Pirc defense is inferior to the French objectively. Against best play, black will get worse positions playing the Pirc than he would with the French, even though both openings are still great. Personally, I also enjoy playing the French as black more than the Pirc.
As white I enjoy facing the Pirc more than the French.
I would agree with Steven. I recently switched from pirc to french - I mean I'm trying to learn the French I'm not knowledgeable on it yet. But even the games I get with it against apps I prefer to the positions I was getting with the pirc. I think the pirc is decent for strong players, but for me I found I was giving up too much of the centre, opponent was getting a strong centre and causing me problems I didn't have the answers for - so I decided to swap for something where I was challenging in the centre a bit more
Sicilian is the best but coming to pirc vs French objectively there is no doubt of course the French is way better from pirc
The 4 best responses to e4 are e5, e6, c5, and c6. The other 16 moves are all inferior to those 4.
Also, if you are going to play the Pirc, you better know the Old Indian or King's Indian. After 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.f3!, 3...e5 4.d5 Be7 leads to an Old Indian and 3...g6 4.c4 leads to the Saemisch King's Indian. With the French, there is no QP opening they can force you into. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.f3?? Is terrible. It can be played against the Caro-Kann as the e-pawn still blocks the Queen from h4. That is known as the Fantasy Variation. But in the French, 3.f3?? dxe4 and already Black wins material for virtually no compensation. At minimum, White ignores e4 and drops at pawn. Taking back on e4 is worse as 4.fxe4 Qh4+ keeps the king in the center as 5.g3?? Drops a rook to 5...Qxe4+.
The Pirc, if only because you don’t have to deal with the French Exchange variation, the most boring line in the world.
Anyone who complains about lack of space in the French really hasn't been playing Pirc very long. I tried it some years back and lost interest pretty quickly after a few decent players shut down my counterplay fairly quickly.
The Pirc, if only because you don’t have to deal with the French Exchange variation, the most boring line in the world.
Really? I have 39 games in my database that start with 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 (transpositions galore with this stuff as many start by playing 3. Nf3 and then exchange) and there are 2 draws and 27 wins to my side of the struggle. Three people of the ten who beat me were later banned for cheating. So, I look forward to the Exchange variation.
The exchange doesn't seem as challenging as the other variations since you're freeing the light squared bishop with your move
The exchange doesn't seem as challenging as the other variations since you're freeing the light squared bishop with your move
Yes, you get the same pawn structure as the Petroff but without having committed your minor pieces yet, allowing a little better placement.
The Pirc, if only because you don’t have to deal with the French Exchange variation, the most boring line in the world.
Really? I have 39 games in my database that start with 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 (transpositions galore with this stuff as many start by playing 3. Nf3 and then exchange) and there are 2 draws and 27 wins to my side of the struggle. Three people of the ten who beat me were later banned for cheating. So, I look forward to the Exchange variation.
It is boring which is why some call it the groan variation. Weaker players as Black love to play it as it doesn’t present much opportunity for White and equalizing is easy. I think that some programs actually recommend it for White. There is a class of players on the Black side who love a rough and tumble French and are disappointed when White plays it. I play it if I know my opponent is one of those.
I personal likes the French defense better then the Pirc. But I also play the Modern defense which is similar to the Pirc defense.
I think possibly the people who prefer the French like classical chess. A lot of people don’t know the Pirc from the White side as well as the French, another advantage. I used the Pirc to learn the modern style of chess, which was difficult for me. If you play the King’s Indian that’s a bonus.
Your choice of openings is one of the least important decisions you will ever make.
Any of the major openings will be fine--if you take the trouble to master it. In any case, you are not marrying the opening for life. Over your chess career, you will probably experiment with several openings. This makes chess much more interesting
I think the French is the better opening to choose. The Pirc is an extremely difficult opening to master because White's play is much simpler. For instance, White can play 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3, 5.Qd2, Bh6 at some point and shove the h-pawn down the board, similar to what is played against the Dragon, and this attack is extremely dangerous because it comes extremely fast. I think for where you are at currently, the French will be more appealing.
Although there is this joke about the French (the terrible LSB), the French has an advantage that other openings don't in that Black is guaranteed to have a pawn in the center (i.e. d5).
I think the French is the better opening to choose. The Pirc is an extremely difficult opening to master because White's play is much simpler. For instance, White can play 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3, 5.Qd2, Bh6 at some point and shove the h-pawn down the board, similar to what is played against the Dragon, and this attack is extremely dangerous because it comes extremely fast. I think for where you are at currently, the French will be more appealing.
Although there is this joke about the French (the terrible LSB), the French has an advantage that other openings don't in that Black is guaranteed to have a pawn in the center (i.e. d5).
But you can play the Czech Pirc and not have to deal with this. The 160 Attack that you recommend is dangerous but Black needs to counter with c6 and get the Queen out. Lots of White players think that the 160 is a magic bullet and get over confident but Black can counter it. Black needs to not freak out and avoid castling on the Kingside. I think the Austrian Attack is much tougher and extremely complex. Yasser Seriwan played the Pirc very well as Black.
But you can play the Czech Pirc and not have to deal with this. The 160 Attack that you recommend is dangerous but Black needs to counter with c6 and get the Queen out. Lots of White players think that the 160 is a magic bullet and get over confident but Black can counter it. Black needs to not freak out and avoid castling on the Kingside. I think the Austrian Attack is much tougher and extremely complex. Yasser Seriwan played the Pirc very well as Black.
It should not be called the "czech pirc" because it is not a Pirc, it is the Czech defense, an entirely different opening with no connection to the regular Pirc.
@blank0923 wasn't actually recommending the 150 attack, which is a setup with Nf3 insted of f3. Since he mentioned the Sicilian dragon I am fairly sure he was talking about a Yugoslav-type setup with Be3, Qd2, f3 and 0-0-0, with the key difference that ...Ng4 is no longer allowed. This system is similar to the 150 attack, but doesn't have an agreed upon name, although some authors have called it the Argentine attack.
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What are your thoughts on these openings, and what do you think is the best of the 2 (and why) ?
The French Defence with 1. ...e6, vs the Pirc Defence with 1. ...d6 :
The French Defence
The Pirc Defence