The Beginner Perks of the Pirc

In 2005 I was going to my first couple of chess tournaments. I never played in USCF as a kid, only as casual games with friends (I won my middle school tournament 6-0 by using the scholar's mate 6 times!) Now after college I just wanted to engage in the "epic struggle of ideas," have a little fun, meet some like-minded nerds, and try not to get slaughtered.

Here is a discussion of what the Pirc Defense did for me. Some people say it's weak and easy to attack, but as a beginner it was a life saver! Now that I'm getting better I see that it's not super easy to destroy if it is played well. Here is my story.

Here is a game where I was paired against the strongest player in the club. I didn't know openings at all. I just wanted to have a good couple games and enjoy the tournament. I think I went 3/7, and finished well in my section.

Obviously that was not the game experience I was going for! So I went home and looked for a solution. In my book of e4 openings I found something called the Pirc Defense. I looked at it a little bit and saw that there were no traps against the open e file to the king.. and I didn't see any other immediate dangers... maybe this will help me last longer against good opponents! 

So here is the very next tournament... I'm paired with the club champion in round one! What luck! I get to start off my tournament 0-1! HaHa! Let's see what happens...

I ended up winning the next 3 games and went 3/4 in the tournament... But I almost won with the Pirc and all I was trying to accomplish was surviving into a middle game where I could get a good experience of an "epic chess struggle."

Don't listen to people who say the Pirc is weak! Pirc Poo-Pooers are the weak ones! I recommend anyone who is tired of getting creamed in the opening by all the traps in the Ruy Lopez, Italian, Scotch, and King's Gambit give the pirc a try. You might get some good games out of it!