THE PIRC IN BLACK and WHITE
Author: James Vigus
Everyman Chess (2007)
381 pages
$23.95

Reviewed by John Donaldson

When one thinks of the best answer to 1.e4 in Grandmaster play, one's first thought is the Sicilian or double King pawn followed by the French and Caro-Kann. All these openings are played regularly by those rated over 2700. But what of the Pirc? Bobby Fischer thought well enough of it to use it in his 1972 World Championship match but few of today's elite employ it with the exception of Alexander Morozevich. Ruslan Ponomariov has been quoted in effect as saying that when he got to the top, his good friend the Pirc had to go and 1...e5 put in its place. The Pirc seems destined to forever languish in the group of not completely correct openings like the Alekhine and Scandanavian, all suffering the defect that White is granted space right from the get go.
 
Fortunately for mortals, those 99.999 percent of players not in the world's top twenty, the Pirc (1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6) is not only fully playable but can be quite effective. What it has lacked for some time is a really comprehensive guide. The recent publication of THE PIRC IN BLACK and WHITE by English FM James Vigus will do much to fill this gap. This massive tome covers all variations of the Pirc in an objective and even-handed way. THE PIRC IN BLACK and WHITE is not only well researched but also well written and benefits greatly from the author's intimate familiarity with the subject.
 
I have met the Pirc with the Classical Variation for over 25 years, but learned several new things from Vigus' chapter on 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0, in particular his coverage of Benjamin's 6...e6!? Evidence of how up to date this book is can be found in the many model Classical Pirc games from 2006 that are presented in this chapter.
 
Vigus has written a very good book. If you play the Pirc or are thinking about it you will want to have it.

Click to read SILMAN'S REVIEW OF THE PIRC IN BLACK AND WHITE.

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