Please help me with my black repertoire when my opponent doesn't play 1. e4

During the 2019 Autumn Marathon (3+2 • Rated • Blitz) there was a IM in the top 100 that played these 50 openings. I extracted the opening name from each game to discover what was most used during a 3+2 marathon. Too much work extracting each players opening names to discover which is used the most. Openings are created by two players, they transpose a pawn structure into a known opening. The ECO Volume A: Flank openings look used often for this blitz marathon. It would have been nice to know which volume was used the most for a particular time control.

A00 Polish Opening
A02 Bird Opening
A04 Réti Opening
A04 Réti Opening
A04 Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation
A04 Zukertort Opening: Slav Invitation
A05 King's Indian Attack: Symmetrical Defense
A09 Réti Opening
A09 Réti Opening: Advance Variation
A13 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Catalan Defense Accepted
A14 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined
A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Indian Forma
A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Indian Formati
A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Old Indian Form
A17 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld
A17 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld
A33 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variatio
A38 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchett
A43 Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense
A45 Indian Game: Reversed Chigorin Defense
A45 Indian Game: Tartakower Attack
A45 Trompowsky Attack: Poisoned Pawn Variation
A57 Benko Gambit
A96 Dutch Defense: Classical Variation, Buenos Aires Variation
B90 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation
C25 Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Hamppe-Allgaier Gambit
C29 Vienna Game: Vienna Gambit, Modern Variation
C46 Four Knights Game: Italian Variation
C50 Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Normal
C55 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening
C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubov Variation
C65 Ruy Lopez Defense, Halloween Attack
C65 Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense
D02 Queen's Pawn Game: London System
D07 Queen's Gambit Refused: Chigorin Defense, Main Line
D14 Slav Defense: Exchange Variation, Symmetrical Line
D94 Grünfeld Defense: Smyslov Defense
E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional V
E32 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation
E40 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Line
E42 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Hübner Variation, Rubinstein Variation
E46 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation
E73 King's Indian Defense: Semi-Averbakh System
E91 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation

Take a look at The Dark Knight System (TDKS), 1. ... Nc6 against nearly everything (except against 1.f4 Bird-Opening). Its a serious recommendation (no joke) for an amateur and hobby player.

Here are some study links:
lichess.org/study/BHWwnFkZ
lichess.org/study/brmxYA19
lichess.org/study/pBeadSSS
lichess.org/study/xLtWz4NY


There is (still young) Lichess team for this opneing system lichess.org/team/nc6-team-of-lichess .

And my (German) website www.moritex.de .

I play it for years, with an actual performance about 77% (not so bad with Black :-) ).

Hm...

I don't quite understand it. There is a way to walk around it and I rarely lose aginst the Nymzovich system. Against d4 it looks good for Blitz and Rapid, but I almost don't play d4 as a first move and from Nf3 it transposes into Nymzovich. Same as with e4. No opening works against every player and you have to have a variety of opening moves to progress.

Then again, I keep complaining I spend hours per day studying chess theory and lose against players who don't play punctual theoretical moves. I have never played a main line beyond the 10th move even in the super complex Semi-Slav and of course, it frustrates me when I can't refute a move out of theory. So it is a question why am I even on Lichess when I don't play the chess I wanna play and don't get the games I want to get. I even no longer have fun winning unless it's been a complex game or an instructive one to me.

Play what makes you umcomforta bleas white. Everypne play s d4 at certain times.

Semi-slav is natural moves against d4, and versatile. Then it has some fun sharp lines about 7-8 moves in. Easier to learn than QGD, which is like squeezing blood from a turnip.
I am so sick of people playing e4 (me e5) and then Nf3. All those scotch and italians and ruys get tedious. So I have taken to more risky stuff, like latvian gambit or russian (petroff) just to have some variety.

I settled for the slav defence. I think most white players hate to face it and go into the exchange out of desparation :)

I also play the open ruy lopez. "yes he played a6 i finally get my favorite position, no berlin :D!" Seconds later: "Nooo he took on e4 nevertheless" ;)

Just a pure pleasure to read an interesting topic with great contributions of everyone.

I agree with #25. If your having trouble vs QG play a slav opening. Its solid and some may call it boring for black but you can easily equalize. That way you wont have to learn a ton of theory againist Qg. I have had r eally good success with slav and Nimzo. If i m playing som eone higher rated for the first time I use tge semi slav to avoid tricky lines they may throw at me. If I wan na go into deep theory I play the nimzo.

@TheDudeAbides

Well, the Botvinnik System isn't boring and requires a lot of theory. Basically out to the 30th move in some lines. This is very complex, requires a sacrifice in the opening as well. If you wanna walk around it and play the Moscow, you may enter another crazy opening, the Anti-Moscow Gambit. And there you have nowhere to hide from theory, it's even more difficult. Furthermore, the Exchange of the Slav rather puts you in French-Defense-like positions and also isn't very pleasant, unless you can play it well.