You hand White a big pawn center on purpose, fianchetto your bishop on g7, then set about tearing that center down. That’s the Pirc and the Modern, the two hypermodern answers to 1.e4. It’s the same idea as the King’s Indian, just aimed at the king’s pawn instead. Both are flexible, a little provocative, and ideal when you want to drag your opponent out of their pet theory without memorizing miles of moves.

The first moves: Pirc and Modern

The Pirc sets up like this: 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6, then 4…Bg7. Your knight comes out early to f6 to hit the e4 pawn, and your bishop heads for g7 on the long diagonal.

Bishop on g7, knight already eyeing e4: this is the Pirc, set up to besiege White's center.

The Modern is almost identical, but more flexible: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7, delaying the knight on f6. By playing …g6 first, you keep your options open and force your opponent to commit before you do. The two defenses look so alike that they often transpose into one another.

The Modern plays ...g6 and ...Bg7 first, without committing the knight: maximum flexibility before you pick your break.

In both cases, you let White take the center with e4 and d4, without flinching. That’s intentional.

Black’s idea

The hypermodern plan again: that big white center is a target, not a fact of life. Your bishop on g7 puts constant pressure on the long diagonal, all the way to b2 and beyond. Once you’ve castled, you strike at the base of the center with …c5 or …e5, sometimes with …c6 and …b5 to open up the queenside.

The strength of this system is its flexibility. You don’t have a single line to know, but a general plan: fianchetto, castle, then counterattack in the right spot depending on what White does. The downside is that you hand them a lot of space early on. If you react too late, that center can crush you. It takes timing.

The main variations

Against the Pirc, White has several plans, from the most aggressive to the most restrained.

The Austrian Attack: three pawns on e4-d4-f4. A crushing center you must hit fast with ...c5 or ...e5.
  • The Austrian Attack: 4.f4. White pushes a fourth pawn and builds a huge center with e4, d4, and f4. The most ambitious plan. You hit back energetically with …c5 or …e5 so you don’t get smothered.
  • The Classical Variation: 4.Nf3. Sound, natural development. White is content with the center and plays a calm game. You roll out your usual plan with …O-O and then …c5 or …e5.
  • The Be3 and Qd2 system: White prepares Bh6 to trade off your good g7 bishop and launch a kingside attack, often with queenside castling. You need to know this plan so you don’t get caught off guard.

Against the Modern, the same ideas come up, with Black’s flexible move order sometimes letting you sidestep the sharpest lines.

Learning it well

The Pirc and the Modern aren’t memorized like a list of moves, because there really isn’t one. They’re a set of plans: where the bishop goes, when to castle, which pawn break fits which White formation. Feel for the position beats memory here, and that feel only comes from playing the setups yourself. That’s what Prologue drills you on, guided at first and then from memory, until the timing of …c5 or …e5 stops being a guess.

The Pirc and the Modern share their hypermodern logic with the King’s Indian Defense, which is played instead against 1.d4. To compare all the possible answers to 1.e4, check out our guide to Black’s defenses.

Frequently asked questions

Are these defenses suitable for beginners?

They ask you to understand the hypermodern idea rather than memorize moves, which cuts both ways. If you like playing on plans and provoking your opponent, they’re accessible. If you prefer a reassuring structure right from the start, a more solid defense like the Caro-Kann will suit you better early on.

Isn’t it dangerous to hand White all that center?

It is if you attack too late. White’s center becomes a strength if it goes unchallenged and a weakness if it’s well besieged. It all comes down to timing: you have to strike with …c5 or …e5 at the right moment, neither too early nor too late.

Why choose the Pirc over a classical defense?

To pull your opponent out of their prepared lines and play a position you understand through its plans. Many 1.e4 players know the Sicilian or the French well, but the Pirc less so. It’s also a flexible defense that adapts to several white formations with the same scheme.