What to play against 1.e4

I've been playing the french against e4 since the beginning of my chess journey, but now I'm done with it really. It's too hard to play, I've lost so many games with it that when the opponent plays e4 I already feel like I'm going to lose.
I would be really gratefull if someone could suggest a simple repertoire against e4.

You‘ll soon receive a bunch of suggestions including virtually every legal move. And none of them is easy and none of them without tons of theory.

I‘ll start with c-pawn: going for glory with the tough Sicilian or the tame Caro-Kann. I used to play both moves.

You are not losing because of the opening you are playing. You are losing because of basic tactical oversights. In your last game the opening went weird but ok. You got a great position and then blew it.



When someone takes a piece of yours it's usually a good idea to take it back if you can. Play e5 against e4 or the French or the Caro Kann or Sicilian. It won't matter. Because you are not losing in the opening. Study tactics dude. It's the way forward.

Use the analysis option on this great site and it will show you your errors, also watch a few of the available videos on the french def so that you understand the ideas in the opening.

Your move 4...cxd4 releases the tension, I believe Nc6 is better; but the opening reference option should put you on the right track.

as above Tactics Tactics Tactics!

I agree with the others, your opening choice does not lose games, later mistakes do.

In any case, if you really want to try something fresh, I recommend to not ask other people what they play, but try out stuff yourself.

Experimenting with different openings is healthy for your development as a player anyways, even if you decide to abandon most of them in the end.

@NeverBeenTimid and pawq4thought.
So I should keep playing the french and focus on tactics ? But I always feel like I'm fighting hard just to stay Alive, especially in the exchange variation.

@Jacques-eddy If you avoid challenges, you will also avoid progress.

...but you can reschedule them in favor of other challenges, of course.

@Jacques-eddy whichever opening you decide to play will require study to understand its aims and ideas, I agree with @ProfDrHack that it is good to try out variations for yourself.

The Exchange Variation is slightly better for Black as his problem Bishop on c8 is released and given freedom in this line.

Have a look at a video by Dereque Kelley on the French exchange and see what you think. link : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce3IhH4CdAk

He has other videos on this sites video library but I couldn't find the exchange one on here.

Tactics study is essential to improve.

the exchange is ur prob
explain why
its the easiest opening for black ive ever seen
white is not better anymore
the others like steinitz are much harder to play

@Reti-Gambit the steinitz and tarrasch are hard too, especially the tarrasch, but I barely face them at my level, I think I have problems with the exchange because I'm too weak in tactics.