150 Attack | Pirc Defense Opening Theory

[@ravirawat6856]

Ok but where's the other 149 attacks ?

[@HangingPawns]

Hehe:)

[@TheChessViking]

My kind of humor :-) Actually 150 refers to the rating (BCF rating which is different to FIDE) of the players that would employ the 150 attack or the players against which the 150 attack was effective. This was made popular on British weekender circuits.

[@ravirawat6856]

Same humour as @@TheChessViking , I will try to take this as a compliment 😂😂

[@jaydub2971]

Stjepan, your videos on the Pirc, the Benoni, and the Catalan have greatly improved my understanding of 3/5 of my normal opening repertoire. Thanks.

[@jimro4179]

Right to the point with good explanations of the moves and concepts.

[@danno1800]

You have a gift for teaching chess openings! Thank you very much for these opening videos.

[@OtokoWarrior]

I love this variation. And thanks as always for the fantastic content.

[@marsharupe8112]

I love this, as I am very familiar with the Yugoslav Attack and it all makes sense to me. Nice video.

[@alcubierrevj]

... yes, and the related English attack against the Naj Sicilian.

[@fxgallo]

I very much enjoy your analysis of openings and of your games. You provide an invaluable depth of instruction. I hope you continue to grow as a player and teacher. Thank you.

[@dharmendrasahani2755]

Sir your video on pirc is building my repertoire. Thanks

[@HangingPawns]

No problem!

[@scowlistic]

Awesome breakdown, thanks!

[@olajza91]

Okay I'm not a strong player myself but I played the pirc with black all my adult chess live. I also researched it quite a bit and there is a lot of debate on how to play 150 attack for black and I actually saw Bg7 before c6 recommended with the idea of exchanging on h6, castling queenside and pawn storming kingside (the queen becomes vurnerable here). Another way (also with castling queenside and pawnstorming on the kingside) is Be7. The main theme of this approach is to get white out of his comfort zone and make him work to justify the anti-fiancetto batery when the fiancetto isn't there (it takes some moves to do). Still these measures work best when white is already commited to a kingside attack and idealy castles queenside. So for me 150 is a game of who commits first. If anyone is interested the main reference here is the book Pirc Alert..

[@DavidEmerling79]

I play the 150 Attack against the Pirc (didn't realize that was its name) and I have to say that when I castle queenside as White, ostensibly to facilitate the kingside pawn storm on the Black king, I oftentimes succumb to Black's queenside pawn storm. I like it when Black plays Nc6 before moving their c-pawn becomes it slows down their queenside pawn storm by blocking the c-pawn.

[@dr.manishrajmundhra3369]

brilliant attack and presentation

[@c_bass1971]

As a Pirc Defense player I love to see 150 attack on the board. Not uncomfortable in the least. I play Pirc because it is an opening that adapts with widely different approaches to the various white setups so I get chances at practicing queenside expansion, central counters, and of course kingside attack mainline depending on how white plays. Very very flexible defense.

[@c_bass1971]

Said another way, black delays their central pawns in order to have flexibility in how to structure the game once white commits.

[@abdalrahmanmusleh]

amazing series, thank you

[@HangingPawns]

No problem:)

[@arnulfoduenasarmenta3105]

Yes, at 5:22 is very true, one thing is AI and other us. Thanks for the great videos

[@lindalarracas606]

11:20 starting 150

[@davidwestwood6850]

Black must get out of their comfort zone to make the defense work. In my amateur opinion. Good lesson nonetheless. I feel as if there's hope that I can improve after all. Love your comment about engines not understanding how humans feel when attacked. 😉😀 Thank you.

[@HangingPawns]

Yeah, the engines rarely have empathy for humans who are constantly under pressure during a game and who can't really think rationally when cornered. It's the same with engines saying that the KID is bad for black.

[@dr.manishrajmundhra3369]

thank you for this amazing weapon

[@HangingPawns]

No problem:)

[@pedrogonzalez5104]

Nice video on a great opening. Could you do a guide on endgame technice. You know, covering the basics for lower rated players, it would be amazing

[@HangingPawns]

I will be covering the endgame in a long series once I'm done with the opening theory or with the middlegame series. Can't really manage three at a time.

[@DavidEmerling79]

The 150 Attack strikes me as a very strange name and made me wonder where the name came from. I had to do a little research. Apparently, it's somewhat of a pejorative term. Here's what I found: "So-called because good club players using the British grading system, as opposed to the universally accepted ELO rating system, were often around the 150 mark. They typically attacked fianchetto systems with an early Be3, Qd2 and Bh6. Despite the lack of sophistication (hence the slightly derogatory name), the 150 Attack still packs a considerable punch." That old, British rating equates to about 1800, today. In other words, the term implies that this is an unsophisticated attack that is frequently employed by non-expert players. Yet, we know that many masters use this attack with great effectiveness.

[@xoby]

thank you for the great content!

[@theripper7675]

Great video,but I think the 151 attack is even stronger!

[@ericjordan4514]

NO - you're wrong on the remark that after 4.Be3 black does NOT have only one (playable) move in 4. - c6 - it's supposed to be even (maybe only slightly, but still) "better" or at least more "promising" to react with 4. - a6! because now after 5.Qd2 it's quite unpleasant to play 5. - b5. I kept analysing this pretty intensely with Stockfish NN 12 and in all variations it turned out that 4. - a6 seems to be the way to react to 4.Be3. The best way for white to react is 5.h3 and then you can play 5. - Bg7 and so on.

[@psymon3823]

I like this setup alot. It seems that playing f3 solves the h3 problem (taking away the g4 square from blacks knight) while preparing the kingside pawn storm.

[@HangingPawns]

Yeah, it does. f3 is a very comfortable move

[@dudemcgyverson]

Why can't black play Ng4 after Qd2 to make sure he gets your bishop?

[@stevenmason4150]

Hi, we (native) English speakers refer to this opening as the 'one-fifty' attack, so leaving out the word 'hundred'. Thanks for all your videos- a great resource.

[@rokpredin4842]

Great content! By the way, Buldožer rules!

[@boryskoval3220]

very nice, thanks!

[@viktormoskov1167]

Fun fact, Im pretty sure I actually went to the place with the trams behind you in Croatia. Back then I didn't start playing chess yet, and didn't know about your channel. Maybe I even saw you but didnt realize hahaha

[@jaywaup]

Delaying the Bg7 is like how you would delay castling for the Giocco Piano or Ruy Lopez (Correct me if I am wrong). That is how I am seeing it.

[@LQVaughn]

I dont understand how 4...Bg7 is a bad move. The line you show ending at 4:44 seems to me to be winning for black not white. Could someone help and explain what the idea will be for white from that position?

[@paulhowrang]

Now a days ... c5 by black very early is almost always playes to undermine the center...and that has really some nasty tactics in favor of black..... can you cover that? I think that is more useful

[@yuriquimpano7824]

What color black or white too use pirc????

[@katypenny348]

I often get to 150 attack after 1d4 and end up with N on f3. Is there a way to avoid Nf3 or move N to allow f3 move which seems to be so powerful ? Great video many thanks

[@astridfjord7791]

so if white plays this attack then black is lost immediately..? I'm trying to build a repertoire using the pirc but it seems that this is the biggest flaw in it. Is there any way to counter this at all for black?

[@daniischessing5669]

Thank you very much Stjepan, great stuff as usual! One remark though: at 12:23 you indicate a5 (no master ever played it) instead of h5 as the main move for Black, and continue analyzing from there.

[@zebady999]

This old guy from my club said when it was new the 150 attack was good for smacking player less than 150 rating in tournaments. English rating system is different btw. That’s like 1825 Elo. 🤷‍♂️ don’t know if it’s true but funny story.

[@mrcelada]

What about 5.. Ng4 ? And white has to exchange the bishop. Being this a very common idea, why is not analized????

[@alexandereastwood1]

As a Pirc player, I hate the 150, mainly because it's flexible and can lead to tempo down positions of the main-main lines. In fact, the 150 attack is the main reason why I brought other openings into my arsenal against e4. If I know they play this I play 1...e5, if I don't feel like frying my brain out on one game. Personally, I am a bit crazy and prefer to play 4...Bg7 vs any other move and should not be marked at all as it's completely fine move, just because it is so risky does not mean it's a mistake. But, if you really don't like it !? is fair also but not? as this is the second most played move at the top level and if you know what you are doing and it can be pretty easy to play. You can even force a queen trade with an interesting pawn sack with the line with 6.c5 after the standard setup white goes through it's not played at the top level as they prefer other moves, they like e5. The pawn sack line goes like this. 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 O-O 6.f3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxc5 Nc6 10.Bb5 Nd7 11. Ba3 only way to keep the pawn, but eventually white will have to give black the bishop pair or black with have complete compensation for the pawn and might even end up slightly better. Other moves like 11.Bf2 black just plays Nde5 12.Nge2 Nb4 13.O-O Nxc2 and other moves white can play usually with the best play will end up giving the pawn back and hold a slight edge in the end game, or black will be equal a pawn down or slightly better if you are not careful. Also if white does not take on move 7. black is equal or better and this is the main reason I like 4.Bg7 as this pretty forcing line, and with the Pirc, I like playing c5 whenever it's reasonable. As for 4...c6, I have played but 4...a6 I kinda like better than c6, as it has the same expansion idea but leaves the idea of c5 to be played in one move, and it can confuse people as it's a sideline and I know nothing is wrong with it. Overall this is the one line that stops me playing instantly playing d6 to e4 as it's super scary to play against in fast time controls.

[@jaypeegaspar4930]

Your not mentioning the queen a5 by black

[@mikestubbs1708]

Think that I prefer the Caro-Kann versus 1.e4!

[@howardgraff4084]

I enjoy your videos and this one is very interesting. However, you present the 150 attack as if it is almost a forced win after 6.f3. It is not and I would have found it helpful if you had explained some more of black's equalising / nearly equalising ideas : expanding on the queen side, delaying castling etc. There are plenty of grandmaster and other games where black has won, after white has played 6.f3!

[@theimperfectguitarist974]

It's a forced win indeed, the H4 h5 push is just Too overpowerful ya gotta admit it

[@eetuhentunen5157]

This is totally off topic (well kind of) but the question is where did you bought the chess set you have?

[@HangingPawns]

I got it from my parents when I finished college. It was bought at House of Staunton. It's the Rejkjavik set.

[@TuxedoTalk]

Has anyone else ever reached a similar position after playing an Alpine Sicilian and black goes with a dragon?

[@DavidEmerling79]

Many people may wonder why White plays such an early Be3 without first playing f3. Doesn't this allow black to immediately harass the bishop with 4...Ng4? Not really, because Black will quickly find that he will have to return the knight, lose a tempo, and white's dark-squared bishop is often still on the diagonal it wants to be on, still threatening to play Bh6; or, black will have to weaken his kingside with moves like ...h6 and ...g5. Examples: 1.e4 d6, 2.d4 Nf6, 3.Nc3 g6, 4.Be3 Ng4, 5.Bg5 Bg7, 6.Be2 Nf6, 7.Qd2 1.e4 d6, 2.d4 Nf6, 3.Nc3 g6, 4.Be3 Ng4, 5.Bg5 h6, 6.Bh4 Bg7, 7.Be2 Nf6, 8.Qd2 (or 8.f4)

[@cronaldinho]

I Like 150!

[@HangingPawns]

Yeah. Me too!

[@taylorhoulihan]

4…Bg7? 3:24

[@choudharyrahul722]

Why is it called 150 attack?

[@DavidEmerling79]

The position you display at 4:46, after the exchange sacrifice, is hardly a winning position for White. In fact, when you plug this position into Stockfish, it has Black at an advantage is about -3.50. That's fairly significant. It seems perfectly defensible on Black's part. Black has ...Qf6 and I don't see how White can proceed in a way that justifies having given up the exchange. In addition, White is even down a pawn. I'll take that position for Black any day of the week. I'll move my rook to g8 and tuck my king behind the pawn on f8, then mobilize my pieces on the queenside and allow my material superiority to take it from there. 4...Bg7 is played about a third of the time by masters; so, it calls into question just how "bad" it is. Apparently, they didn't get the memo. :) I don't really see how it makes much difference WHEN Black plays ...Bg7. After all, he has already played ...g6. Eventually, his bishop is going to g7 and, when it does, White can play Bh6. I don't see how it makes much of a difference and almost 30% of the masters who play the Pirc also don't seem to see the difference. Stockfish vacillates between Bg7, c6 and a6 as its fourth move, slightly preferring Bg7.

[@Sun-gs6hq]

3:54 Bg7

[@kingjunior7898]

Hi, what source are you using for the pirc?

[@HangingPawns]

The Complete Pirc (Nunn), The Perfect Pirc - Modern (Moskalenko), Pirc & Modern Defence B06-B09 (Davies, Martin). I also use databases.

[@kingjunior7898]

@@HangingPawns Thank you. I play the pirc; but I hate the 150 attack and similar lines such as the Byrne and random aggressive plans with an early h4. Your series has helped me a lot. Also, as a recommendation, club players usually ignore subjects like pawn play, how to defend, endgame technique etc. I am going through Sam Shankland's Small Steps to Giant Improvements at the moment; I am around your rating in online chess and 1840 otb. I was amazed at how much consideration pawn moves are given by stronger players in virtually all phases of the game. Some concepts in pawn play (like all other chess concepts I think) seem simple but require really deep thought in games. I think a few lessons from the book would be very useful.

[@davidlerner1825]

What about 4..Ng4

[@taneressel]

Just 5.Bg5 and Black will have to waste a move putting the Knight back

[@davidlerner1825]

Tane chaana what about Nbd7 f4 Ng4

[@lindalarracas606]

Can't see ur face, bad lighting. Nicer to see makes teaching more personal and effective. Thanks for your vids. Appreciate it a lot

[@lepileptikdufunk5509]

i have lost against the 150 attacks but i have won a headache ^^

[@Steelie97]

Your videos are very instructive and are helping me build a nice repertoire (especially against the accursed 1.e4) Have you considered doing the Nimzowitsch Defense in the future too?

[@HangingPawns]

Glad to hear that Mark!

[@trep3309]

At 13:47, isn't there a tactic by black? Or am I missing something

[@davuus80]

Elon Musk of chess

[@vinnylo6566]

your profile says, ''until I become a grandmaster''. Nice to be confident but modesty may be better Hanging pawns. '' In the hope that maybe one day I will become a Grandmaster. but I do like your channel, its useful thanks.

[@dnmclnnn]

'Until' doesn't mean that it will happen (does it?). I'm legitimately interested to know if you have a source for that interpretation. Also, if you watch enough of his videos you will see that Stjepan is perfectly humble.

[@smashu2]

Pirc ? easy now try to crush the Berlin...

[@AdenzFK]

Could you pls work on the audio? It is a little too boomy. Thanks!

[@ghazyboudhaouia9440]

f tree

[@stevenmason4150]

Hi, we (native) English speakers refer to this opening as the 'one-fifty' attack, so leaving out the word 'hundred'. Thanks for all your videos- a great resource.