Pirc Alert!: A Complete Defense Against 1. e4

I bought this book because I wanted to try to develop my skills and knowledge in the Pirc. The books I do have are largely summaries of master lines and a quick overview of the opening. I needed something that would guide me through and provide some ideas for the middle game. This book fills both requirements. It lays out the main lines first with a general introduction to the opening. It then provides details and more theoretical ideas based on the introduction. I especially like the "memory markers" which finish each chapter and the outline of important ideas which introduce each chapter. The text does not delve too deeply into specific variations and subvariations. It is written lucidly and leaves the reader with an understanding of what type of middle game to expect with each variation. I'm a Class C player and I found the book very helpful. I suspect players of all levels might find something of value in the material.

When I bought this book, I had just come off a bad loss with my ol' trusty 4 knights sicilian and reluctantly decided to retire it after it had gotten stale after 3 years. So I wanted to try something new and the Pirc seemed like a fun choice. I have to admit that this book is very fascinating and has lots of verbose that gives you plenty of general knowledge, like for instance the knight usually should retreat to Nd7 not the more brazen Ng4 jump as seen in some lines. The only complaint I can find is when he is giving lines. He explores only the explosive but tamed Seirwan line in the Austrian containing an early ...c5 (before castling) move which with rote play leads to an early draw. I really would rather give up chess than play a drawn line. I suppose on the contrary, if white isn't familiar with this line he could get blown off the board, but hoping for luck is never a good strategy. I would have liked him to explore the castling version with maybe the modern Na6 line to atleast breath life into the possibility of playing for a win against the Austrian. Also, though he does briefly explore the popular c6, b5 setup in the Classical Variation during the intro, he leaves it out of the recommended line which is mildly disappointing. He also doesn't delve into the heart of the struggle after the classical line, which I sometimes find myself searching for moves.... But apart frow those 2 minor shortcomings from my point of view, the whole of the book is very instructive in not only explaining the moves but sharing the ideas thats central to the Pirc's variations. To someone who wants to learn the pirc, I definately would recommend to any aspiring Pirc or 1.e4 player. I bought it in tandem with the Starting Out with the Pirc/Modern book by Gallagher which has been a good complement. Its certainly a plus that the author actually plays the pirc and is a major theoretical expert on this and other openings which he shares with the reader.

Pirc Alert! By GM Lev Alburt and GM Alex Chernin is a fantastic opening book. The book is markedly better than other opening books in its presentation of the material. This book gives a complete defensive repertoire against 1. e4 for everyone, but especially the club and tournament player. Pirc Alert! Is written by two world class GM's. Alburt is a three time US champion, and Chernin remains a world-class player and openings expert. Today, Alburt is a very successful chess trainer and writer and Chernin is the leading expert in the Pirc. The combination of these two and Executive Editor Al Lawrence has resulted in a fabulously produced opening manual that should set the standard that others will be compared with. Alburt and Chernin emphasize that the Pirc relies heavily on understanding and less heavy on theory. To this end, they spend a great deal of time and effort on developing the Pirc players understanding of the ideas and strategies of the opening. The book is separated into three parts: Part I: About This Book, where Alburt explains the genesis of the book, presents his and Chernin's bonafides, and most importantly, explains how to use the book, and how to study an opening.Part I is 26 pages. Part II: General Themes and Ideas is written by Chernin. He presents all the basic ideas, pawn structures, strategies for both sides and tactical opportunites. Alburt uses a whopping 181 pages in presenting this material. Everything is explained thoroughly and in a way that allows players of all levels above novice to understand easily. Part III: Theoretical Variations is a joint effort to provide a repertoire by both authors and is built around central ideas. For players of higher levels, Chernin the Pirc expert, adds a special gift, his own theoretical novelties, clearly identified. This is almost unheard of, for a GM to give away his own secrets to the public, which includes his opponents. This part encompasses 230 pages. As a player of fianchetto based openings, the KID, KIA, and Sicilian Accelerated Dragon, I found the instructional material transferable to other parts of my own repertoire. I have read several reviews of this book before purchasing it, and found them to be mixed. Pirc pseudo-expert, having played the Pirc for over 25 years, Randy Bauer gives the book a good solid rating, but is critical of the way Alburt and Chernin present the ideas before the variations. I disagree. Alburt the very successful trainer, and Chernin a GM who has been very successful at teaching beginners and experts alike the opening feel that the student needs to know what to look for as they begin the study of an opening's theory. Additionally, they do not ignore the theoretical foundation. It's not like they ignore the theory in this part of the book, rather they point out ideas to look for in the various variations the reader will meet. Besides, if you are hung up on learning the theoretical foundation first, you can start with part three and then proceed to part two. Bauer also expresses concern over the choices of the repertoire as being drawish. He is joined in his concern by the highly regarded player and writer John Watson, who writes very serious chess books for higher-level players. I believe Chernin and Alburt have identified their main target audience as people such as myself, club level players who are seeking a good repertoire that is easy to learn and will give us good chances against our competition which usually consists of players rated below 2200 USCF, and mostly below 2000 USCF. With this in mind, I think GM Carsten Hansen is correct in his review in chesscafe.com. when he calls the book "Without a doubt this is the best general opening book I have seen for a very long time." Hansen also correctly points out that the book is not "aimed at the strongest players." I believe this is where Watson and Bauer miss the target in their reviews. Additionally, since Chernin is the world's leading expert on the Pirc and is much higher rated than Bauer and Watson, I believe his choices are best for the target audience. In fairness to Watson and Bauer do point out the value of the book for lower rated players. Watson in particular points out that mid level players and beginners to the Pirc, will gain a lot from the "extraordinary instructiveness of Pirc Alert! The superb 'Themes and Ideas' section" is "easily the best example I've seen of this idea-based approach." Although the book is pricey, to me it is worth the price, as it is printed on high quality paper, and is beautifully presented. Add to that, you really do not need another book on a defense to 1. e4, and Chernin's assertion that because of the theoretical novelties, you really do not need to worry about something new invalidating one of the lines in the near future. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to learn the Pirc, find a repertoire for defending 1. e4 or plays fianchetto systems. I hope other authors copy this approach, and look forward to Alburt's upcoming companion volumes with repertoires for white, and defending against 1. d4 and other openings.

good overview but too many game fragments. to understand an opening one must see how it affects the ultimate outcome. still not completely sold on the pirc b/c I lose as many games, if not more, playing the pirc as i did just following the principle of gaining control of the center and activating my pieces. if you don't know what you are doing you can find yourself two to three pawns down real quick. and the setup leaves black's dark bishop immobilized.

Informative, practical, very thorough. It requires a lot of work but will make you a master in the pirc defense and a better chess player.

Ce livre est tout simplement indispensable pour tout joueur de pirc qui se respecte. Les idées sont clairement expliquées et approfondies, les variantes à la fois simples et complètes. Je possède ce livre depuis bientôt 10 ans et je n'ai toujours rien trouvé de mieux concernant la pirc.

Sehr gutes Buch, welches etwas anders ist von der Aufmachung als die anderen. Macht Spaß zu lesen.

This is an excellent work in every sense of the word. The authors are both top class grandmasters almost on par with the K's. I mean Karpov, Korchnoi, Kasparov and Kramnik. In addition to this they both have a talent for teaching which of course does not necessarily accompany high playing strength by any means. The book is designed to be a pleasure to read and it is. The book is in 3 parts, part 1 is more or less introductory, part 2 is the ideas behind the opening, along the lines of Reuben Fine's, 'The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings' (1964), except concentrating on the Pirc defence rather than Fine's more diffuse focus on all openings. In the Pirc I think you do need even more than usual theoretical help to survive white's attacks possibly because there is no immediate black challenge to the centre, this is delayed. The authors certainly provide you with maximum help showing you how to challenge the centre according to the position. Part 2 discusses the strategies and patterns encountered often in comparison with the techniques used in other openings such as the Modern, King's Indian, Benoni, Philidor, Ruy Lopez and Dragon. Part 3 discusses the actual variations in detail. The authors appear to have started with the incredibly ambitious goal of producing a book that would comfortably surpass in depth and quality all other opening books. I believe they succeeded.

This book is excellent as it provides many explanations on the overall strategy and reasons for moving a piece - along with examples. This makes it far more user friendly than other chess books I've read which can be a collection of games with little or no explanation of the overall strategy and thought process. It also has many diagrams so you can actually read the book without a chess board, and there are 'memory marker' diagrams which reinforce key positions. Overall a really excellent book which has improved my chess.

Sujet très bien présenté par l'auteur et complet.Ecriture agréable. 440 pages de pur plaisir à lire et si possible maîtriser.