What I do is play 1 e4, c5; 2 c4. In this way, I transpose into a Symmetrical English, Botvinnik Variation. In this line, usually both sides do a Kingside fianchetto and if Black decides to develop his Bishop on e7 or anywhere else along that diagonal, I`m OK. with that, too. This idea has served me well even in USCF correspondence games. In OTB games, my opponents (usually newer younger players) seem to get a bit flustered because they now have to play a more positional game instead of a more "wide open" Sicilian.
When people play the Sicilian against me, I play the craziest moves to get them out of book lines.
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And that's a bad decision. Out of the book moves in an opening like the Sicilian isn't really a good idea.
Sep 27, 2017
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#24
I only try to get out of the book early when I'm playing a daily player - who legally has access to databases, Otherwise there is a tried and true reason for the book or, better, for the ideas behind the variations, which allows me to play possible non-book moves that are still in the spirit of the opening.
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I play the wing gambit all the time. It gets me into trouble sometimes, but it's fun.
People who don't take the time to know the openings they play inside and out run the risk of being thrown for a loop by a move they didn't expect because they thought it was "bad", but when they don't know how to reply to show that that move is bad, they get embarrassed, and it's hilarious.
To BobbyTalparov: May I suggest that you examine the Botvinnik Variation and see that the Knight on g1 gets developed to e2 and covers that "hole" on d4. Give me your home address and I will, free of charge, send you a series of articles written by a USCF Correspondence and OTB Master, Herb Hickman. For the record, about 30 years ago, I did achieve an OTB USCF rating of 1764 and I currently have a USCF Correspondence rating of 2110. Just curious, what are your numbers?
I don`t need to know BobbyTalparov`s actual name. I just wanted to share with him the articles on the Symmetrical English and I was curious if he had a USCF Correspondence and/or OTB rating. His information in the reply note is interesting. It is noted that these various "surprize" moves may be theoretically lacking and even may take a beating statistically, but, at least in my experience, it has worked out reasonably well. A high ranking USCF Expert friend of mine, Lev Zilbermintz, who is a member of my club in West Orange, NJ, plays a lot of somewhat risky lines in both online and regular OTB events, even against Masters and he has claimed a lot of scalps in the process. Against those over 2400 he does play a little more conservatively.
Who else agrees with me?
To attempt to summarize what others have indicated: agreement or disagreement depends on the degree of craziness and also on the quality of one's opponents. It is reassuring if you are successful for now, but it might be necessary to be less crazy if you face stronger players in the future.