Queen Alice Internet Chess Club - Play free turn based Correspondence Chess in your web browser!

Topic: I don't understand the Pirc...

Author

Message

Alopinto

A recent game I played in another website went:

1. e4
Good luck
1... d6
Same to you! Hopefully, we play an interesting game.
2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. h3 Bg7 6. f4
OK... I was trying to follow GM Jansa in his book dynamic chess strategy but in actuality I don't understand this move nor the moves that he suggests. I believe that the simple approach advocated by other analysts with 6. Nf3 is far easier to understand for me and more basic. The 6. f4 move is no longer part of my repertoire...
6... Qa5 7. Bd3 e5
Have a nice weekend!
8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. f5 b5 11. Ne2 b4
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
12. Nd1 Nc5 13. g4
ops! happy holydays my friend! :- )
13... Nxd3+ 14. cxd3 Ba6 15. Nc1 Nd7
Let GM Jansa thinks whatever he wants, I don't see any advantage here for White! Though, if somebody else understands this position better please let me know... I see a backward pawn in d3. The knights are sleeping at c1 and d1. White's king is not safe and White's queen looks clumsy...
16. Nb3 Qb5 17. d4 exd4 18. Bxd4 Ne5 19. Bxe5
Whatelse here????
19... Bxe5 20. Rc1 Rd8 21. Rc5 Qb8 22. Rxc6 Bg3+!!
a very good move... from this point and on I am dead...
23. Nf2 Rd3 24. Qe2 Qf4 25. O-O Bxf2+ 26. Qxf2 Rg3+ 27. Kh2 Rf3+ 0-1

My conclussions were:

1. not to mix an Austrian attack with a 150 attack and
2. not to believe analysts and trust my judgement

The more games I play against the Pirc the more I like the 150 attack or the Spassky variation. In fact, here is a nice little webpage that has some ideas against the Pirc:

http://alumni.plymouth.edu/~zrstephen02/DIEPIRCDIE.html

Here is another game I played but here at queenalice. My opponent could have played better and not cooperated with the plan of exchanging dark bishops:

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Be3
I always have problems playing against the Pirc-Modern. The 150 attack is one of my favortite ways of dealing with it.
4... Nf6 5. Qd2
To exchange the bishop at 6. This is so basic that even a chimpanzee can play this.
5... O-O
( If 5... Ng4 6. Bg5 and after 6... h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 White is better because the knight at g4 will have to retreat after 8... f6 and White can simply continue castling long while Black doesn't have a good refugue for his king. )
6. Bh6 Nbd7 7. Bxg7 Kxg7 8. O-O-O c5?!
I guess Catamarca didn't see the next move.
9. e5!
This discobobulates Black's pieces
9... Ng4 10. h3 Nh6 11. exd6 exd6
Now there is a weakness at d6
12. Bb5
With the crude idea of exchanging at 7...
12... a6 13. Bxd7 Bxd7 14. dxc5 Qf6
( 14... Bc6 )
( 14... Bc6! was overlooked by me... )
15. cxd6 Bc6 16. f3 Nf5 17. Nge2 Rad8 18. Nd4 Rxd6??
loses material
19. Nxf5+ gxf5 20. Qxd6 Qg5+ 21. Kb1 a5
The game continued but at this point it was pretty much over...
22. h4 Qe3 23. Qd4+ Qxd4 24. Rxd4 Re8 25. Rdd1 a4 26. Rhe1 Rf8 27. a3 Rg8 28. Rd4 Kh6 29. Re2 Kh5 30. g4+ fxg4 31. fxg4+ Kxh4 32. Rh2+ Kg5 33. Rxh7 f5 34. Rh5+ Kg6 35. Rxf5 Rh8 36. Nxa4 Rh7 37. Rd6+ Kg7 38. Nc5 Be8 39. Ne6+ Kh6 40. Nf8+ 1-0

This is very far from convincing and the lines that I am crafting against the Pirc are not conclussive yet. I very much would like to believe Roman's analyses in his webpage but I just don't... There is nothing better than your own opening recipes...

mandaragit

in alopinto-madocillo,i think 7.Bd3 is pointless because black's set-up effectively deprives white of the thematic e5 push. Since black is now threatening e5, it is preferable to reserve the bishop move at c4. i like 7.Qd2.

8.de5 is quite suspect as it eliminates the tension in the center while white has the lead in development. i suggest the fluid 8.Nf3.

13.g4 is very loose. white is still has the play. better is 13.Nf2 intending to recapture with Nd3 if black plays 13.---Nd3.

after 13.---Nd3, black is strategically lost.

Alopinto

Mandaragit,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to watch my games and your criticism.

My model game, and I believe you saw that too, is from Sveshnikov. The note on move 7 is more than fair and thematic. Somehow it seemed counterintuitive to duplicate the strength of the bishop at e3 with the diagonal closed but the move you suggest attains two aims:

1.Prepares to castle long
2.Reserves the bishop for more important tasks

I also agree with the comment on move 8.

My deal is that for an amateur like me this is too sophisticated an opening variation for me :-D

mandaragit

in alopinto-catamarca, black's mechanical development of immediate kingside castling is suicidal (albeit typical in pirc system). in this type of set-up designed by white, i believe should defer early castling in favor of an immediate queenside assault commencing with c6 followed up by b5.