D4 vs E4

Actually with 1.e4 2.d4 is playable with every common move. Though the Danish can get really bad

I'm sure this has been beaten to death but I used to play e4 in the beginning, many of the games felt the same, pieces go to the same squares with the same objective. I enjoy slower and more strategic games which d4 offers and the pieces are a little more flexible when it comes to maneuvers, especially the Knights.

I also find that not as many people are familiar with 1.d4 and having been 1.e4 players in more open games they are uncomfortable from the start.

Let's look at the numbers: Allegedly 1. d4 is played by stronger players in order to play 'richer, deeper games'. That is true on lichess (Average rating for 1. d4 games: 1991, 1. e4: 1951) but if you look at 1. e4 c5 the average rating is pretty much even (1982). What lowers the average is that 1. e4 e5 is played by 1885 average players.

@Chillkroete77 Interesting, ...

Since you mentioned ..
1. e4 Players rated : 1951
1. d4 Players rated : 1991

Can you tell me the average ratings for these first moves :
1. c4 Players rated : _____
1. Nf6 Players rated : _____

I noticed that when black responds to the first move and it is not main line, the rating is lower than main line. It sounds normal. So is there a way to know the main line for the first 20 possible first moves for both pieces , and can you tell us how you came up with this average or median rating ...

Thanks...

@ezasucanget how about 1. e4 Nf6 2. d4?? Nxe4

Nf6 isn't very common and also stockfish says -.32 so it's still playable because of the development advantage. Also the CAPTCHA I had to do was a mate on f7 heh

Playing always only one opening is eating your favorite dish every day. For years. For decades.

You know what I mean.

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
-Bruce Lee

I had myself for a captcha

d4 is solid, e4 is fun.