Nf3 sounds good. His knight on d4 is threatened by my c4 pawn, so let's see what he does...

1. e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6

okay... i'm trying to visualize this.

1. e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5

a classic case of over-extension!! :-)

1. e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6

but it won't hurt you if I don't know how to take advantage!

lol... i keep thinking I can play e7 and disturb your kingside... so much for my visualization ability. I'll write a move in later today on this one and think about it. Considering f4 and some b3 scheme.

f4

so that makes:

1. e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6
7. f4

1 e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6
7. f4 exd5

1 e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6
7. f4 exd5
8. cxd5

1 e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6
7. f4 exd5
8. cxd5 dxe5

I think I'm going to be up a pawn...

could be... i haven't really though all of this through

1 e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6
7. f4 exd5
8. cxd5 dxe5
9. fxe5

but my intuition is like Alekhine's... during his alcohol phase (well, no, not even then... sigh)

lol

Mine is like Fischer's, at least the time after he lived in Iceland.

Hahahahaha

1 e4 c5
2. c3 nf6
3. e5 nd5
4. d4 e6
5. c4 nb6
6. d5 d6
7. f4 exd5
8. cxd5 dxe5
9. fxe5 Qxd5

I'm pretty sure I actually played Fischer on ICC once.

oh... you can't say that and stop... tell me more!

lol Hard to believe, I'm sure. I was such a recluse and never used any account that anyone would recognize.

okay... i'm all ears... how does it go?

Back in 2001, Nigel Short claimed that Fischer was on ICC playing top players using "guest" accounts in pre-arranged meetings. Short said he was invited by an unknown world-class player throught an intermediary, not knowing who he was going to play. After getting beat the first eight games, Short asked the opponent if he had ever played a certain other player (name escapes me) and the opponent responded immediately with a city name and year (in the 60's, I think). Short checked and found that the city/year was the same as a match Fischer played with the guy. So, short was pretty sure it was Fischer he was playing.

Anyway...Short says that Fischer would occasionally use a completely assinine opening, 1....f6 followed by 2...Kf7 and 3...Ke6, exposing his king to attack, and then manage to win anyway.

So.... (more to follow)

ahhh...I found Nigel Short's account of the above on the internet, so you can read it if you're interested:
http://www.bobby-fischer.net/Bobby_Fischer_Articles51.html

great, thanks! so anyway, you played a player who started like a patzer and finished you off fast once he started playing?

So...I was playing on ICC at the time, but I was just a 1300 player. There was absolutely zero chance in this world that I would ever be invited to play Fischer. But I figured there was one very slim possibility of getting into a game with him. So I decided to try it.

I had always played opponents of around my own rating, because of the rating filtering procedure in the game creation for players with regular accounts. Instead, I started playing only against "guest" accounts. For a couple months, I got all the regular games you would expect, against players ranging from beginners to players who busted me up without breaking a sweat. I was kind of losing hope.

Then one night...

After resurfacing from oblivion, Fischer denied Short's claims that he played him in ICC... zing.

Then one night a game starts with me as Black. White opens with 1. f3 ? , followed by 2. kf2, and 3. kg3. This is five-minute blitz game, and I quickly type "So, you think you're Fischer?" No reply.

While I'm trying to simultaneously play a decent game, (choosing to develope fully instead of making attacks at his king that I'm sure he'd thwart) and keep my emotions in check, he pulls his king back, developes, and starts tearing me up...

Yeah, well, Fischer could say anything. And he often did.

Fischer is a champion and he speaks the truth

the only American to ever become World Champion

As he's closing in for the win, I said "Maybe you are Bobby Fischer". And his only words were "Don't call me Bobby". I sent back "Thanks for the game Mr. Fischer", to silence.