Pirc Defense 3. Nc3 g6
Also known as Ufimtsev Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
10,262,917 games: White 50.1% / Draw 4.9% / Black 45.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Classical Variation | 2,418,4832.4M | |
| Austrian Attack | 1,763,6561.8M | |
| Byrne Variation | 1,591,6571.6M | |
| 1,204,9011.2M | ||
| 634,222634K | ||
| 633,686634K | ||
| Kholmov System | 618,349618K | |
| 293,087293K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.66 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 a6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bh6 Nc6 8. d5 Ne5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 49% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 6M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.4M | |
| Masters, over the board | 20K |
Master games
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Yu Yangyi – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Caruana, F. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Pirc Defense (ECO B07, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Pirc Defense, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 (3 moves).
In 10,262,917 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.1%, Black 45.0% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Nf3, in 24% of those games.
It branches into 9 named variations; the most played are Pirc Defense: Classical Variation and Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack. In all, 23 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 3…g6
4. f3 scores best for White: 54.5%, with White winning 52.2% and Black 43.2% of 634K games. The most played, 4. Nf3, scores 50.8% in 2.4M games, and 4. Bd3 scores lowest: 48.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. Be3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line has stayed between 0.35% and 0.42% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.42% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.35% | 126,605 |
| 2017 | 0.41% | 223,415 |
| 2018 | 0.42% | 331,869 |
| 2019 | 0.4% | 503,470 |
| 2020 | 0.39% | 1,135,665 |
| 2021 | 0.37% | 1,453,858 |
| 2022 | 0.39% | 1,446,243 |
| 2023 | 0.38% | 1,446,112 |
| 2024 | 0.41% | 1,457,800 |
| 2025 | 0.42% | 1,471,916 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.45% | 488,812 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (9)
- B07 150 Attack 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2
- B07 150 Attack, Sveshnikov-Jansa Attack 4. Be3 c6 5. h3
- B09 Austrian Attack 4. f4
- B07 Bayonet Attack 4. Be2 Bg7 5. h4
- B07 Byrne Variation 4. Bg5
- B07 Chinese Variation 4. Be2 Bg7 5. g4
- B08 Classical Variation 4. Nf3
- B07 Kholmov System 4. Bc4
- B07 Sveshnikov System 4. g3
All 23 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- B07 150 Attack 5 moves
- B07 150 Attack, Sveshnikov-Jansa Attack 5 moves
- B09 Austrian Attack 4 moves
- B07 Bayonet Attack 5 moves
- B07 Byrne Variation 4 moves
- B07 Chinese Variation 5 moves
- B08 Classical Variation 4 moves
- B07 Kholmov System 4 moves
- B07 Sveshnikov System 4 moves
- B07 Inner Doll Defense 5 moves
- B09 Austrian Attack 5 moves
- B09 Dragon Formation 5 moves
- B09 Ljubojevic Variation 5 moves
- B08 Classical Variation 4 moves
- B09 Kurajica Variation 6 moves
- B09 Unzicker Attack 6 moves
- B09 Weiss Variation 6 moves
- B08 Quiet System 5 moves
- B08 Schlechter Variation 5 moves
- B09 Bronstein Variation 7 moves
- B08 Chigorin Line 6 moves
- B08 Czech Defense 6 moves
- B08 Parma Defense 6 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Pirc Defense (B07)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/pirc-defense-4