Grob's opening:Alternatives to 1..d5

What do you think are the best alternatives to 1..d5 in the Grob's?

but some players are not prepared to play 1...g5. They are just not that type of players.

1...f5 is the worst possible response. 1...g5 is second-worst, because of 2.h4.

2.h4? ohmygod!

not convincing?

Correct, that's not convincing at all.  You gave the other side terrible moves, as over-zealous opening debaters tend to do.

What terrible moves? The rook is under attack. If Nf3 then e4. White cannot castle, and black has a big pawn center.

Stop trolling this thread.

What, you can't be bothered to look at your own 'analysis' critically and find better moves for the other side?

For starters, 1...gxh4 is a positional concession.  Black is allowing White to exchange a RP for a NP, and Black's structure is now weakened to boot (2 islands vs. 1)  There is no need to immediately recapture the pawn on h4.  How about staking a claim in the center instead?

I never claimed that White's advantage is huge, or even that White has any advantage at all.  Just that 1...g5 is a poor response to 1.g4.

I normaly play 1. ...e5 and 2. ... h5 against the Grob. It leads to a more positonal game where black often has pressure over the open h-file. Added advantage is that not many grob players know it. 

At least Basman was smart enough to realize that after 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2? Bxg4 white's bluff is not going to work, and opted for 2.h3, which is not exactly the prettiest move in the world, but at least it keeps white in the game.

I like 1...d5, mainly because 2.Bg2 is a huge positional lemon. Giri's play was not totally convincing, but it was a rapid game, after all. For one thing, I do not know what is wrong with 1.g4 d5 2.h3 e5 3.Bg2 h5!?

Basman has lost all games he met it as White, the correspondence games score is awful for white, and engines scream with joy about Black's position...

Handling the position for Black after 2...Bxg4 is both very simple, and very safe. You just answer 3.c4 with 3...c6, and ignore the threat towards your b7 pawn completely- just develop with ...Nf6, ...e6, and answer an eventual Qxb7 with ...Nbd7.

However, do play whatever you like.

Thank you, that got my first grin of the day.

Grob does Not work! 

There are some lines after 3.c4 which seem difficult to navigate, at least for 1800 players. Can you post variations about why you think this is a bluff?

stop posting junk. White is never going to play 2.f4

Ironic that you asked him to stop posting junk on a thread about the Grob.

After 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 Nf6 5.Qb3 cxd5 6.Qxb7 Nbd7 White's queen is very vulnerable to attacks, while 6.Nc3 e6 Black has a solid position and can soon castle kingside to safety while White's king is vulnerable in the center.  The Grob is an amateur's blitz weapon at absolute best (and other openings do a better job and are more sound), and just plain bad at worst.

The line at #35 pretty much sums up all you have to know as Black, and all in #36 pretty much sum um what a moron is doing to kill his time..

thanks!