Is Pirc defence a weak choice when playing black?
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Should I not adopt Pirc defence while playing black. Is white better in this opening?
Sep 10, 2017
0
#2
I often play Pirc / Robatsch / Modern / St. George. It's in the hypermodern style. Actually, it could be better than Sicilian if U know how to play it. 
Sep 10, 2017
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#3
Weak? No. It's complicated for sure. And yeah I don't think there's any lazy way to play against the Austrian. If White wants complications then buckle up.
It's not weak... But timing is everything. You must be prepared to counterattack as soon as White tries to invade your center, otherwise you get flushed. vs the Austrian, I use Yasser Seirawan's ideas.
The Pirc is fine, as long as you are ready to be a bit cramped.
It's not weak, but it is not an opening I would recommend to a beginner. You need to know about pawn breaks and how to undermine the centre. It's much easier to challenge the centre directly by responding 1.e4 with either 1...e5, 1...d5 or 1...c5 and follows the principles of the opening better that beginners need to learn.
Sep 11, 2017
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#6
Like others said before the opening isn't weak like most opening except dubious openings like Grob or Orang-Utan since they violate basic opening principles.
I would say the Pirc is difficult to handle and the path to equality is not easy escpecially for a beginner.
WilliamShookspear wrote:
It's not weak... But timing is everything. You must be prepared to counterattack as soon as White tries to invade your center, otherwise you get flushed. vs the Austrian, I use Yasser Seirawan's ideas.
The Pirc is fine, as long as you are ready to be a bit cramped.
Nobody above 1600 in their right mind would play dxc5. The critical line against 5...c5 is :
Sep 11, 2017
0
#8
So what will you play against this? Usmachev tells this is problematic.
Yigor wrote:
I often play Pirc / Robatsch / Modern / St. George. It's in the hypermodern style. Actually, it could be better than Sicilian if U know how to play it.
Exactly, one has to know how to play it. Without the proper knowledge, you'll just end up in a cramped position with white in the possession of the initiative.
Sid3141926535 wrote:
WilliamShookspear wrote:
It's not weak... But timing is everything. You must be prepared to counterattack as soon as White tries to invade your center, otherwise you get flushed. vs the Austrian, I use Yasser Seirawan's ideas.
The Pirc is fine, as long as you are ready to be a bit cramped.
Nobody above 1600 in their right mind would play dxc5. The critical line against 5...c5 is :
Huh... I hadn't encountered 6. Bb5+ before... I guess in your final position, ...0-0-0 followed by dissolving central tension with ...dxe5 is probably black's best shot... But it is drawish. I'm not sure that White has an easier time playing that position... I mean, sure, you've pushed your kingside pawns, but I can castle queenside, and I have ...f5 coming too. The computer gives 13. Qe2 after 12...0-0-0, when black just goes 13...dxe5, and White isn't sure where to try to retain his pull.
WilliamShookspear wrote:
Sid3141926535 wrote:
WilliamShookspear wrote:
It's not weak... But timing is everything. You must be prepared to counterattack as soon as White tries to invade your center, otherwise you get flushed. vs the Austrian, I use Yasser Seirawan's ideas.
The Pirc is fine, as long as you are ready to be a bit cramped.
Nobody above 1600 in their right mind would play dxc5. The critical line against 5...c5 is :
Huh... I hadn't encountered 6. Bb5+ before... I guess in your final position, ...0-0-0 followed by dissolving central tension with ...dxe5 is probably black's best shot... But it is drawish. I'm not sure that White has an easier time playing that position... I mean, sure, you've pushed your kingside pawns, but I can castle queenside, and I have ...f5 coming too. The computer gives 13. Qe2 after 12...0-0-0, when black just goes 13...dxe5, and White isn't sure where to try to retain his pull.
But the main line 8. e6! fxe6 9. Ng5! is a serious improvement.
chesster3145 wrote:
WilliamShookspear wrote:
Sid3141926535 wrote:
WilliamShookspear wrote:
It's not weak... But timing is everything. You must be prepared to counterattack as soon as White tries to invade your center, otherwise you get flushed. vs the Austrian, I use Yasser Seirawan's ideas.
The Pirc is fine, as long as you are ready to be a bit cramped.
Nobody above 1600 in their right mind would play dxc5. The critical line against 5...c5 is :
Huh... I hadn't encountered 6. Bb5+ before... I guess in your final position, ...0-0-0 followed by dissolving central tension with ...dxe5 is probably black's best shot... But it is drawish. I'm not sure that White has an easier time playing that position... I mean, sure, you've pushed your kingside pawns, but I can castle queenside, and I have ...f5 coming too. The computer gives 13. Qe2 after 12...0-0-0, when black just goes 13...dxe5, and White isn't sure where to try to retain his pull.
But the main line 8. e6! fxe6 9. Ng5! is a serious improvement.
Okay, so now 9...Bxb5 10. Nxb5 Qa5+ and black isn't too bad...?
Yeah, and there are loads of forced draws in this line, enough so that Black basically has to take one or be clearly worse. I like it against higher-rated players for that reason.
chesster3145 wrote:
Yeah, and there are loads of forced draws in this line, enough so that Black basically has to take one or be clearly worse. I like it against higher-rated players for that reason.
Huh... There you go! Cheers for that!
Stephenson2 wrote:
StupidGM wrote:
I lost on time while slaughtering a 2506-rated former champion of Moscow with the Be3/h4 system, and I had sacrificed the d-pawn for development. Nunn's "The Complete Pirc" is a really good book on the system. I don't like the Austrian Attack but it's easy enough to play.
The key for the Pirc is to undermine White's pawn center with a well-timed c5 or with c6 and b5. White has a lot to worry about. If you don't understand the opening that's all the more reason to play it, as you'll learn middlegame themes you need to know.
Still no games in your games archive.
You can ignore his credibility of slaughtering 2506-rated player and focus on his advice here. As someone who plays the modern with 1...g6 and sometimes transpose to the pirc I can say that his points are valid.
You can check my game archive that I play 1...g6 
Oct 18, 2017
0
#18
-You could get invaluable advices,warnings & opening variations from Igor Usmachev's - The Modern Pirc. 
He is a well known coach and Pirc player.
I like it very much!
Jun 18, 2020
0
#19
Yigor wrote:
I often play Pirc / Robatsch / Modern / St. George. It's in the hypermodern style. Actually, it could be better than Sicilian if U know how to play it.
Well, if it was "better than the Sicilian" wouldn't every 1500-2700 player have it in their repertoire?
