nf3 Black chooses between 5...O-O and the immediate queenside counter 5...c5. The Classical Variation, 4. Nf3, keeps the center at d4 and e4 and generally leads to calmer maneuvering. Plans with Be3, Qd2 and often queenside castling, as in the 150 Attack (4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2), aim for Bh6 and a kingside pawn storm; Black commonly answers with ...c6 and ...b5. Other options are the Byrne Variation 4. Bg5, the Kholmov System 4. Bc4, the solid Sveshnikov System 4. g3, and 4. Be2 Bg7, which can continue with the aggressive Bayonet Attack 5. h4 or the Chinese Variation 5. g4.

The opening bears the name of Vasja Pirc, who adopted it from the late 1940s on. Long regarded as irregular, it became accepted as playable by the 1960s, helped considerably by Duncan Suttles. Bobby Fischer used it in game 17 of the 1972 world championship match against Boris Spassky, which was drawn, and Kasparov's celebrated win over Topalov at Wijk aan Zee 1999 arose from a Be3 and Qd2 line. Kasparov also judged the defense unsuitable for elite events because of the latitude it allows White. In online play the results are nearly even, and engines give White a slight edge.