Pirc Defense

The Pirc defence is a hypermodern response to 1. e4 where, rather than fill the centre with pawns, they look to exert pressure on the centre from afar with their pieces.

In the Pirc, Black would like to control e4 with their knight from f6. However, were they to play ...Nf6 immediately then White could kick it with e5!. 1...d6 controls e5 and so prepares for Black to play ...Nf6 safely. Black also intends ...g6 and ...Bg7 to project pressure over the centre from the long diagonal.

As Black hasn't contested the central squares yet, 2. d4 is nearly almost played, and White often builds a huge centre with f4 as well: the main line is 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4, the Austrian attack.

2. Nf3 may be played instead, but this prevents White's plan of f4. This gives Black the option to transpose into an Open Sicilian with 2...c5 or a Philidor with 2...e5.

Fianchetto openings were very popular in 19th century India and introduced to the West when John Cochrane (1798―1878) published his games against Indian chess master Moheschunder Bannerjee. Bannerjee's 1...Nf6 against 1. d4 is known as the Indian defence. Against 1. e4, Bannerjee played in the same style, 1...d6 to prepare 2...Nf6.^[1][2]

The Pirc (pronounced "peerts") is named for Vasja Pirc (1907―1980). It is a cousin to the King's Indian defence, where Black plays the same kingside fianchetto setup against 1. d4. A difference is that in the King's Indian White controls the centre with c4, d4, and e4, but usually plays f3 or Nf3 instead of f4. In the Pirc White's three-pawn centre is d4, e4, and f4.

It is closely related, too, to the Modern defence, 1...g6, where Black prepares to fianchetto and does not (or does not yet) develop their knight to f6. The two are sometimes treated together as the "Pirc-Robatsch defence."

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. e4 d6

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Wikipedia has related information at Pirc Defence

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.

• Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.