Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag

[Joey Stewart]

No, there has been no feline cruelty in the making of this topic, rather a thought I had based on the unusual openings discussions that go on here.

If you play slightly unusual openings, which have fairly solid refutations, and get a decent set of results how willing are you to share those refutations with other players. It becomes something of a conflict of interests when dealing with friends or pupils, as you dont want to feed them dodgy advice but at the same time have to be aware that you will ultimately have to answer for it either on the board or off (when they discover the true moves).

Anyone been in this sort of situation before and had to deal with it?

[Niall Doran]

I assume you're talking about openings that are dodgy but score well OTB? To be honest, if you're chatting with your club mates, you don't necessarily have to give away your whole repertoire. I've actually on occasion tried to show some risky lines to fellow players, but unless they play the exact same openings and variations as you do, they won't be that attentive.
I think you need to be especially careful with students though, as attacking but dodgy lines tend to be very attractive to players starting out. Who doesn't dream of a quick win?