Pirc Alert!: A Complete Defense Against 1. e4

by Lev Alburt, Alex Chernin

Everything you need to know to defend against White’s most popular and dangerous 1. e4. 1000+ diagrams w/ photos

Genres: Chess

448 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Mark Galassi]

Delightful conceptual introduction, with good tie-in to middle-game themes. The book is aided by a very effective collection of diagrams for both positions and ideas.

I strongly recommend it if you intend to play the Pirc.

[Robert]

Probably the best introduction to the strategy of the Pirc. Man has a feeling that the first 200 pages doesn't only explain the intricacies of the Pirc - but it actually teaches you "the game of chess";
the way how Chernin (the co-author of this book) explains the over-protection in a simple manner is amazing. And the way how GM M. Gurevich (he was twice a tie for the 5th place on the FIDE rating list) was using the Pirc to outplay his inferior opponent - simply astonishing.
Also, thanks to the abundance of diagrams, an experienced player can go through the book without using the chess set.

[Todd Bryant]

This was my repertoire against 1.e4 for many years. The recommendations are decent, and they do a good job of explaining ideas to club players (the target audience). You might get smashed by 4.Be3 though.

[Vince]

Beware! Especially if you buy used be sure to closely examine to make sure all content is there. I recently picked up a used copy online only to find 30 pages missing (one whole chapter). The theory and teaching approach is generally good, but obviously the production values are very suspect.