What to do in the Modern/Pirc if Black doesn't castle?

Hey, I often find myself in this kind of position where Black delays 0-0 and pushes pawns on the queenside. For example...

So what would be a good plan for White?

Do I have to 0-0-0 and try to open the centre? Pushing/Sacrificing a pawn with g4 doesn't seem to be good if Black's king isn't commited on the kingside. Or just maneuvering around until Black decides to do something?

...

A few master games for reference:

Thank you!

No prob. Stick to the mainline. The 150 attack is the backup if black plays h6 or h5.

Nc3 first, not Be3.

There is no real difference between Nc3-Be3 and Be3-Nc3.

Or let's say :

- Playing Nc3 first doesnt reveal your intentions.

- Playing Be3 first can enable u playing with c4 entering Saemsich king's indian, but I don't see the point for a 1.e4 player to do that.

Moreover, if black uses the usual Pirc move order 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6, then u are forced to play Nc3 first, unless u play 3.f3, but once again the only reason for this would be to transpose into KID Saemisch.

So from a practical/theorical point of view, no difference at all.

It has to do with the deterrence of Nd7....and more broadly understanding the Pirc/Philidor complex.

I dont care what black plays there is a problem.

Nd7 when?

Whenever, but in this case Black's 3rd move. If he played Nc3 then 4th move can be f4/150 attack, which is plan B.

I guess in these lines where Black postpones castling and expands on the queenside, white should forget about direct attack, develop naturally and wait for Black to commit himself.

Here is a typical game I played on the Modern mainline. being unsatisfied with 11.g3 which was played exclusively (all games ending in draws) I opted for another, slightly provocative plan, 11.Bd3 and Nge2.

I was immediately rewarded with 12...0-0 which deserves a double question mark, although it is the first choice of a computer. GM Tiger Hillarp Persson in his "Tiger's Modern" has stressed strongly enough tht Black shouldn't even think about castling kingside in such positions, regardless of what computers may say. Suffice to say that the GM was spot on regarding this!

The game is not interesting after 12...0-0, basically white's attack plays itself.

So far, nobody cared to test my novelty OTB, or in correspondence games, but i do think it is interesting.

Although it seems similar, 4...c6 is a different beast than 4...c6. The above plan for white becomes less appealinbg, as in these lines where white castles long Black will omit the move ...a6 and gain a tempo at his counterpley- buty on the other hand, 4...c6 has certyain shortcomings like:

- Traditional counbterplay with ...c5 is not on the cards without loss of time

- Another plan which involves ...Bb7 and pressure against the e4 pawn is not on, either

- ...Nc6 etc is also obstructed.

So, white has several other options available:

- a4, h3, Bc4 and castling short

- f4 with an Austrian where ...c6 hardly poses any problems to white.

-  Qd2, Nf3, Bd3 and 0-0 where white wants to answer ...b5 with an eventual a2-a4, retreat the c3 knight at e2 when attacked by ...b4, and play against Black's weakened queenside.

One thing is entirely clear: That "150 attack" is a good system for white, but definitenlky not one that can be played on autopilot like Qd2, Bh6, h4-h5 etc. A certain amount of flexibility is required.

Thanks for those ideas. Much appreciated. I'll try it out next time I face the Pirc.

Try this. After 1.e4 d6 start with Nc3 then play f4, Nf3 (Grand Prix setup) https://chessmood.com/course/11-crushing-the-pirc/episode/971 This course prepared by grandmaster, I'm sure you will like it