how to manage against unexpected moves by the opponent?

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ANoteableOpponent
Hey so I’m currently rated 900 but i have been having trouble, particularly in the openings dealing with players that throw out the most unexpected moves that ( like developing their queen early or completely disregarding center control) these kinds of moves really throw me off-guard and make it difficult to follow memorized opening lines, what should I do?
KeSetoKaiba

Opening Principles are fundamental to that state of the chess game and will help you not be clueless against moves you haven't encountered: https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again

As for exploiting moves you suspect are "bad", I actually made a YouTube video a few months ago on this topic happy.png

M_Chavez
ANoteableOpponent wrote:
 make it difficult to follow memorized opening lines, what should I do?

Don't memorise lines.

Duckfest
ANoteableOpponent wrote:
Hey so I’m currently rated 900 but i have been having trouble, particularly in the openings dealing with players that throw out the most unexpected moves that ( like developing their queen early or completely disregarding center control) these kinds of moves really throw me off-guard and make it difficult to follow memorized opening lines, what should I do?

After looking at several of your recent losses, my conclusion is that none of them where lost because your opponent threw you off-guard. On average you disregard opening principles just as much as your opponents, your biggest weakness being that you don't develop your pieces in time. And the only early Queen move I could find was a game where you played it.

Other than that, your main problem is resigning games in perfectly playable positions.

ANoteableOpponent
I resigned those games because they had often snagged an early pawn or two and took over the center almost instantaneously
BlackCatM

You should not resign because you are down a pawn or two. I know it isn't the question you asked. There is a tournament daily game right now which has been in progress for two years, where white only has a king and can't prevent black from queening his one remaining pawn, and white hasn't resigned.

I also looked at some of the games you lost. I saw one where your opponent had mate in two and you resigned, that's ok (but not necessary). Another you resigned because you were about to lose your rook. I understand the reaction but you could have played on. The other games I saw, you should not resign. Your opponent should prove he or she can checkmate you. In one case you had an extra minor piece when you resigned. With an extra piece you can get back control of the center.

maafernan

Hi! It is not easy to reply. If the move was not expected by you, then you would most probably be surprised. First you should try to deal with this emotion quickly and relax. Then you should get back to your thinking process and find your next move. This will be easier the more skilled you are at chess.

So no cutting corners available. You need to improve little by little your chess skills, then you will find better ways to react to the unexpected moves of your opponents.

If you are interested in how to improve, please see my post on the link below:

https://www.chess.com/blog/maafernan/chess-skills-development

Good luck!

RussPlaysBad

I usually call them cheaters and then rage-quit.