Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Dragon Formation
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Statistics from Lichess
250,376 games: White 46.9% / Draw 5.9% / Black 47.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 96,56997K | ||
| 47,85448K | ||
| 38,33438K | ||
| 35,16435K | ||
| 18,79419K | ||
| 4,9204,920 | ||
| 4,0424,042 | ||
| 2,8772,877 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.54 White is slightly better
Best play: 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Qe2 Qxc5 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Qb5+ Qxb5 10. Bxb5+ Nc6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3,344 | |
| 1400–1799 | 30K | |
| 1800–2199 | 157K | |
| 2200 and up | 70K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,913 |
Master games
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Mamedov, R. – Carlsen, M.
- Karjakin, S. – Grischuk, A.
- Karjakin, S. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Karjakin, S. – Grischuk, A.
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 27, 2026
Overview
Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Dragon Formation (ECO B09, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 c5 (5 moves).
In 250,376 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.9%, Black 47.2% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. dxc5, in 39% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Dragon Formation
6. Bb5+ scores best for White: 58.0%, with White winning 54.0% and Black 37.9% of 35K games. The most played, 6. dxc5, scores 49.8% in 97K games, and 6. Be3 scores lowest: 45.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. dxc5.
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
The Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Dragon Formation peaked in 2017 at 0.015% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0093% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.011% | 3,752 |
| 2017 | 0.015% | 8,278 |
| 2018 | 0.015% | 11,759 |
| 2019 | 0.013% | 15,659 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 32,597 |
| 2021 | 0.0087% | 33,997 |
| 2022 | 0.009% | 33,905 |
| 2023 | 0.0087% | 32,737 |
| 2024 | 0.0088% | 31,561 |
| 2025 | 0.0093% | 32,100 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0091% | 10,017 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Dragon Formation (B09)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/pirc-defense-austrian-attack-dragon-formation