"Terry" wrote in message
oups.com...
What is the best way to practice a defence using Chessmaster? I am not
very good at chess. I have been practicing black. I have chosen to
learn the Sicilian defence. I was doing this online when I was playing
Blitzin with a guest account.

The main reason I would like to learn more about the Sicilian defence
is more to throw players of my skill level off.

I get off to a good start most of the time.

The two things that give the most trouble are when they castle queen
side, and players that answer

1.e4 c5
2.Nc3 Nc6
3.f4

When this happens I know I am playing a strong player.

Any suggestions on how to become more familiar with this opening?

I have tried using the openings to learn but I would have to also learn
what each variation is called.

I have also tried playing myself and getting advice for each move. How
can I get chessmaster to offer playing another move than the one it
picks?

ChessMaster recommends........... Can I say. don't do that one
recommend another one?

Go into the database and do a position search for those moves. Chessmaster
will bring up any games that have that position and you can play through
them to see how other people handled the game from there.

Also, you can play games yourself from this position against Chessmaster and
then have it analyze the game when you're done. Chessmaster will suggest
moves, etc, which you can compare with the ones you made.

JS