GM Repertoire: The Pirc Defence

Den mangeårige Pirc-spesialisten stormester Marin kommer endelig med hovedverket sitt om åpningen som normalt starter med trekkene 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Sf6 3 Sc3 g6. I de to siste kapitlene behandler han også avvik fra hvits side i trekk 2 og 3.

Forlagets egen omtale:

The Pirc is more of a counterattack than a defence: Black allows his opponent to occupy the centre and provokes a confrontation, trusting in the power of the g7-bishop and the dynamic potential in his position. It is the perfect weapon for players who seek a complex strategic fight with the black pieces.

Mihail Marin has been playing the Pirc for more than twenty years, with excellent results. In The Pirc Defence he not only presents his best analysis against all of White’s major options, but also shares the strategic insights he has gained through his extensive experience in this opening.

Mihail Marin is a grandmaster from Romania. His previous books for Quality Chess have established him as one of the world’s finest chess authors.

Praise for the author’s previous work: “Beautifully written and inspirational” – GM Luke McShane “A typically lucid and thorough exposition from perhaps the most insightful and reliable chess author writing today.” – GM Jonathan Rowson, New in Chess

Fra Marins iinteressante forord:

The Pirc is mainly a positional weapon, but the strategic tension that gradually accumulates
often leads to critical moments when tactical or dynamic decisions are necessary. In other words, it is an opening that suits players with a balanced (or complete) style.

Over the years I have developed the useful habit of constantly analysing my own games,
looking for improvements – mainly in the cases when I was in danger, but not only then. The Pirc is flexible enough to allow me to vary a little from one game to the next, thus avoiding my opponents’ specific preparation.

After a few years I had accumulated some slight doubts regarding certain lines I had played. It was with great joy that I received Nunn and McNab’s The Ultimate Pirc as a present from my friend Ari Ziegler, and I immediately started looking for their recommendations in the positions that were bugging me. Much to my surprise, in all six cases I found my own games in the main lines – precisely the games in which I had felt unsure at certain moments!

This was very flattering, of course. It meant that my knowledge, understanding and games were good enough to build a book upon, but at the same time I understood that I had to do the new analytical work myself in order to keep the opening in good shape; hard and rewarding work at the same time.

The repertoire examined in this book is the fruit of many years of refining my analysis, but I advise the reader to follow my own method of continuous improvement. I believe that the verbal comments to all the critical lines will serve as a guideline.

Dieter Nisipeanu, a natural enemy of the Pirc, once confessed to me his personal view. This opening gives White a false impression of safety, increasing the risk of becoming careless or over- optimistic in the middlegame. Indeed, Black is cramped in the first phase of the game, but his strategic and dynamic resources are greater than one might think at a brief glance. But the reverse of the medal is that Black should believe in his position and his chances of turning the tables at White’s first inaccuracy.