1.g4 is horrible in my oppion. White weakens his kingside to control the f5 sqaure and the potential to drive a knight off of f6. I guest you can say its better than h4 or a4 at least it helps to develop a piece. (the bishop going to g2.)

1.g4 black can respond with e5 or d5. I like e5 better. In blitz like to gain time on the clock and throw a curveball with h5.

 

1.g4 is perhaps the worst possible opening move. Since most people don't ever play it, I suppose it can surprise your opponent - and if I remember correctly I think there are some clever traps that can result from it. But yes, almost anything else would be better.

two time Hawaii State Champion, Clyde Nakamura, has used the Queen Pawn Grob with great effectiveness in his play.  it actually has quite a history.

here is a link to his article

http://ability-tw.com/online/chess/1221.shtml

 

I have successfully played "The Grob" a few times. I think it can be very tricky - especially against tactical and intermediate players who immediately dismiss it and then find themselves down a piece. Look at the games of Henry Grob - they are clever and fun - and there is a lot to be said for that.

 That said - when you play it you certainly feel poorly positioned - and if the  game develops without a quick material advantage you might have a lot of issues.

 

I love the Grob.  All of you negators are haters!  Sure there are better openings, but this is awesome for the tactical player.  So many traps...

Some openings are worth playing purely for their shock value or because they lead your opponent off into unfamiliar territory. If you learn one of the lesser known openings inside and out like nobody else has ever learned it before you can use it with great effectiveness against almost anybody. 

You'd better hope Bill Wall doesn't come across this thread!

Everyone should play TheGrobe.

Er, not at once.

 

Incidentally, Bill Wall cleaned my clock with the Grob a while back in Live Chess.

I wonder why...

I've played against the reverse grob once, and I thought black did pretty well until, halfway through the game, he seemed to lose interest in winning. I've never played against it as white though. I think the main difficulty in playing it is that it demands different opening principles which most people choose not to learn.

 

Incidentally, I am looking for a new opening as white...

KillaBeez wrote: I wonder why...

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Why he played the Grob against me or why he beat me?  I have little doubt about the former and no doubt about the latter.

 

Truth be told, I didn't even know there was such an opening when I chose my user name.

Henri Grob was a Swiss International Master who played hundreds of Grobs.  Internationl Master Michael Basman (2350) has played it dozens of times successfully in international competition.  Grandmaster Paul Keres played the Grob.  Grandmaster George Koltanowski played the Grob.  Grandmaster Spyridon Skembris (2450), four-time Greek champion plays the Grob.  Bill Wall and FIDE master Tim Wall play the Grob.  IM Gerard Welling plays the Grob.  Sam Sloan plays the Grob (OK, that might not count).  Kurt Richter played the Grob.  There's about 1,000 published Grob games that I have collected so far.

Hi,

sorry if its way down, could some one help me on what G-r-o-b means> thanks a bunch.  

Oh my, i really did not know it was called for that. now that's cool hehe. g4?! - ....

The grob hmm

I said it before and I will say if often.  If you get into a pattern in opening, you will find yourself making moves without paying attention to your player.  It is important not to assume any opening.  The grob is very useful.  The "standard" opening really is only when both players think there is a "standard".

i played a game with the grob today and my opponent resigned in 5 moves after losing a rook.  played again (against someone else) and won that one as well.

Some people play  it religously while others use it as a surprise tactic in tournaments. 1.g4 isn't the worst move to make, it'sjust kinda dangerous because your kingside can get messed up if you don't know what you're doin.

AnthonyCG wrote: Some people play  it religously while others use it as a surprise tactic in tournaments. 1.g4 isn't the worst move to make, it'sjust kinda dangerous because your kingside can get messed up if you don't know what you're doin.

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 Ok, I guess I was a bit harsh with what I said earlier. Obviously the Grob has it's defenders. As a response to the "great masters have played it" theme - and I mean absolutely no disrespect to Mr. Bill Wall, who I understand is a very accomplished and well respected chess player and author - I did a search on www.chessgames.com for games that Keres won as white. Out of 580 such games listed on that website, Keres played the Grob once. Once. Specifically, Keres vs Niemann, 1934. The rest of the time he played the Queen's gambit, English opening, Ruy Lopez, Giuoco piano, etc. It seems that Keres much preferred moves like 1.e4 and 1.d4 rather than 1.g4. 

Clearly, 1.g4 is not "horrible" as the OP stated nor is it "the worst possible move" as I originally said. It has its merits, and others in this thread have explained those so I will not reiterate what they've said. But I still think it would be fair to say that out of white's 20 possible opening moves, 1.g4 is definitely not his best choice.