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Aggressive response to e4?

#1

Hi all,

I've been changing responses against e4 for a long time and have yet to find something I'm really comfortable with. I never really liked playing the Sicilian as there is a lot of theory and imo white's kingside attacks are difficult to play against. I've played 1...e5 (both the Petrov and 2...Nc6) but often white will just play a boring 4. d3 Italian. I've also given a couple others a try (Alekhine, French) but neither were really comfortable. I'm looking for something that doesn't require too much theory (I don't mind some, just not as much as like, the Najdorf) and usually results in open, tactical middlegames. Any recommendations?

Hi all, I've been changing responses against e4 for a long time and have yet to find something I'm really comfortable with. I never really liked playing the Sicilian as there is a lot of theory and imo white's kingside attacks are difficult to play against. I've played 1...e5 (both the Petrov and 2...Nc6) but often white will just play a boring 4. d3 Italian. I've also given a couple others a try (Alekhine, French) but neither were really comfortable. I'm looking for something that doesn't require too much theory (I don't mind some, just not as much as like, the Najdorf) and usually results in open, tactical middlegames. Any recommendations?
#2

Have you considered Pirc or Scandinavian Defense? ...1 d6 and ...1 d5 vs. 1 e4

Have you considered Pirc or Scandinavian Defense? ...1 d6 and ...1 d5 vs. 1 e4
#5

Yes but i he is only mentioning Najdorf

Yes but i he is only mentioning Najdorf
#6

I don't think there is a good aggressive response to 1.e4 without much theory.

There are two Sicilians that almost match your criteria, though.
(less theory than Najdorf, not too difficult against kingside attack)
Taimanov and Sveshnikov.

I don't think there is a good aggressive response to 1.e4 without much theory. There are two Sicilians that almost match your criteria, though. (less theory than Najdorf, not too difficult against kingside attack) Taimanov and Sveshnikov.
#7

Did you consider two knights defence against italian game?

  1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Ng6

It takes away the option of boring giuco pianissimo.

Agressiver than 1. e4 e5 you can hardly go, except maybe with sveshnikov sicilian, which is fairly straightforward due to mainly having forcing moves.

Did you consider two knights defence against italian game? 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Ng6 It takes away the option of boring giuco pianissimo. Agressiver than 1. e4 e5 you can hardly go, except maybe with sveshnikov sicilian, which is fairly straightforward due to mainly having forcing moves.
#8

@sirkmatija 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 . See the boring pianissimo ?

@Water_Flame I suggest the French Winawer.
Other than 3. Nc3,
The exchange lines are easy to play, black has very nice play in the advance lines, and some surprise weapon could be developed against Tarrasch.

Black has easy play in the French, especially Winawer.

@sirkmatija 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 . See the boring pianissimo ? @Water_Flame I suggest the French Winawer. Other than 3. Nc3, The exchange lines are easy to play, black has very nice play in the advance lines, and some surprise weapon could be developed against Tarrasch. Black has easy play in the French, especially Winawer.
#9

This suggestion may get flamed, but have you tried the Blackburne-Shilling? If White plays Bc4, it's on. There's a minor wipeout probably, swapping Ns, and the game becomes pretty open. You're better than me, but I often beat players 200 pts higher than me in blitz with this. Course if he goes Ruy Lopez, trying to pin your N, you only have to learn a little extra; I usually then bring my 2nd N out and can play even for a while in that RL line. . . where often you'll bust open his King side and you have 2 minor pieces plus maybe your Q honing down on his King.
Mid game gets a bit tactical no matter which line is taken, which is where I need more practice. I'd say it goes more than 70% BlackburneShilling, unless they're a die hard Ruy Lopez fan.
He usually only has three legit moves on his 4th move, swap Ns, attack with c3 or 0-0.
In either case, Black usually controls the action from the 3rd move on and seems to me, very aggressive against the standard 1.e4 2.Nf3 3.Bc4
Old Joe Blackburne was perhaps the top two best in the world at one time, overtaken finally by Steinitz and often gave Lasker fits. He started playing chess at about age 18, after hearing about Morphy's European campaign. Joe Blackburne was called the Black Death, due probably to his Black defenses, his aggressive play with Black, the Blackburne Shilling among them, and also because of the Black Death plague, At age 61, he was still top 20 in the world. At age 58, Blackburne beat the reigning world champion, Lasker, playing black.
Blackburne's peak rating was around 2750 in his mid 40's and was known for playing romantic, aggressive chess.

This suggestion may get flamed, but have you tried the Blackburne-Shilling? If White plays Bc4, it's on. There's a minor wipeout probably, swapping Ns, and the game becomes pretty open. You're better than me, but I often beat players 200 pts higher than me in blitz with this. Course if he goes Ruy Lopez, trying to pin your N, you only have to learn a little extra; I usually then bring my 2nd N out and can play even for a while in that RL line. . . where often you'll bust open his King side and you have 2 minor pieces plus maybe your Q honing down on his King. Mid game gets a bit tactical no matter which line is taken, which is where I need more practice. I'd say it goes more than 70% BlackburneShilling, unless they're a die hard Ruy Lopez fan. He usually only has three legit moves on his 4th move, swap Ns, attack with c3 or 0-0. In either case, Black usually controls the action from the 3rd move on and seems to me, very aggressive against the standard 1.e4 2.Nf3 3.Bc4 Old Joe Blackburne was perhaps the top two best in the world at one time, overtaken finally by Steinitz and often gave Lasker fits. He started playing chess at about age 18, after hearing about Morphy's European campaign. Joe Blackburne was called the Black Death, due probably to his Black defenses, his aggressive play with Black, the Blackburne Shilling among them, and also because of the Black Death plague, At age 61, he was still top 20 in the world. At age 58, Blackburne beat the reigning world champion, Lasker, playing black. Blackburne's peak rating was around 2750 in his mid 40's and was known for playing romantic, aggressive chess.

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