ok, so I've been thinking, and I thought
wow, i'm not going to erase that...
redundancy at it's finest
anyway...
I am considering playing 1. a3 at an upcoming tournament...
I have found that I do not yet know how to take advantage of white's starting initiative... and that I generally play better as black...
I want to play 1. a3 so that I can play my Caro-Kann (if 1. ... e5) without wasting a move preventing a queen/bishop check on b4
haven't decided yet, but I want to see when this will be bad
for example, at the current level I play at, 1400-ish OTB, the iniative really isn't that important...
Question being: at what rating do players really starting some positive effects from that 1 half move advantage?
That's hard to quantify, but looking at a lot of games on RHP, the club and other sites, I start to see players capitalizing on sub-pawn advantages somewhere around 1900 or so. That's a bit arbitrary, but on average you see 1900+ games start to become less about advantages worth a pawn or more, and those are usually because they lost a pawn or worse.
That said, I don't think the idea of simply throwing away the small advantage makes any sense; after all, chess is about accumulating advantages. If you had the initiative, more active pieces, better pawn structure, etc. you'd have a substantial advantage. Why throw any part of it away? Use the initiative to get your pieces active and work from there.
IMO
Originally posted by rubberjaw30IF you really want to play the Caro, why not just start out c3, d4?
ok, so I've been thinking, and I thought
wow, i'm not going to erase that...
redundancy at it's finest
anyway...
I am considering playing 1. a3 at an upcoming tournament...
I have found that I do not yet know how to take advantage of white's starting initiative... and that I generally play better as black...
I want to play 1. a3 so that I can pla ...[text shortened]... t rating do players really starting some positive effects from that 1 half move advantage?
Not only can black not prevent these moves, but you might actually be a move ahead of your usual development.
Originally posted by DeitySpeaking of giving away the initiative, I was reading over an old game last night between St. Amant and Staunton. In this game (as was common practice in Europe at the time), the first move was decided by a coin toss, regardless of color. St. Amant had Black and move, and Staunton worked it into a Tarrasch Defense with the colors reversed. Anyway, just thought the practice was interesting.
So you just want to throw away the first move initiative?
I really really think thats a bad idea.
But see if it works out, save some of the games you play like that i would love to see what happens.
Good luck lol
Originally posted by kmac27how is 1. a3 unsound?
the opening is a fight for the center not who can make the most unsound moves...
it violates EVERY principle of the opening, but like gaychessplayer said...
it cuts study time in half...
when/if I get good enough, say the 1900 bar someone mentioned, I can start playing 1. e4 again, move on to 1. d4 , 1. c4 or even the 1. c3 someone mentioned...
First, saying you have to be such level before you can play 1.e4 or 1.c4 is stupid.
Second, 1. a3 makes it easier for your opponent, not you.
Third, if you want to improve, then avoiding your problems is not going to help you at all.
It is understandable that you don't want to walk into someone's opening preparation, but let me tell you a secret. They are just as clueless as you.
Originally posted by rubberjaw30Once you're about 1600/1700 and people stop dropping pieces so often you'll find that center control can be important...
how is 1. a3 unsound?
it violates EVERY principle of the opening, but like gaychessplayer said...
it cuts study time in half...
when/if I get good enough, say the 1900 bar someone mentioned, I can start playing 1. e4 again, move on to 1. d4 , 1. c4 or even the 1. c3 someone mentioned...
Originally posted by Zander 88They are just as clueless as you.
First, saying you have to be such level before you can play 1.e4 or 1.c4 is stupid.
Second, 1. a3 makes it easier for your opponent, not you.
Third, if you want to improve, then avoiding your problems is not going to help you at all.
It is understandable that you don't want to walk into someone's opening preparation, but let me tell you a secret. They are just as clueless as you.
This is so true...