Week 118: Pirc Defense traps for White, and the one I walked into
Seven rapid games, 1207 → 1215, four wins and three losses between May 11 and 16, 2026. A good week on the scoreboard, but the most instructive moment is one where I got lucky: my knight walked into one of the Pirc Defense traps for White, and my opponent didn't spring it. I'm writing it down so the next opponent who knows the trap doesn't get to teach it to me the hard way.
The week in numbers
| Games | 7 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 4 / 3 / 0 |
| Rating | 1207 → 1215 (+8) |
| Average accuracy | 73.6% |
| My blunders | 20 |
| With White / with Black | 2–1 / 2–2 |
| Most played | Zukertort Chigorin Variation (2), Pirc Classical, Pirc Geller System, Modern, Tartakower |
The week opened with the most accurate game I played between April and July: game 2088 against palikan1938 (1197), a Zukertort Chigorin Variation with 97.6% accuracy and no blunders, won by resignation on move 28. Three days later I played the same opening against jackyboy030353 (1211) and lost in 18 moves with 53.6%. On moves 9, 10 and 11 the engine's best move was the same each time, queen takes the pawn on b7, worth +3.95, +4.24 and +5.32. I played something else three times in a row, and was checkmated on move 18.
The trap: a knight on h5 with nowhere to go
Game 2089, Black against Mustafa792 (1190), Pirc Defense Classical Variation. White had just played pawn takes on e5, and that pawn now attacked my knight on f6. The position was about equal (+0.10).
I put the knight on h5. Look at its squares from there: f4, f6, g3 and g7. My own bishop sits on g7. White's e5 pawn covers f6, the pawns on f2 and h2 cover g3, and the bishop on c1 covers f4. So the engine's answer is the pawn push g4, which attacks the knight, and the knight has no safe square left. In the engine's line my other knight grabs White's bishop on d3, but White still comes out a piece up. The evaluation after my move was +4.58.
My opponent played bishop to g5 instead, and the evaluation came back to −0.13. The game then turned into a brawl: four blunders from me, five from my opponent, and it ended on move 17 when my bishop took White's queen (game 2089). Knight to g4 was the safe square all along: the engine kept the game level after it.
Two more moments from the week
Game 2090: a pawn grab that started the wrong trades
Black against D15pro (1210), Indian Game, Tartakower Defense. On move 11 I was clearly better (−1.71), with two knights aimed at White's pawn on d5.
Taking the pawn looks natural, and it even opens my bishop's diagonal toward the knight on c3. But in the engine's line the trades on d5 end with White's queen in the center attacking my b7 pawn, with my rook behind it, and White winning (+4.20 after my move). Rook to c8 first keeps me clearly better. The game swung back and forth after that, and I was checkmated on move 23, right after a pawn move of mine that allowed mate in one (game 2090).
Game 2091: a queen move that left my king exposed to a pin
Black against Fikchy (1185), in a Modern Defense, the position on move 7 was slightly better for White (+0.71). My bishop on g4 was attacking White's knight on f3.
Queen to f6 adds a second attacker on f3. The engine's reply for White is queen to a4: it pins my knight on c6 to my king, and in the engine's line my king has to walk to f8. That took the evaluation to +2.94. Taking on f3 straight away kept White only slightly better. My opponent castled instead, and I won the game by resignation on move 56, with 24 seconds left on my clock after my last move and seven blunders on my scoresheet (game 2091).
The lesson of the week
Before a knight goes to the edge, count its squares. On h5 my knight had four, and every one was already taken or covered, so one pawn move would have trapped it. That check takes a few seconds: list the squares the piece could go to next, and cross off the ones that are occupied or attacked. If none are left, the piece is one attack away from being lost. The same count works for a bishop that wanders deep into the enemy camp.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2088 | May 11 | White | palikan1938 (1197) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 97.6% | game |
| 2089 | May 12 | Black | Mustafa792 (1190) | Win | Pirc Defense, Classical Variation | 59.7% | game |
| 2090 | May 12 | Black | D15pro (1210) | Loss | Indian Game, Tartakower Defense | 63.6% | game |
| 2091 | May 13 | Black | Fikchy (1185) | Win | Modern Defense | 79.5% | game |
| 2092 | May 14 | White | jackyboy030353 (1211) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 53.6% | game |
| 2093 | May 15 | Black | ingmks3 (1281) | Loss | Pirc Defense, Modern Defense Geller System | 67.9% | game |
| 2094 | May 16 | White | Manelmanisoba (1180) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Variation | 93.6% | game |
Week 117 is the week before, week 119 the week after, and the journey hub has them all. If you'd like a trapped-piece check on your own games, this is how the AI analysis works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Pirc Defense trap for White?
One that caught my knight in game 2089: after White's pawn on e5 chased my knight from f6 to h5, the pawn push g4 attacks it and the knight has no safe square left. The engine's line wins a piece for White, +4.58 after my knight move.
Why is a knight on the edge of the board bad?
It has fewer squares. My knight on h5 in game 2089 had four possible squares, and every one of them was taken by my own bishop or covered by a white pawn or bishop, so a single pawn attack would have trapped it.
What should Black play instead of Nh5 in that Pirc position?
The engine's move was knight to g4, which kept the game about equal (0.00). From g4 the knight isn't trapped and it eyes White's e5 pawn.