I am probably not skilled enough for the Sicilian but I am opposed to E4 E5

@ThunderClap said in #38:

... There are many platers including the best that played moves other than 1...e5 at times even when a beginner to learn a bit more at times .
"... everyone is different, so what works for one person may likely fail with another ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
Perhaps, it is not necessarily a good idea to try to imitate what worked for a person who went on to be one of the best.
@ThunderClap said in #38:
Yes we all know the Russian school of Chess but ...
"... There is an abundance of openings, ... Which of them do you select, ...
It would be wrong if you let your choice be dictated by what our leading players play most often. Bear in mind the great importance of playing in just the way that suits you, the way that is to your liking. ...
All players have their own tastes in chess. Some like to attack, to sacrifice, to play combinations. ... But then again there are those lovers of chess who like a manoeuvring game, who are not averse to defending. ...
In general, for players who don't yet possess much tournament experience, settling on open games is most suitable. The strategic ideas of these systems are clearer and simpler than those of half-open and closed games. ..." - The Soviet Chess Primer
@ThunderClap said in #38:
... I myself believe one should try to play many varied positions & as far as I can see # even the ones like myself who learned the Classical or Russian ways can try to BROADEN the views on Training . 1... e5 is great but as players grow they should know almost all these Openings a bit as well.
"... To begin with, settle on one or two openings that you will play with White, and one or two that you will play with Black. ..." - The Soviet Chess Primer
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
@ThunderClap said in #38:
Look at the higher IM's GMs when they look at games . They study the Opening mid & endgames but also varied Openings weapons in Complete Games . I've seen all the comments on lessening the load or Burden but I look at it as LIMITING the endless scope of happiness that comes from Playing Studying & learning everything a human can TRY to learn . ...
"... How should we lay the foundations of our opening repertoire? It is hard to come up with a single answer to satisfy every player. Individuals will have different objectives in the opening, as well as different playing strengths. Nevertheless, to all players I can recommend the following: simplicity and economy. These are the characteristics of the opening systems of many great masters. They do not strain unduly for advantages in the opening; they would just as soon move on to the next phase of the game, hoping their skill will overcome the opponent in the middlegame or endgame. ... the most complicated variations demand huge amounts of time for home analysis, time available only to professional chess players. ..." - GM Lajos Portisch (1974)
@Sarg0n said in #39:
Do you know the Sicilian, the „cheap trick“?
"... [1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6] Almost everybody plays [3 d4]. But isn't this a positional error? I am not joking. I like my center pawns, and I like a [d-pawn] better than a [c-pawn]! I know that sometimes White sacrifices a Knight on [d5] or [e6] and smashes Black before he can castle, but in those games where this has been done, haven't improvements always been found for Black afterwards? Well then, isn't [3 d4] something like a cheap trap? I know it can be combined with purely strategical ideas, but I find it easier to discuss strategy when I have an extra center pawn! I cannot explain where I first got this idea, but I had it before I was Danish Champion and regularly playing [3 Bb5+]. ..." - GM Bent Larsen (1974)
@Sarg0n said in #39:
Once again we have to summon old master Michael Stean. It's 47 years old! Could be written yesterday.
"Minority attacks derive from the Pawn structure, Pawn structures derive from the opening. Go back to the eras of Capablanca and Alekhine and you will see Queen's Gambits, hoards of them, with hoards of minority attacks descending from them. Nowadays [1978; still relevant] the Sicilian Defense is all the rage. Sicilians here, Sicilians there, Sicilians absolutely everywhere. ..."
"... In 1978, Stean authored the first edition of Simple Chess, ... Stean's work ... will definitely help players in the general rating range of 1300-2000 with their positional play and strategic thinking. ..." - Jonathan Winer (2003)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf
Sarg0n quoted from the fifth chapter of that seven-chapter book. It does not seem clear to me that GM Stean intended to give opening-selection advice to below-1300 players. On the other hand:
"... With Black only the [1...e5] defense should be adopted on [1 e4]. ... As a rule [defenses which do not begin with 1...e5] are more complicated and require a greater knowledge of position play. ... none can be recommended for the inexperienced player, ..." - GM Reuben Fine (1941)

As I said try the dark-squared Czech. It‘s a better e4/e5.

@Finnfinity said in #2:

May I recommend the Caro Kann?

I finally played my first Caro Kann game and I am thoroughly disgusted. Intrigued but disgusted nonetheless. I didnt play the best but when i was watching a couple caro kann videos something about it seemed to draw me in. Ideally i would like to be a positional player that squeeks out advantages here and there. I could be wrong but it seems like thats what the caro kann is trying to accomplish...of course I didnt exactly do that here

For what it is worth, this was a VERY atypical Caro-Kann game. For all that, you seemed to be getting by until you played 10...h5. 10...Nxc3 would have been better.

Totally relate to this! I had the same feeling when trying to learn the Sicilian – it felt chaotic and punishing when I didn’t follow the theory precisely.

What helped me was visualizing the main Sicilian lines like a tree – seeing how each move branches into different ideas (Najdorf, Dragon, Classical...) made it easier to understand the logic behind each move, instead of just memorizing.

I’ve started mapping out opening trees visually to help with this. I’m actually working on a project that turns complex openings into visual charts for easier learning – the Sicilian is on my list! Check https://mychessposters.com/

If you’re interested, I can PM you once it’s ready

I started to play sicilian at the 870 blitz rating

@kindaspongey said in #44:

For what it is worth, this was a VERY atypical Caro-Kann game. For all that, you seemed to be getting by until you played 10...h5. 10...Nxc3 would have been better.

Yeah I was watching videos on the fishing pole tactic and thought I had it there. I don't know why I tried to play positional then do some crazy sacrifice line I didn't even calculate fully. To be honest I was already shocked when he played F4 and didnt know what to do. Its like I know I missed a slight advantage somewhere else and try to make up for it. Idk but it's a bad habit

There IS a standard MCO line, 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Bxc6 dxc6 5 O-O Bg4 6 h3 h5, but I myself would be very reluctant to try to play like that in an unfamiliar setting. After 1 e4 c6, 2 f4 is indeed a pretty shocking choice to have to face.

I recently had this problem but then I found the Corn Stalk Defense. It's not a good opening, but it's very fun.