Pirc Defense: Classical Variation
B08 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7
White scores 51.7% here across 1,322 club games — but the 13.2% who answer Bg5 score 48.3%, 3 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 1,322 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 51.7% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bc4 | 268 | 20.3% | 51.1% | holds up |
| Bd3 | 234 | 17.7% | 51.7% | holds up |
| Be3 | 210 | 15.9% | 56.7% | holds up |
| Bg5 | 174 | 13.2% | 48.3% | below the line |
| e5 | 127 | 9.6% | 48.4% | below the line |
| h3 | 86 | 6.5% | 45.9% | below the line |
| Be2 | 79 | 6.0% | 58.2% | holds up |
| Bf4 | 62 | 4.7% | 54.0% | holds up |
| d5 | 26 | 2.0% | 48.1% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.