Is pirc defense still reliable?

I think the Pirc Defence is like any other reasonable opening ... you have to put in extraordinary work whatever defense you choose to play. (Breyer, Taimanov, Petroff, Caro-Kann, French, Alekhine etc) I believe White has multiple responses to any line one would choose as Black. I was thinking today you basically have to choose what type of position are you willing to suffer in as Black while waiting for a mistake from White. i.e. the Accelerated Dragon has alot of perks until you get to the Maroczy Bind, but I think you can learn to play good moves as Black and wait for your chance as you would in any other opening in this dreaded line ... or the draw is probably the result from correct play from both sides. So the question I ask, do you want to be a specialist in the Pirc?  

Kinda, cuzz, that definetly is a surprise weapon people might worry about

I won't put to much faith in using any opening strictly as surprise weapon, you might end up being surprised ! The choice for me would be based on if I think long-term results are achievable ... and if I can live with certain lines that come from playing the opening that are not all that fun from my side of  the board.

That is always there of course!
But  I am talking about in general

There is a vote chess team that only plays the Pirc as Black. Pirc Cafe

So a general surprise weapon? I think the Pirc is playable, but I think it needs a commitment from the player. You toss any opening out there as a surprise weapon you might end up surprised.

i.e. 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 f3 are you going to end up in a Pirc or KID or a position you understand.

i.e. 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 h4 are you prepared do you allow h5 or ready for g4? 

So to me all these lines need your preparation ... so do you want to be a Pirc specialist?

Any defence you need to know your stuff in whatever you choose to play in my opinion.

As your main defence I would say that's a pretty good summation of it, yeah. 

It also depends however on frequency and surprise value. Even Carlsen might be able to play it as a surprise if he has something planned with it.

But if he were to rely on it as his main defence his rating would get destroyed compared to what it is now (but he would still draw or win sometimes, he is Carlsen after all).  

For people under 2200 probably having it as your main defence is fine. It's all about assessing openings based on your level. The King's Gambit is also a great opening up until you reach the encyclopedic-level knowledge and technical expertise of IMs and GMs. The King's Indian Defence is great until Super GM (over 2700) where it's floundering a bit.  

Sometimes you'll see posters try and take it further and say something like "hurrrr, someone below 2000 can play 1. a4 and it won't make a difference"... those people are stupid and trolling and you can see it by databases of how many people win and at what rating levels that it's not the case.    

So chess is a strange game, few things are "objectively" correct in it, that's part of the intrigue and wonder of it.  

you got my point and indeed i share the same thoughts on chess as you do

pirc players only take Ls. it aint even a surprise weapon because most e4 players already know what to play against it 

1. e4. 2. d4 3. Nc3 4. Nf3 (or 4. f4)

Everyone with a sound understanding of chess knows those basic opening lines against the Pirc. Just because it's an uncommon opening doesn't mean it has any surprise value. 

If you want a line for "surprise value" an opening like the dragon is much better, as that's a very dangerous opening to face if you're not prepared for it. Pirc does not offer that sort of danger. 

Good Luck, let us know your success rate your surprise openings !

Bruh why you attach surprise with "attack"??
I don't possess such mentality in chess. 

Sure buddy! I would like to know people's success with pirc though, so that I can trust it

Use a database and engine, buddy! What is your 1e4 defence now? You can probably only trust the opening you put the work into.

I think the Pirc is too weak for a class A player.

It just so happens today Im doing database work on the Pirc Defence... so far after extracting games  after the moves 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 Nf3 Bg7 which includes multitudes of doubles the rough results are White 161,830 Draws 104,217 Black 137,399 so take those numbers for what they are.

this is a pretty ridiculous statement.

Short of you being a super GM thinking of exclusively using the pirc, it is playable at all levels.  

darkunorthopdox  Eventually the Class A player will run into players who know what they are doing. There are reasons Pirc is rarely played by high level players.

A class A player will do better with other openings.

One does not have to be a super GM to' know how to play vs the Pirc

it doesnt matter if white knows how to play agaisnt it. So will black, and presumably black will know his opening better than white does. And even if he doesnt, black will just take longer to equalize.

dark    there are lines against the Pirc which give Black little chance to equalize.

There are better lines than the Pirc.