Help me choose some dynamic openings?

I'm a highly tactical player trying to improve my positional understanding and I've been through a lot of c4, d4 and e4 openings.

As white, I'm an e4 player. I'm okay against c5, c6, e6 and various other opening.

As black, I'm currently playing the French defence as black against e4 (have been playing sicilian dragon heavily until recently) and the Kings Indian Attack against d4 and c4.

However, I'm looking for two openings:

1) As white against 1. e4 e5. I've tried ruy lopez, italian, four knights, kings gambit and a few more. None suit my style though.

2) As black against 1. d4. I've tried KIA, dutch, QID and a few others. Again, none suit my style.

Ideally I'd like these openings to be highly tactical and if possible similar ideas/themes in different variations, so I can improve my positional understanding of the openings.

Any suggestions?

Maybe you should try the Semi-Slav as Black against 1. d4. It's hard to learn at first, but it's very tactical. I played it for awhile, but switched to the pure Slav because it's more positional (and I prefer that).

As for dealing with 1...e5, you could try some gambits. Maybe the Scotch Gambit or the Danish Gambit. You could also try the Vienna Game, which I heard an IM describe as a "souped-up King's Gambit." However, I think you should try the Ruy Lopez again. Sure, it's positionally rich, but it can often get quite tactical. Don't be too quick to reject an opening. I did that for awhile and it's very frustrating. Try playing an opening and sticking with it; you'll get better at it over time. Here's a crazy Ruy Lopez game. I don't know how good it is, but it certainly seems in Tal's style:

37. Nh6 is one of the best moves I've ever seen.

1) Nothing like center counter / scandanivian against e4.  White has to be careful to break even -- a mistake and black gains the development lead and initiative.

2) d4...  the safe thing to do is reply in kind. If not that, try g6 and c5... both are also good variations.  They both give white a lot of choices but black can pull out equal in many and ahead in the rest.   (I assume you can find the names of the lines that follow as they morph into named variations on a site somewhere or in your chess engine).

It is great!

Thanks for all your help guys!

@SJFG - I did try the ruy lopez for a long time. It's been my main weapon again 1. e4 e5. However, I need a change. Stuck with it for more than one year now and I just don't find it fun. I also hate the marshall gambit which seems to get played all too often.

@Jackfast - I'll give it a go, it looks okay. I got bored of all the d4 d5 c4 c5 theory :) I'll join the group!

Jonnin - I'm after moves as white against 1. e4 e5. As black against e4 I'm happy with the French and Sicilian Dragon at the moment. I've given the g6/c5 a go before. It's okay except I find it similar to the KID in that I end up in closed positions, and I prefer open and semi-open. :)

You can play a Nc3 Nge2 Be3 g3 Bg2 Qd2 f4 system (I believe it is called the Smyslov system)

Against 1.d4 perhaps the Benoni is a good option. Highly tactical.

Thanks guys.

On the contrary, what are the best openings that are heavily positional? Ones that allow your pieces to be active but hold very little weakness. I don't mind if they are not very tactical.

:)

I play the Caro-Kann and the Slav and find that they both give Black a solid structure, and are probably about as positional as you can get.

As White I play the English. The lines I play sometimes give White a structural weakness, but I think of the English as positional, or at least strategic :)

That being said, most of my games contain tactics. Sometimes even solid openings such as the Caro-Kann result in battles crazier than arising from the Sicilian.

As white, you should try these: Trompowsky attack (d4) Scotch gambit (e4) As black, well, those: Budapest gambit (against d4) Sicilian defense (against e4, but its not as dynamic but its a good opening anyway) French Defense (against e4) You wont regret it :)

easy!

e4!

Which line of the Dutch have you tried?  Lines with ...e6?

There is probably not a more tactical defense to 1.d4 than the Leningrad Dutch, where Black fianchettos his King's Bishop.

As White, the Ruy Lopez is loaded with tactics.  Clearly you aren't playing it right!

That's easy, transpose everything into a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.

I would just add that you may want to check out the very solid czech benoni in response to d4. I have played it in several tournaments with excellent results. 

Against d4 you might also want to give 1... e6 a try. Can transpose to french or if white continues 2. c4, as they often do, 2... b6 is rather tactical  opening. This is sometimes called the "English defence".