I studied chess openings when I was a young man, but still feel ignorant about them. The trouble is that there are so many. I thought I knew them all until I browsed an online resource tonight and discovered three dozen different variations of the Sicilian. Argh! Yet the reality is that most players confine themselves to the most popular lines. I hardly ever encounter anything unusual, and that's just too bad. When someone does play something out of the ordinary, I respect that and appreciate being given the opportunity to learn.
The truth is I am a generalist. I know the first four moves of most openings, but little more than that. Despite my mediocre knowledge of chess openings, I find myself more than capable of holding my own against most players. My online rating has been hovering around 1900 of late, which I think is good enough for me. I think that if it had been in the cards for me to become a master, that would have happened already. And besides, there's no financial incentive, and getting very good simply means fewer people can enjoy a game with you.
My pet peeve with online chess has to be sore losers. Other than that, I love online chess. But every once in a while, one encounters a player who is drunk and spoiling for an argument with a stranger. My policy is to ban 'em and forget 'em. Life's too short to devote any time to buttheads.
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