My Road to Master, Part 9 - Poisoned Pawn Pirc Madness!

It's been a while since I wrote a blog post - very simple explanation: I've been so damn busy these past couple of months. I've enjoyed a nice summer, ended another year of school... but all in all, this year has seen a lot of chess!

So, with a half hour to spare, I wanted to share something I've been messing around with, to give you a glimpse of what's been keeping me busy. Next to improving my repertoire, studying middlegame structures, plans and other sorts of chess funky business, I've also kept myself to toying around with the chess board. I present to you my latest work of madness: The Poisoned Pawn Variation!

Now, you might wonder: WHAT?! 

The Pirc Defense is my opening against 1. e4. I've been messing around with the various positions Black can end up with against various lines White can throw. In one line, dubbed the 150 Attack, I was struck with a simple but fun line to battle White with. Although I'm likely not the first to think of this, I happily dubbed it my own personal line to play (if the circumstances allow me to) and gave it an official name and ECO code: 

B07 Pirc Defense, Argentine Attack, Poisoned Pawn Variation

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. f3 Qb6!?

Now that you've seen the moves, let us break down what kind of imbalances we can expect from this type of position in the case that White accepts the Poisoned Pawn Variation.

White: 

• White still possesses more central space.
• White, through sacrificing the pawn, retains the initiative and can develop more rapidly.
• The pawn chain from e4-f3-g2 keep Black's light squared Bishop out of play on the kingside.
• White can castle kingside quickly after Bd3/Bc4 and Nge2.
• From now on, White owns the open b-file and can target b2.
• White, unfortunately, has chosen to forego castling queenside, putting a serious stop to the spirit of the Argentine Attack - his g- and h- pawns will have to stay put! 

Black:

• Black has one simple pawn, thanks to her Majesty!
• Black has less central space, but has no apparent weaknesses thus far. Several choices can be made, either b7-b5 to fight for queenside domination or e7-e5 to crush White's center duo. 
• Black still retains the clear plan of ...Bg7, ...0-0, ...Nbd7 and ...Re8. 
• Black has halted White's most aggressive follow-up (g2-g4 and h2-h4-h5) and has succesfully postponed Be3-Bh6.
• The light-square Bishop will need some time before it can actively participate in battle. 
• The Queen will have to suffer for several tedious moves, being chased back from b2 to a3 to a5 and ultimately to c7 - tempi that must be spent!

I'll let you folks enjoy. Perhaps you'll be enticed to play this variation someday soon too! 

Ciao! Till next time!