A grandmaster opening idea in the Pirc / Modern

by Priyadharshan Kannappan
2/10/2018 – Priyadharshan Kannappan took a look through GM Victor Bologan's Fritztrainer "How to tame the Alekhine, Scandinavian and Pirc" and found an alternative to Bologan's suggestion for black in the line beginning 3...d5. With the aid of new analysis, he feels that Bologan's appraisal of the resulting positions is in need of an update.

1.e4 - How to tame the Alekhine, Scandinavian and Pirc 1.e4 - How to tame the Alekhine, Scandinavian and Pirc

On this DVD, Victor Bologan shows how to successfully combat the Pirc, Alekhine and Scandinavian Defences with a complete opening repertoire. As ever, Bologan recommends the main lines.

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3...d5!?

I have been an aficionado of offbeat openings since my childhood, and that has motivated me to explore a lot of such lines. The first time I learned about the d5 idea in Pirc was in 2007, and I recently noticed an uptick in the popularity of this variation, so I decided to write about this idea, so that more players take this line seriously.

With the increasing popularity of rapid and blitz tournaments in recent years, it has become essential for players to have offbeat tries that surprise opponents and take them out of their preparation. I believe this opening is perfect for such situations, and the added plus is that you need very little time to remember all the analysis in this system.

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d5

 

The first time, I came to know about this idea was in Secrets of Opening Surprises Volume 1. There are 836 games according to my database, which explains how much room there is to explore this line.

 

Postscript from Victor BologanVictor Bologan

I think 13...Rb8 is a good try for black.

Instead, in the line with
4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Ne4 6.Ne4 de4 7.Ng5 c5 I would recommend for white the move 8.f4 [instead of 8.Bc4].

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Topics: novelties, Pirc Defense, Victor Bologan
Priyadharshan Kannappan is a 24-year-old grandmaster from India. He is one of the most highly qualified players from India, with an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Lindenwood University and will be graduating soon with a Master of Arts in Management and Leadership, with a certificate in Business Analytics from Webster University.
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Video

Beating the French According to Viktor Kupreichik

Former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik liked to play the French and once described it as a 'difficult and dangerous opening'. But in this 60 minutes video IM Andrew Martin suggests an aggressive and little-used idea of the renowned attacking player GM Viktor Kupreichik to counter the French: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Be3!?. Andrew Martin uses the games of Kupreichik to show why this line could catch many French aficionados unprepared and is very dangerous for Black. Attacking players will love this line and the unusual complications that it promotes.

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sshivaji sshivaji 2/10/2018 07:13
Bologan is not talking about another line, not the line discussed in the article.
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