Sure that it was played in master games. Btw, 5. d4 is stronger than 5. Bc4. In fact, in this position, c4 is not a good place for the white LSB. In particular, black can create a fork 
with Nxe4 and d5 (well, after 6. d3 this threat disappears but white has already lost all advantage).
Grand Prix Attack ideas vs. Pirc Defense?
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Oct 8, 2018
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#2
Oct 8, 2018
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#3
Yigor wrote:
Sure that it was played in master games. Btw, 5. d4 is stronger than 5. Bc4. In fact, in this position, c4 is not a good place for the white LSB. In particular, black can create a fork with Nxe4 and d5 (well, after 6. d3 this threat disappears but white has already lost all advantage).
5...Nxe4 is definitely the critical line. I had included it in the diagram (with 6.Bxf7) but I should have discussed it in my post.
The good news is that this move is fairly uncommon: ~5% of master games in the database I'm looking at, and <2% of total games on another chess website. Some more good news is that black does not have this option if he delays Nf6. Black probably equalizes if he finds this move, but 1 out of 50 is probably good enough odds for me.
The bishop is fine on c4 in Sicilian lines where black has played d6. It often pins the f7-pawn against the castled king later in the game. Is this not the case here?
Oct 8, 2018
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#4
Nottinghamtree wrote:
after Bxf7 capturing with the rook and playing on the kingside seems more promising
How does one capture with the rook? Not sure I understand.
Oct 8, 2018
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#5
d0su wrote:
The bishop is fine on c4 in Sicilian lines where black has played d6. It often pins the f7-pawn against the castled king later in the game. Is this not the case here?
I guess it's okay (I understand your desire to control a2-g8 diagonal pinning the f7 pawn 
) though the white's advantage is inexistent or, at least, not obvious. Btw, your Modern/Pirc/KID can easily transpose into Sicilian just with 6...c5. 
In all that White has to consider that Black can play anytime the move 2...e5
The Pirc move order starting with 1...d6 aim to achieve that goal of striking in the center. Now after 3.f4 we have a Vienna gambit, not a Pirc defense.
I was talking about 2...e5. What you are presenting its another story.
Oct 8, 2018
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#8
DeirdreSkye wrote:
A playable idea but don't expect that Pirc players will lose their sleep because of it.
Black has several ways to play. One is c6 and b5 , the other is c6 and d5. Yes Black loes a tempo but it's not a tempo that White can use and with the c-pawn on c6 and not on c5 , d5 pawn can become a wall.
Against c5 thought white's attack seems quite interesting.
Thank you! This is very informative. It looks like black's ...c6 option requires white to adjust his play a bit compared to the GPA proper. Perhaps I'll just keep this idea in my back pocket instead of making it my primary choice.
Oct 8, 2018
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#9
Bishop_g5 wrote:
In all that White has to consider that Black can play anytime the move 2...e5
The Pirc move order starting with 1...d6 aim to achieve that goal of striking in the center. Now after 3.f4 we have a Vienna gambit, not a Pirc defense.
You are right. Fortunately the Vienna Gambit is part of my repertoire already, plus you sidestep the most irritating lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.f4 d5). I'd be happy to see this over the board.
Oct 8, 2018
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#10
Yigor wrote:
I guess it's okay (I understand your desire to control a2-g8 diagonal pinning the f7 pawn ) though the white's advantage is inexistent or, at least, not obvious. Btw, your Modern/Pirc/KID can easily transpose into Sicilian just with 6...c5.
Thanks Yigor. Honestly I would hope for black to play ...c5 at any point and transpose to a Sicilian. This would be the best version of the GPA that White could hope for.
Nov 11, 2020
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#11
Sure! For me, this is the best setup against Pirc, modern Pirc https://chessmood.com/course/11-crushing-the-pirc/episode/971 Check out this course
Hi all.
While perhaps not theoretically optimal, the Grand Prix Attack is a popular practical choice against the Sicilian. White decides not to contest the d4 square, instead playing f4 to gain space on the kingside. White can whip up an unassuming but dangerous attack with f2-f4-f5 and Qd1-Qe1-Qh4, or barring that, continue with a knight vs. bishop positional game in a closed or semi-closed position.
My question is, has anyone considered using a similar plan against setups where black fianchettos on the kingside? I'm talking about Pirc/Modern/KID type structures.
One potential upside is that Black plays d6 early in these lines, meaning one of his most effective plans against the GPA (playing d5 in one move) has been ruled out. Black has also omitted c5 for the time being, but can play it at any time and transpose to a somewhat favorable (for white) variation of the Sicilian GPA.
I've tried it out for a few games and had some success, but I'm having a hard time finding any resources on this line. Does anyone have any experience with this approach, or any thoughts on why it might be a good/bad/playable idea?