I don't see any compensation for the pawn here.
Pirc Defense
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Mar 7, 2011
0
#3
Why would black even bother with 2. ... Nc6 ? Play g6, Bg7 as normal and take advantage of the open diagonal
I don't completely agree. It may be that the White has no good alternatives to d4 on move 2, but that is not so much because the other moves are weak but because 2.d4 is strong. The White has a lot of laxity later on.
Mar 7, 2011
0
#5
Echoing MrBlunderful's point, I play the Pirc and am looking to trade it in for something new. I spend most of my time against players of my own strength, or better, trying Houdini-esque (the Hungarian magician, not the chess engine) acts of escapology from impossibly cramped positions.
Yes, I am also one of those who played the Pirc for a while and gave it up. The people who take up the Pirc / Modern in order to "avoid theory" may not realize that it's probably one of the most difficult openings to play (from Black side) in all of chess. In addition to several dangerous attacking systems, the White also has more positional options at his disposal if he is so inclined.
Besides the obvious "Yugoslav attack" setup and Austrian attack, one could also try a "mad dog" setup.
As someone who has turned to the Pirc in the last few years ( from the Accelerated Dragon), it is interesting. There are several lines for White that seem to make Black play very carefully but are not well known or played as often--these major sidelines can make life very difficult for he Black player. Also many of the more difficult lines are quieter not the typical attack all out with moves such as h3 and a3 denying Black pieces good squares.
One hint if looking for a sharp response beside the 150 attack (which is basically Be3 and Qd2) which is fairly successful for White look at line with an early g4 for White which can be problematic if Black is not careful.
Hi! I play a lot of chess games with my dad, and he employs the Pirc Defense regularly. The thing I hate about the Pirc is that white has almost no options. No gambits, no sidelines, no "pet" systems. White is practically forced to play 2.d4 and all that jazz, or maybe the KIA. Well, this got to me, and I came up with this: