Test 2...g6 instead of 2...Nf6
Your Modern Defence (1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6) scores 68.75% over 24 games against 45.4% here. Play the next 20 games vs 1.e4 d4 with 2...g6 and compare the results.
← chickentendie5 / Openings
Pirc Defense
Your most-played defence is also your leakiest: 183 games at 45%.
Score46%−3% vs your average
Win chance after move 1244%−3% vs your average
Blunders per game0.99+0.09 vs your average
Clock left at move 109:40+1s vs your average
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h8g
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dcba1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6
What it says about you
You answer 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6 and have done it 183 times, more than any other opening in your games. You are a counterpuncher who is happy to give White the centre and hit back later. That takes patience and belief, and you clearly have both. The cost is that you spend a lot of games defending cramped positions against people who have prepared for exactly this.
How you play it
You score 45.4% here (73-90-20), below your 48.3% overall, and the last 90 days are only a little better at 47.1% over 34 games. You leave the opening already slightly worse, with a win chance of 44.4 at move 12 against your 47.3 baseline. By move 20 it has slipped to 42.4, so the positions get harder as they go on, not easier. Of the 73 losses with a decisive phase, 49 were decided in the middlegame. The top causes are big positional errors (20), missed tactics (16) and being slowly outplayed (15), which is what happens when the cramped side never frees itself. Your clock is fine at move 10 (579s), but you convert only 65 of 105 winning positions, which is worse than your already leaky 70% overall.
Last 90 days: 35 games, 49% score.
What you're missing
- 01
Your conversion. You were 85%+ to win in 105 Pirc games and won 65. Recent examples: 38...Rf7 hung the queen from 98% down to 34% with 28 seconds left, and 27...Rc6 lost a bishop from 93% when 27...Qxg2+ was on the board.
- 02
Your king safety instincts. 17...Ke8 (74% down to 45%, when 17...Rh8 was best) and 31...Re8 walking into a pin (70% down to 12%) are both cases of not checking which lines open onto your king.
- 03
Some variations are costing you far more than others. The plain Main line scores 43.4% over 38 games, the Byrne Variation (4.Bg5) 40.6% over 16, and the Main Line O-O tag just 25% over 12. Meanwhile the Classical Variation O-O scores 66.7% over 18.
- 04
Freeing breaks. 20 losses from big positional errors and 15 from being slowly outplayed point to positions where ...e5 or ...c5 never came at the right moment, so you stayed passive until something broke.
How to improve it
- 01
Against Be3/Qd2/f3 setups (the 150 Attack family), do not castle short on autopilot into h4-h5 and Bh6. Play ...c6, ...b5 and ...Nbd7 first, keep your king flexible, and hit the centre with ...e5 or ...c5 before White's pawns reach your king.
- 02
Against the Byrne (4.Bg5), the standard plan is ...c6 with ...Qb6 or ...b5. Hitting b2 and gaining queenside space punishes the queen and bishop for leaving the queenside, and ...h6 asks the bishop where it is going before you commit your king.
- 03
In the Classical (4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O), where you already score 66.7%, keep the recipe simple: ...c6, ...Nbd7 and ...e5, or ...Bg4 with ...Nc6 to pressure d4. Learn the ...e5 dxe5 dxe5 endgame structures well, because many of these games end there.
- 04
Study model games by Pirc specialists such as Chernin and Nijboer, with a focus on when Black breaks with ...e5 versus ...c5. Your losses come from timing, not from the opening moves themselves.
Where it goes wrong
Your losses in this opening, by where and how the decisive mistake happened.
Phase of the decisive mistake
What the mistake was
Variations you reach
| Main line | 38 | 43% |
| Classical Variation O O | 18 | 67% |
| Main Line Byrne Variation | 16 | 41% |
| Classical Variation O O O | 15 | 37% |
| Main Line | 15 | 50% |
| Main Line O O | 12 | 25% |
Winning positions converted here: 62% (66 of 106).
Recent mistakes in this opening
Your move in red, Stockfish's in black.
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45
67h8
gf
e
dcb
a
vs sandiphanguly (2208) · 28-09-26 →
12
3
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5
67
h8
g
fe
dc
b
avs Sargis5 (2180) · 28-09-26 →
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h8
g
fe
d
c
b
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vs Sargis5 (2180) · 28-09-26 →
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34
5
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7h8g
fe
d
cb
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vs aamir0309 (2212) · 27-09-26 →
Next steps
Fix the Main line setups
Build a one-page repertoire against Be3/Qd2 and against 4.Bg5 (43.4% and 40.6% right now), with the ...c6/...b5 plans and your king decision written down.
Blunder-check won positions
Once you are clearly winning, check every opponent check and capture before moving. 65 of 105 conversions is the single biggest leak in this opening.
Drill it
Puzzles built from your own mistakes in the Pirc Defense, and every game you've played in it.