B07

Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

1,618,788 games: White 52.1% / Draw 4.5% / Black 43.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	1,444,3751.4M
	68,73269K
	62,74463K
	32,94333K
	3,2613,261
	1,5021,502
	1,1461,146
	1,0461,046

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.34 White is slightly better

Best play: 4... Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Qd2 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Bh6 Nxc3 9. Bxg7

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 better this line does for White: White scores 53% under 1400, 57% at 2200 and up and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	418K
1400–1799	1M
1800–2199	871K
2200 and up	200K
Masters, over the board	1,958

Master games

Gashimov, V. – Ivanchuk, V. 0–1, 2012
Carlsen, M. – Petrosian, T. ½–½, 2016
Almasi, Z. – Mamedyarov, S. 1–0, 2011
Rublevsky, S. – Mamedyarov, S. 0–1, 2015
Tiviakov, S. – Mamedyarov, S. ½–½, 2008

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: Byrne Variation (ECO B07, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Pirc Defense, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg5 (4 moves).

In 1,618,788 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.1%, Black 43.4% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bg7, in 89% of those games.

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Description

Popularity by year

The Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.068% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.053%.

0.053%0.068%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.053%	18,985
2017	0.06%	32,783
2018	0.062%	48,500
2019	0.06%	74,236
2020	0.056%	165,388
2021	0.059%	231,897
2022	0.062%	233,937
2023	0.061%	230,948
2024	0.066%	237,729
2025	0.068%	236,986
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.072%	79,406

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: Byrne Variation (B07)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/pirc-defense-byrne-variation