Jobava's Pirc – Part 2: An Attack With No Address
In the 1980s, English club players gave a modest name to their favourite weapon against the Pirc. The "150 Attack" (named after a British grading of roughly 1800) needed no deep theory: Be3, Qd2, castle long, push the h-pawn. It was a plan any club player could follow.
Decades later, this simple scheme is still the main reason many players are afraid to play 1...d6. In Jobava's Pirc: A Dynamic Repertoire for Black – Part 2, GM Baadur Jobava answers it with one modest move: 4...a6!
A Race Where Black Chooses the Track
The idea behind 4...a6 is the leitmotif of the whole course. Black does not rush with ...Bg7 and ...O-O. The bishop stays on f8 for a moment, and the b-pawn is ready for ...b5.
White can still use g6 as a target for h4-h5, but he cannot know whether those lines will lead anywhere. Black's king may stay in the centre, go short, or even go long. In Jobava's words, the attack "has no address."
The same logic runs through the other chapters. Against 3.f3, the usual ...g6 is replaced with 3...e6!?, a fresh direction with fewer than 100 games in the database.
Against 4.Bf4, Black's queen comes out early after 4...c6 while the bishop waits on f8. In every line, the goal is to take White out of his prepared system as early as possible.
The Authors' Reasoning
GM Baadur Jobava is known for an original, uncompromising style, and this repertoire reflects it. He created the course with IM Dragos Ceres, building the key lines through long hours of analysis and sparring games.
Jobava admits that one line worried him more than any other: 5.h3, where White takes the g4-square and prepares f4. He spent many hours on it, and Chapter 2 is the result. It gives Black full counterplay and sets White the most complex problems.
The authors also show why 4.Bg5 Bg7 5.Qd2 h6 6.Bh4, the main line for many years, is now avoided by strong players. Two model games support the analysis: Petrik – Tkachiev in the 5.h3 system, and Giri – Nepomniachtchi, Wijk aan Zee 2019, where Black won against a 2750 opponent from the f3/Qd2 setup.
Map of Variations
1.e4 d6
- 2.Nc3, 2.Nf3, 2.Bc4, 2.f4 – White avoids 2.d4 → Chapter 10
2.d4 Nf6
- 3.f3 e6!? – a fresh plan instead of ...g6 → Chapter 8
- 3.Bd3 g6 – against White's slow, Ruy Lopez-style setup → Chapter 9
3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 a6! – the 150 Attack
- 5.Nf3 Bg7 – ...b5, ...Nc6, and White must choose a home for his king → Chapter 1
- 5.h3 Bg7 6.f4! – the most important system against 4...a6 → Chapter 2
- 5.f3 b5 6.Qd2 Nbd7 7.O-O-O – the classical setup → Chapter 3
4.Bf4 c6 – the queen comes out early, the bishop waits on f8 → Chapter 4
4.Bg5 Bg7
- 5.e5, 5.f4, 5.f3 – fifth-move sidelines → Chapter 5
- 5.Qd2 h6! 6.Bh4 – the former main line → Chapter 6
4.Be2 – with the modern h4-h5 idea, plus other rare fourth moves → Chapter 7
Course Features
- 10 theory chapters
- Video instruction throughout the course
- 2 model games
- 5 Key Things to Know
- 30 test positions
- 5 training positions to practice against the engine
- Memory File with the key lines condensed
- To-Go version of every chapter
- Multilingual PGN available in English, German, French, and Spanish
A Complete Pirc Together With Part 1
This course is the second half of a two-part repertoire. Jobava's Pirc – A Dynamic Repertoire for Black – Part 1 covers the Austrian Attack, where White plays f4 and Black fights back against the overextension.
Part 2 covers everything else: the 150 Attack, the Bf4 and Bg5 systems, the rare fourth moves, and White's attempts to avoid the main lines. Together, the two volumes give a complete Pirc for Black, with no line where White can switch off and play safely for a draw.
Start Building Your Pirc
If you want a Pirc with real counterplay against White's most popular attacking systems, this course gives you the plans, the move orders, and the training tools to use them with confidence. Get Jobava's Pirc: A Dynamic Repertoire for Black – Part 2 and complete your repertoire.
INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
SAMPLE CHAPTER
SAMPLE VIDEO