i dont think i ever see opponents using any database in the opening. if they are, then its not helping them much because normally the way people handle openings on chess.com is horrible.
theres lots of reasonable and decent unexplored variations in all openings...but there are much mroe completely idiotic bad lines. what do you play?
Talks like he's a GM (and appears to be one on chess.com); is a USCF (PROVISIONAL!) B-Class player, in reality.
But at your level, I'd bet most of your opponents have a repetoire of openings/defenses that they know to varying degrees. At my level, I think very few do, and when playing Online games, almost everyone at my level suppliments this with the OE.
Really, I'm a total patzer- particularly when it comes to openings. I just try to follow opening principles and try to figure out what development is needed to strengthen my position - this, even when I'm looking at the opening explorer - I would look at the most common responses and select the one I understand and agree with the most - I think I've learned alot about opening principles this way -but the opening explorer tends to 'trap' me.
With white, in long live games, I usually start with e4 - I try to play the scotch game as best I can because I feel like I understand it (relatively speaking). With black, I'll repond to e4 with e5 usually. But really, for both black and white, what I play on move 2 really depends on what the opponent plays, and I don't have any openings memorized - I mean, maybe I could play a scotch opening 5 or so moves deep before I'm on my own, but it really depends what black plays because what I have memorized of that needs the right moves from them to make sense.
well the scotch is fine...and there are reasonable ways to get something that is just a game where some database isnt going to help black much. for example you can try the scotch 4 knights
I'm familliar with the 4 knights a bit, This is a pretty common starting point for learing openings if I'm not mistaken? - is there a difference between that and the scotch 4 knights?
i dont think i ever see opponents using any database in the opening. if they are, then its not helping them much because normally the way people handle openings on chess.com is horrible.
theres lots of reasonable and decent unexplored variations in all openings...but there are much mroe completely idiotic bad lines. what do you play?
Talks like he's a GM (and appears to be one on chess.com); is a USCF (PROVISIONAL!) B-Class player, in reality.
I don't 'get' the arguement you guys all seem to be having on these threads lately - I don't have an OTB rating and if I did I'd be proud of a B class - especially if it meant I could play with the kinds of insights (A class or Q class as they may be) that I've read from some of 5's posts. And I appreciate your insight also. Thanks!
From the two games you posted, It's encouraging to me to see that all the way up to about move 9 - this is something I've played many times - so I'm doing something right at least there :o)
I have to look at the 2nd one more closely now though...
In the second game, The "good move" you talk about - Its Nb5? Instead of taking the Kn, which would be pointless in that particular position, right? Because in that case he recaptures with the other Kn instead of with the pawn?
1.b3 and 1...b6 are uncommon but solid openings.
As white, you can play any tempo wasting move, and boom, you're out of book and your position should objectively be fine.
This is interesting.. I was watching a C.c video on openings a while back that mentioned this idea. It mentioned a game agaist a really strong GM (maybe Lasker or Morphy - I don't remember) where white opened with a3. This is interesting to think about because your first impression is that it gives white's opening advantage to black - but does it, really? It's not that easy, I think, because you can't really just play white's role in the opening with black pieces, right? at least not by using the lines you have memorized. Maybe my dyslexia is getting the best of me, but it seems to me that the positions wouldn't work because the queen's position is different.
Edit: what I mean is that I don't think you can just play a "white" book opening with black pieces
In the second game, The "good move" you talk about - Its Nb5? Instead of taking the Kn, which would be pointless in that particular position, right? Because in that case he recaptures with the other Kn instead of with the pawn?
the really good move is black castling and just ognoring your threat on c7. you might be tempted to take c7 and d5 but dont do it...it can be tactically refuted. just go nd2 and its fine. taking his knight just helps him develop...its better to tickle hos c7 while attacking the bishop. qd2 is the blackburne variation and is never seen anymore at high level (it just isnt very strong) but black probably doesnt get an advantage or anything so its not bad
Ok - I think I get it. If not ignoring the threat of the hanging pawn, instead of ...0-0, ...Qe5, the queen would just get kicked with f4, which at my first reckoning seems not bad for white... And protecting with the K loses castling rights, which isn't worth that pawn in that position?
i dont think i ever see opponents using any database in the opening. if they are, then its not helping them much because normally the way people handle openings on chess.com is horrible.
theres lots of reasonable and decent unexplored variations in all openings...but there are much mroe completely idiotic bad lines. what do you play?
Talks like he's a GM (and appears to be one on chess.com); is a USCF (PROVISIONAL!) B-Class player, in reality.
why cant i try to assist people without having to deal with people who both appear to be and in fact are patzers at both chess and social skills
lol!
Here is a process I've used to help decide what dB suggestions to make:
When I get to a position with equal or near equal candidate moves, I look at a few games from each move.
I look for games I feel I can understand. I run through the games and try to get some basic ideas the players took.
Then, in a few moves when there are no longer any book moves, I have a better understanding of where to go.
Now, when people go out of book, I smile a little because I have experience with out of book moves. 
Here is a process I've used to help decide what dB suggestions to make:
When I get to a position with equal or near equal candidate moves, I look at a few games from each move.
I look for games I feel I can understand. I run through the games and try to get some basic ideas the players took.
Then, in a few moves when there are no longer any book moves, I have a better understanding of where to go.
Now, when people go out of book, I smile a little because I have experience with out of book moves.
This is exactly how I've used it, but after having used it many times, I've found that often, both myself and my opponents pick moves from the db for too long into the game - to the point where (and this can be an instructive process) you find that if you continue, the outcome is predetermined. At this point the game becomes an exercise of analyzing the game in the db to see where the loser went wrong, and figuring out a better way to play the position.. So playing with the database, can be more an exercise in game analysis, than in game play.
I think I've learned a lot from playing games like that - who knows? Maybe more than I would have, having not referred to expert games so much, but the down side from a game play perspective is that it's sort of like cycling... What does a 1600 rating mean? It's ok that Lance Armstrong took steroids to win the tour de france - because every single other competetor also was/is doping anyway! So if he had not doped, he would be just as good a cyclist, but hed be competing at the level of patzers who dope to be better!
Hello - I play a lot of Online games - It's my favourite way to play because I like to have time to think but almost never have time to play long live games. Here's my problem: Like me, almost all of my opponents use the opening explorer way too much. I used to like it as a learning tool, but the process of "selecting" moves during the opening has become a bit boring. I've found that almost all of my opponents use it and it gets to the point where we pick up from the middle game of some obscure game in the database (when theres no more choices left) and go way to far with it :oP
I wish that "No opening explorer" was an option for making challenges. In any case, I've taken a fairly long break from playing and I feel like starting up again - and I'm not going to use it anymore. So I'm interested in your ideas about how to get my opponents "out of book" early. Just so I can mitigate a bit of the advantage it brings to opponents who are using it. I guess the most obvious idea would be to just forget about it and just play - which I realize might be the most sensible answer.