There is life in outer space...
Check this to get some intersting information on the pros and cons of 1.a3:

http://sverreschesscorner.blogspot.com/search/label/1.a3

After all with White all moves are playable


motörhead

If you're just looking to avoid theory, play something sound, but uncommon on the first move, like f4 or Nc3.

KoKko wrote on 02/23/10 at 13:35:19:


Then the Rini Kuijf Opening definitely is for you. As he pointed out any early pawn move gives away information, so play 1.Nc3 ...(anything but b5) 2.Nb1. As the Dutch master himself formulated: White keeps on benefiting from pawn moves he has not played yet.
You should be strong as industrial diamond here.

KoKko wrote on 02/19/10 at 22:55:15:

BPaulsen wrote on 02/19/10 at 22:59:24:

My advice: go the other extreme. Develop a highly aggressive gambit repertoire with White. Promise yourself to play it for a year. This what I did myself a long time ago, it is extremely liberating. Don't worry about being a pawn down, concentrate on development, open lines, attack, activity, threats... Even if your opponent defends well, you can usually convert the initiative to a drawn endgame (which is educational in itself). The point is to learn to play with the initiative. Perhaps you will drop in rating during that period. But perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised.

KoKko wrote on 02/23/10 at 13:35:19:


Post of the year. Already. For so many reasons.

Bibs wrote on 02/22/10 at 07:35:39:


Hm, take a look at that impressive (to my - weird? - mind) Karpov - Illescas-game I posted in the thread "Tarrasch with black and white" in the 1.d4 d5-section. There you can see how a sophisticated waiting policy unfolds. Karpov played a2-a3 - only superficially a no-move. Now it was black to move. Illescas used it with Be7-f8, which slightly weakens the command on f6 and so at the end Qd8-d7 wasn't possible.
You may laugh on this reflections and call it overstretched. But make up your mind a bit. 
I have the feeling, that if you would not conceed slight or severe tactical mistakes in a game against Karpov (I don't know how strong you are - I quite surely would lose that simple way), that would be the way he walks to outplay you. I believe, these are the sublte reasons, why a position slides in the orcus.
So, to use your metaphore, it is not like taking this bus or the next, because these busses allways take the same routes. It's much more of choosing between own feet, bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus, train, ballon, propeller plane, jet, jumbo or even a bungy-rope - depending on the traffic situatiation and how the street is built and how the wheather is etc and with you in the driver's seat... and sometimes it's like the Chinese saying: If you are in a hurry, take the detour...

TN wrote on 02/22/10 at 04:40:28:


Studies allways help. And so I'm not surprised that you uncovered the chess solution: That's why the Colle-Koltanovski-Opening dominates the international scene. It crashes through what ever black does - e3-e4xd5 - Bxh7+ - win.
To save our beloved game, we in the woods secretly founded the "rimsters connection (copyright)". Deliberately we assault the basics with the rimster moves a2-a3 or h2-h3. Doing so we generously give the first move to black who now can try to win with a reversed Colle - what a feeling. But we do so only to show the white's lead in development will be decisive anyway. 
For the adventurous players we have the more active h2-h4 in the pipeline or the restraining a2-a4

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 02/22/10 at 14:02:06:

 
I don't feel, that's the right way to sum it up. To avoid theory does not mean to throw away all the knowledge about the center an development etc. As once for Réti and Nimzovich it is infact the unchangeable core of the game. To avoid all theory would really mean to pass over all knowledge, to make your living only on the edge. Simply impossible, as a knight on the rim only commands two to four squares in comparison with eight in or near the center, likewise it is with the queen, the bishop and normall the rook too to some extend (okay, on an cleared board he commands fourteen sqaures from ervery position on the board).

So again it is a game of information - to me it is quite impressive that KID is nearly in a better shape than the KIA which should be up due to the extra move. But in reality you may find variations, where black is better preparded due being a move down. You can find it in one of my earlier posts.

Not to be misunderstood. I don't call 1.h3 to be ready to achive an oscar. It does nearly nothing for white, as it commands only one new square. There is no move with a lesser result. So it by far can't stand the richness of 1.e4 (comanding at once 10 new squares - as does 1.e3...) or 1.d4 (9). But as posted there are some meager effects to the good anyhow. And the more you push against it with black the more you risk to rush over the edge. Quite normal chess.
White is not obliqued to play the pawns in the center. As Réti wasn't (but his 1.Nf3 at least touches four new squares) any other is, but he is even allowed to push his rimsters. 

And then he can try to swing back in black's openings, after browsing through the heavy theory (as you called it), and there use the extra move. Don't forget, that black quite regularlly survives even the heaviest opening blows 1.e4 or 1.d4.
Theoretically 1.h3 doesn't work in the sense of winning, I think (1.d5!), but neither does it loose. But a substantially stronger player would win a match against a weaker because he has a better feeling for the pros and cons of the moves. That's what I learn from playing with my chess pupils - I allways loose

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 02/22/10 at 14:02:06:


1.e3 is absolutely okay - see above, 1.c3 too but theoretically to a lesser degree. With 1.Na3 you again touch the "Reflex-Theorem". What to do after 1...e5? Is 2...Bxa3 a threat? Damages the white structure but conceeds the bishops. But black has the opportunity, to play for a closed position to tame the bishops and give a friendly environment for the knights. Possible? Don't know. Does white have to play 2.b3 or, with Alekhine in mind, 2.Nc4?
But take that idea with black. I once played 1.d4 Na6 2.e4 c6. I think, it's called De Bruyckers Opening. Now 3.Bxa6 will not damage black's structure cause there is 3...Qa5+ possible after d2-d4 has weakened the a5-e1-diagonal. 4.Nc3  Qxa6 Nevertheless white can play this, the queen isn't too pretty on a6. But perhaps 4.c3 is better?! (fluid pawns)
This again shows what I mean. It's all about the informations. So 1.c3 e5 2.g3 d5 and only now 3.Na3. 
But you may laugh on me, I think in the black version the second player can better accomodate to that as white in the reverse version because white has yet shown more informations (g2-g3 was played)...

cheese

SF, TN may well have been 'joking'.
That said, with chess players, on a chess forum, it is not always easy to tell. Ho hum.

Don't get this at all.

It's like your bus arrives. 
But you decide, 'Nah, don't think so. I'll get the next one instead'.