All Chess Positions Open the map

B00Opening

Pirc Defense

1. e4 d6

a8b7c6d5e4f3g2h1

White to move

Legal moves
30
Games in the next 4 moves
639,932
Different positions among them
215,832
Named lines from here
42

See it on the mapOn the opening map

Named after the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc. Black lets White build a big centre and plans to strike at it later with ...e5 or ...c5.

It is reached after 2 moves: 1. e4 d6.

White is to move and has 30 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 639,932 different games. Those games reach 215,832 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 42 further lines after this position, such as Rat Defense, Harmonist (2. f4) and Rat Defense, Petruccioli Attack (2. h4).

Map of every game of the next four moves after the Pirc Defense
Every game of the next four moves from this position, as the map draws it. Each ring is one more move; the outer ring holds all 639,932 games.

Move by move

  1. 1. e4King's Pawn Game
  2. 1... d6Pirc Defense

Named lines from here

Famous games through this position

Kasparov's ImmortalKasparov – Topalov, Wijk aan Zee 1999, move 1A rook sacrifice on move 24 starts a hunt that chases Black's king across the whole board.

Related openings

FEN

rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/3p4/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2