I've got my chessboard n' pieces out and am going through some Sicilian lines on my database of annotated games today. If we end up playing a different move, it's not time wasted. Unless chess is a waste of time.

Even if it is, I don't care

I think Najdorf might be the way to go-- it's totally dynamic and still not "understood" or played out in theory-- which is why top GMs and Yahoo Patzers alike are playing it so much these days? It's definitely in style...

My name is Terry.

Chess is my passion, my Grandchildren are my joy.

I was born in Ontario, Canada (before chess was invented - I think I might be the oldest member of this team (58), so please give me just a little R_E_S_P_E_C_T (and yes, I LOVE Aretha Franklin), at least for my age, if not for my chess ability). I am now living in Eastern Canada (New Brunswick province).

I learned chess from my Dad at 13, and that first game was the only game I ever lost to him.

I didn't play any rated tournaments until my mid twenties and then only got as high as 1450 before I took up other pursuits (such as having and raising a family, playing the violin and building a career as a systems analyst/entrepreneur).

About 10 years ago I got Chessmaster and my computer has been my main opponent until last year when I joined this site and then recently started playing some on-line correspondence chess (I have discovered somewhat belatedly that I seem to do much better at the liesurely pace of a correspondence games than in a game with just 3 minutes per move).

Overall, I am probably the weakest player in this group, but hopefully I can offer some wisdom based on worldly experience and perhaps contribute to the middle-game analysis which was always the strongest part of my game.

My favorite players are Alekhine, Fischer and Josh Waitzkin (I loved the movie, searching for Bobby Fischer and his tutorial stuff that comes with Chessmaster).

My favorite openings are Ruy Lopez, Sicilian and Dutch. As for the specific variation of the Sicilian, I don't really have a favorite, I have not played a good percentage of the different lines in serious games, but I seem to have the most success in the variations where both bishops are fianchettoed.

And if you ever catch me rambling on ad nauseum ... just tell me to shut up, oh and by the way, you must be wondering about my strange handle, well TTLump stands for Terry The Lump, a nickname bestowed upon me by my girlfriend's (not the one who became my Wife) father when I was just 15.

Had enough yet?,

OK, you know what to do!

<All> A few more thoughts about our (likely) Sicilian and our second move alternatives if white plays Nf3.

(i) which open Sicilian variation do we ideally want to play? Sveshnikov requires Nc6, Najdorf requires d6, Kan requires e6, Scheveningen can probably be reached by any of the three. Personally I would be happy with <Jess>'s Najdorf, as long as there are people around who know the theory (I am not so well-versed in it myself).

(ii) Each of our second moves exposes us to different 3rd-move Anti-Sicilians. I will just list the ones that Rogozenko in his book thinks is worth a section (i.e. can be tricky). This is by and large borne out by their relative popularity in Opening Explorer. He does give lines against more obscure alternatives as well.

(a) if 2 ...d6, then 3.Bb5+, 3.Bc4 or 3.c3.

(b) if 2 ...Nc6, then 3.Bb5 or 3.Nc3 ("the only more or less dangerous ones"), also 3.b3 or 3.d3.

(c) if 2 ...e6, then 3.Nc3, 3.b3, 3.c4 or 3.d3 (KIA transposition); it is also worth noting that if 3.c3 we are already commited to c3 variations with e6, though there is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, at least Bb5 now looks silly.

As to Sveshnikov, it seems I'm the only one who likes it, but as with women I like it just because I don't understand nothing about it. I think it requires too much positional understanding.

So, ok, a brief description of myself, I'm 21, I study pharmacy, and chesswise I'm a sacrifice addict. :-)

We'll elect two substitutes, preferably living in two different timezones.

Canada - British Columbia - Vancouver Tue 2:43 AM
(Who ?)

<or>

U.S.A. - New York - New York Tue 5:43 AM
(swapmeet)
_______________________

Slovenia - Ljubljana Tue 11:43 AM
(The Alchemist)
________________________

TIME LIMIT for <TheAlchemist> is a half hour before deadline.

<TheAlchemist> has to post it before the time limit, if he fails then the pre-selected substitute should post the move.

Here is my idea..

Our deadline is dependent on the time our opponent post the move thus the deadline keeps changing.