A friend of mine is good friends with an IM. The IM showed him a position he had found which computers analyze incorrectly, which he was waiting to use in a ma

A friend of mine is good friends with an IM. The IM showed him a position he had found which computers analyze incorrectly, which he was waiting to use in a match. It arises form the Open Sicilian, but fairly deep in. It's been about 10 years since he showed it to me, and AFAIK he still hasn't been able to use it. I've since forgotten the position, but I did find that it had occurred many times in GM play, just not for him. Part of that is likely that he's well known for being good at the Open Sicilian, so people he plays are likely to avoid it. I asked him how long it took him to find such a position, which was met with laughter and a statement to the affect of "Way more than I want to admit". Which led us into a discussion of the obvious, that it's great to find such situations, but you can't rely on them. Even if he ever gets to use it, he only gets to use it once, after that, everyone will know about it. So, not only does he have to wait for the position to occur, but he'll only use it in a game that really matters. There are many books on "opening traps", and every one that I've read always has the disclaimer that it's not at all good to rely on these, it's only a good idea to be familiar with them so you don't fall for them. And, on the off chance that you do gain an advantage, you still have to convert that into a win. We didn't actually play a game from the position mentioned above, but we did discuss it, and it's pretty clear I'd still get my *ss handed to me against an IM.