Consider openings such as 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 or 1. e4 e5 2. Bb5 or 1. d4 d5 2. e4 or 1. d4 e5. And there are endless other examples of non-standard and unorthodox openings. The folks who play these types of openings tend to fall into certain categories.
The Patzer: These are folks who are looking to surprise you but don’t necessarily play chess very well. Because they don’t play chess very well, one could use the opportunity to either attempt a transposition into standard openings or perhaps play something that is a bit non-standard right back.
The Master: These are folks with a much higher rating than you. Perhaps several hundred points or more. They are bored of Ruy Lopez and Sicilian Defense and see you as easy pickings no matter what they play. You could strive for positions that are familiar to you. Or try to play something that is not the best line theoretically, but still reasonable sound. For 98.5% of chess players, it just doesn’t matter.
The Flabbergaster: This is a person who has studied a non-standard opening in exquisite detail. They just relish the thought of you playing into their main lines that they’ve studied out to move twenty. Of relevance is the amount of energy that you could invest to study such lines in advance or the level of focus required during over-the-board play. That just zaps your energy. Again, perhaps a good strategy is to either transpose to standard openings if possible or you can look for a move that is not best but still assures equality or near equality. One must have a practical mindset.
Be wary of situations where lots of chess books cover the same line. For example, I have many books that cover the Alapin Opening and give the standard line 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 Nf6 3. f4 exf4 4. Nxf4 without considering any other options. If you’re playing black and your opponent plays 2. Ne2, they are either a Patzer, a Master, or a Flabbergaster. Perhaps the best approach is to either steer the game toward a standard opening or play something unexpected that is still reasonably sound.
I should add that I’m to a point where I care less about my rating and just want to avoid being bored. So in the above cases, I might even play something that is slightly dubious that has surprise value, as long as I think I have a reasonable shot at recovering later. Boredom is the enemy.
We’ll consider more specific examples in later posts. Stay tuned.