Naturally we try to make our repertoire books complete, but when we miss a line, we try to offer readers an update to patch it. Such is the case with Mihail Marin’s “The Pirc Defence“. A couple of lines sadly escaped our attention, so Mihail has analysed and written an update which you can download as a pdf at the following link: The Pirc Defence update.
Not a book I have or plan on buying, but the service is _highly_ appreciated! (thumbs up)
Thanks a lot for this excellent update!!
Just out of curiosity: has anyone out there in the meantime solved the problem in the line with f2-f3 and …d6-d5, mentioned elsewhere on this blog?
What would be the moves for this line? Having gone through many of the comments here, it doesn’t ring a bell for me immediately.
Good to see an update. Facing 3.Nd2 is a bit of a bore so if you can reel out something Marin approved and go grab a coffee while your opponent thinks about overdefending (every square he can think of) I see that as a step forward.
The 4.Be3/4.Bf4 line with a well timed Bh6 got an interesting proposed solution I have to say. Looks like a key line to study well if you want to avoid suffering.
Some lines which would be in the update if I had a say as they are not obviously less relevant than the variation+line covered. I realise though that if the author took his time to cover those as well as he did the lines in the actual update a lot of more work would be involved and I’m grateful the author took the time he did here.
Have a nice evening.
Thanks for this update!
@John, is there any place where all updates are available in pdf, pgn or another format?
@ CbT
The line I mentioned was in a post bij AliceB in reaction to the vlog bij Nikos on the Marin book:
“Secondly… Chapters with 4.Be3 are the most important and I think that c6+b5 system (against all white setups) is not universal. Recomended line 4…c6 5.Qd2 Nbd7 6.f3 b5 (i would prefer 5..b5 6.f3 Nbd7 move order) 7.g4 Bg7 8.h4 h5 9.g5 Nh7 (stem game Smirin-Gofstein, but mentioned Moskalenko too) 10.Nge2 Nb6 11.b3 d5 (!Marin) – but after 12.e5 Nf8 13.Nd1 with idea something like Nd1-b2-(d3), a4 (will force b4), f4, 0-0 and trying open position with c2-c3 (look at hole c5) or even f4-f5 looks dangerous for black (there is no real counterplay, black can only sit and wait).”
Slightly off-topic, but I couldn’t find another suitable place: in his new book on Bc4 against the open games, Delchev calls Nikos’ recommendation …Nd7! in a line of the Bishop’s Opening “utterly shallow” (or similar words), and gives three options for white, two of which were not mentioned in Nikos’ book. According to Delchev, black should play …d7-d5 rather than …d7-d6 against the Bishop’s Opening. Any ideas if Delchev has a point or is just exaggerating here?
Ah. Thank you.
Looks more pleasant for white but achieving concrete advantage in such a blocked position is never easy. That being said the basic concept of reshuffling the knights followed by c3 looks like a decent way of handling the position. White can actually go for this in many different ways (for example both 13.Nd1 and 13.Nc1) with similar play. Maybe 13.Ng3 can be a place for the knight as well.
@CbT
Stockfish agrees this is more pleasant for white, though it’s always dangerous to trust the computer in these blocked positions. It looks a bit passive though for black. What is his active plan? Or can he just wait and see what white does?
It’s nice to see my old comment 🙂
I analysed lot of lines from the book and moreless they stood my test, however … for some reason I see some systems in book boring (it is my personal opinion only).
After all, even if the updated line hold for black, there is still one more problem.
page 213:
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be3 O-O 6.Qd2 c6 7.Bh6
b5 8.Bd3 Bg4 9.h4 Bxf3 10.gxf3 e5 and now MM analysed 11.de5 and 11.0-0-0 but… there is one old correspondence game Polak-Stepak 1999, where white played 11.h5! and after Nxh5 12.O-O-O position is very sharp but looks very unpleasant for black.
You can start your own engines…. 🙂
@AliceB
My computer wants 12..Kh8, and disliked everything else. I tried 12..Nf4 giving a pawn up and it didn’t immediately dislike this. That could be a way to go, although I would rather be white in that position.
James
@AliceB
@James2
I have not analysed 11.h5 (there is a different book I am working on) but it seems to me that instead of 7…b5 in the above line, if Black plays 7…Nbd7 then it transposes to Mihail Marin’s update. So if 12.h5 is a problem (and as I said, I don’t know if it is) then the update fixes it too.
Anyone know if there is a repository with the updates purblished by QC?
thanks
Question: Why learn the opening repertoire of Ulf Anderson? Is there anyone who thinks he plays like Anderson if he plays his opening repertoire?
Counter-Question: Do you think any repertoire is, for the most part, unique? Aren’t you always playing like someone else? 🙂
@Phil Collins
This comment seems utterly extraneous to this thread. Would you care to elucidate?
@James2
I don’t like reducing the game of chess to opening (preparation).
@Fer
Front page, look in the left column
@TonyRo
To create an Opening Repertoire based on games played by Anderson is funny. For Anderson chess is an endgame with 32 pieces!
@Phil Collins
I think it’s the start of a new series. For each grandmaster a repertoire book, all written by the same author.
@Thomas
What about different authors, writing each a version of repertoire books on Andersson?
@Thomas
They should start with Ivanchuk: “Play anything against everything!”
@Jacob Aagaard
Perhaps we could start by Lakdawala giving it a try….
James
I hope Ulf gets some royalties from all these books.
Ulf is one of my very favorite players – I would buy the hell out of anything with his name on it. 😉
I didn’t even realise Anderson has had a repertoire for the past 20 years or so… I always get suspicious if a book claims that you can get by just on ‘general principles’. Even for such openings as the London that is not possible anymore if you have a milligramme of ambition. “How to bore your opponent to death” would imo be a more appropriate title. Maybe we can post some suggestions on the most boring opening lines. With 1.e4 I would like to propose Qe2 against the Petroff (boring against boring), and of course the French Exchange cannot be omitted either. Then against the Alekhine of course 2.Nc3. And against 1…e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 the Scotch Four Knights is also a serious contender.
I would bet he does a bit of prep, isn’t he a force in correspondence chess?
@Ray
Grandmaster Chess Strategy (based on Andersson’s games and openings) gives a pretty good insight into Andersson’s opening repertoire as white……it was very much built around 1Nf3.
Many of the lines/systems Andersson used are still relevant today so I will withhold judgement on the book until I see how the author has updated the theory on this still very popular first move choice.
Marin did a great job.
One question: the move order 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f3!? is not covered in the book.
Other repertoire books on the Pirc give 4…Bg7 5. Be3 c6, but that option is not really compatible with Marin’s choice of delaying Bg7. I wonder if 4.f3 c6 5.Be3 (what else) Nbd7 6.Qd2 b5 is a possible transition to the variations covered from page 239 and onward!?
@Thomas
As you say, it’s hard to imagine White playing 4.f3 without following up with Be3 in the near future, so 4…c6 seems fine.
On page 185 Marin gives 12…0-0!?N in a line I always found difficult to play. After 13.0-0-0 Qe6 isn’t 14.Ng5 Qc8 15.exd6 annoying? For example 15…Nb4 Qe4!