Classical Variation

Pirc Defense

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O

White develops calmly with Nf3, Be2 and castling, keeping a classical center.

The idea

After 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O, White keeps the pawns on d4 and e4 and develops simply, without f4. Black has castled and has a compact setup. Lichess calls this the Quiet System; Efim Geller, Anatoly Karpov and Evgeni Vasiukov used it successfully as White.

Plans for White

Keep the center, play h3 to stop ...Bg4, Re1 and Bf4 or Be3, and wait for Black to commit. The center gives White more space, and the plan is to use it slowly rather than attack at once.

Plans for Black

Choose a plan: ...c6 (the Czech Defense), ...Nc6 (the Chigorin Line) or ...Bg4 (the Parma Defense), as Lichess names them, and then break with ...e5 or ...c5. After 6...c5 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4, the game transposes into a Sicilian Dragon.

Watch out for

For Black, losing the battle for the center. If Black waits too long to play ...e5 or ...c5, White's extra space becomes a lasting advantage.

For White, the bishop on g7. Once Black opens the long diagonal with ...c5 or ...e5, d4 and b2 can come under pressure, so keep the center protected.