you keep players on their toes ! can not rely on just "knowing book" when playing you, or they'll quickly find themselves with a bad position.
Deviations from main lines
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Exactly, @HorsesGalore! Glad someone understands me! Masters and experts/CMs keep ridiculing me for my "horrible openings", but I drew and expert with one and have an 100% win rate with the other (8 or so games).
Mar 7, 2018
0
#4
you are not an unusual player, though those higher Rated want you to feel your approach to chess is wrong. don't listen to them ! there are non standard players in all ranks and can pose a major danger to others.
we must always take every position seriously or we'll quickly find ourselves on the short end of the stick !!
They like this
More than this because the first one has a name 
But the 1st is only .05 better on Stockfish!
And you are very much higher rated! A 2000? Wow! I'm about 1500.
Oh fine bye line!
Thanks Deirdre! I'll be sure to add that!
Mar 7, 2018
0
#8
Your gambit against the Scandinavian Defense crosses paths with my 1.Nc3 repertoire, so I must comment. 
If you want to avoid mainlines in favor of gambit-style play, then the pawn sacrifice on d3 is actually a good try. If black accepts the pawn with exd3, white gets decent ("almost-sufficient") compensation and can start making threats thanks to a modest lead in development.
The main issue is that black has several attractive ways to decline or sidestep the gambit. For example, after 1. e4 d5 2. d3 e6, I sure hope white knows how to play the King's Indian Attack vs. the French Defense. However, more natural is 3...e5.
I have found it difficult to convert any real advantage here if black refuses to take on d3. Too many lines result in a queen trade and most of the counterplay goes out the window. The resulting middlegames have a kind of "Exchange French" generic feel to them.
On a sidenote, you can avoid this problem with a 1.Nc3 move order:
Now if black takes en passant, you get the same your gambit accepted lines, and if black declines with Nf6, you have transposed into a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, which comes with its own special brand of venom.
Overall I think these positions are under-explored and probably fine overall. Not objectively good, but definitely better than the computer's first impression of it.
Actually the best move at 4. is to accept the gambit! Otherwise white is actually ahead!
Simple- white is threatening to exchange queens with Qxd8+ then Kxd8 0-0-0+. Be7 is passive and trading queens puts a rook on an open file.
Hey, I'm not the only one who wants to avoid an avalanche of theory! Don't say "for you". Make it general for the whole community!
It looks equal to me too. The rook does end up on the open file, but I do not think that's a big advantage, especially considering that black can challenge it in just a few moves.
And by ahead I mean a really tiny advantage. But it's still there. I suggest using one of these lines if you want to
1. Go home
2. Knock theory out of the park
3. Draw
Unless you are playing Bf4. Then play for a win 
You really do trust those engines, don't you, You Freaking Koala?
HorribleTomato wrote:
And by ahead I mean a really tiny advantage. But it's still there. I suggest using one of these lines if you want to
1. Go home
2. Knock theory out of the park
3. Draw
Fair enough.
Actually 1.5 is winning according to most people.
Tired of all the main lines? Want to try something new? I am that player who doesn't follow guidelines. Here are 2 of my Sicilian choices, both have my theory. Also some UNTESTED non-mainstream lines. Ask if you want to learn!
Sick of getting crushed since Sicilian players know more theory than you? Than try one of these two lines.
Wierd lines: NEVER OVER 1000 GAMES (known) NEVER less than -0.5, usually about -0.2. So it's ok, but there's no theory!