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so why did YOU leave 1.e4 e5?

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eatingcake

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4!

This is the last reason to leave 1...e5.

FraterZen

First of all in the OPs line 4)..Nxe4! is to be preferred setting up the elementary fork trick

Having said that, I recently switched my main reply to e4 from e5 to the french (intending a poisoned pawn sac among other sacs). Heres a few variations I hated facing:



blake78613

I never left it, only added to it.   It is still part of my repertoire.

ponz111

The Ponziani Opening is an under rated line.  Yes, it can be met with

1.e4  e5  2. Nf3  Nc6  3. c4  d5 but then

W


hite has the tricky  4. Qa4.

LavaRook

I'm just starting to get back into e5 as an alternate. I need something when im not in the mood for playing a crazy Sicilian.

2200ismygoal

I never really played e5 very much, maybe if I knew I could get a Marshall Gambit, sometimes I'll issue a Latvian Gambit if I think my opponent has not prepared for it

ponz111

Anthony, your 3. ... f5 line is one of the main variations but there is a chance White will know that theory very well.

 

 However I play a different line...

OldHastonian
AnthonyCG wrote:

 

And then you have players that play moves like 4.d3 and you wonder why people won't take risks in a board game where there is nothing to lose.


 

What a strange comment...why would someone take risks on move 4?

As for "nothing to lose", isn't the point to try and win the game?

FraterZen
Grousey wrote:

What a strange comment...why would someone take risks on move 4?

testicle size?

happyfanatic
AnthonyCG wrote:

Of course the point is to win and we will do it with 4.Ng5!! and win in a blaze of glory as we hold the line and stop Black's counterattack!!

Ok maybe that's extremely bisased but 4.d3 says that my opponent would rather just sit there and rotate his pieces around and not commit to anything at all rather than just get the game going.

Ask for risk - it is a board game and I don't get payed to do this. There is nothing to lose but a game and I see no reason not to go all out and create the most insane situations possible and see who comes out at the end. It makes the game enjoyable to me to go against an opponent and go back and forth rather than to just sit there and see who can stay awake the longest. Oooh there's that bias again...

Why give black what he wants?  Maybe the white player doesn't want to give black the initiative.  I always play 4. d4 myself.

OldHastonian
AnthonyCG wrote:
Grousey wrote:
AnthonyCG wrote:

 

And then you have players that play moves like 4.d3 and you wonder why people won't take risks in a board game where there is nothing to lose.


 

What a strange comment...why would someone take risks on move 4?

As for "nothing to lose", isn't the point to try and win the game?

Of course the point is to win and we will do it with 4.Ng5!! and win in a blaze of glory as we hold the line and stop Black's counterattack!!

Ok maybe that's extremely bisased but 4.d3 says that my opponent would rather just sit there and rotate his pieces around and not commit to anything at all rather than just get the game going.

Ask for risk - it is a board game and I don't get payed to do this. There is nothing to lose but a game and I see no reason not to go all out and create the most insane situations possible and see who comes out at the end. It makes the game enjoyable to me to go against an opponent and go back and forth rather than to just sit there and see who can stay awake the longest. Oooh there's that bias again...

I find you often need to have played d4 as a prelude to considering Ng5...

OldHastonian

Each to their own...

ponz111

I left 1. e4  e5 because of the dreaded Ponziani!

Iknowthemoves

e5 is, statistically ,the strongest response as is d5 agianst d4 and c5 against c4.

I then transpose into a Petrov (Nf6) if they play Nf3..which brings equality very quickly

The_Chess_Ninja

I left 1.e4 e5 after I lost WAY too many times against beginners.

JeffGreen333

Too much theory and too open and aggressive for my style of play. Players memorized all of the ECO lines, which meant that I had to as well, in order to keep up.  Also, the symetry of the position means that white always has the slight advantage of the first move, so I rationalized that it can't be the best reply for black. I found the imbalances of the Sicilian and French to be more my style (as black) and found Nf3 to be more my style (as white).  

Shippen

Started to open with Van geet or Zukertort, bring Knights out first i think there is a advantage for white already.

madhacker

I only played it when I first started out as a small child, because that's what everyone told me to play. Before long I discovered the French for myself and didn't look back.

JeffGreen333
ivandh wrote:

e5 is too symmetrical for my taste. I like to play 1... e6 2... c5, it leads to some nice tense positions, and at my level it throws a lot of people out of book which gets me out of having to study opening theory.

Having played both the French and Sicilian most of my life, I can say that this move order won't work against an experienced player.  If you want to challenge e4, then play the French.  If you want to challenge d4, play the Sicilian. This hybrid move order challenges neither pawn though.  White can play 1. e4 e6  2. d4 c5 and you haven't stopped him from getting the two-pawn center, which is the main idea behind opening theory in general.  You're giving white the advantage, every time you play this move order.  The reason it throws players out of book is because it's inferior.  White can follow 2. d4 up with 3. c3, securing an opening advantage.  Even if you play 3. cxd, he still has the two-pawn center.  Maybe you could play it in bullet chess, just to stun your opponent and gain a couple of seconds on the clock.  lol  I tried this move order against a chess club player once, way back when I first started playing chess clubs, and he set me straight. It seems like it should work, but it's inferior as it voluntarily gives white the immediate two-pawn center (the Holy Grail of chess) and allows him to hold onto it for quite some time, if he plays correctly.  Also, if white is determined to stay in book and give up the free two-pawn center, he can simply play 3. Nf3 and it's a book Sicilian.  With the immediate two-pawn center, white opens all of his diagonals quicker and frees both bishops, without a struggle.  I love it when black gives me this kind of freedom and mobility.  This may work against beginners, but you'll definitely stuggle against anybody over a 1400 rating.

JeffGreen333
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