1. e4 or not?

Hi!

I have been playing chess for some time (my standard rating 1515) and I have always played 1.e4 (I have used 1.d4 in only two games 1.c4 only once). I think I am more of tactical player than positional player (I prefer more openings like The Sicilian or The KID than something like The Caro-Kann or The Slav defense.) Now I have thought of starting to play 1.d4 for some time (as an experiment).

So, my question is:

Should I experiment with 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3 or stick to my old, reliable 1.e4?

Thanks for reading this

1.e4 is, in my opinion the way to go until at least 1900 OTB.

This is my repertoire (I am a tactical player too)

Play whatever opening you find suits you and gives you positions you like to play. There's no reason not to play e4, but if you want to try another opening go ahead and try it out for a few games. If you're just looking to mix it up a little, you could do that without going away from e4 by trying different lines.

Experiment and see what you like.  Skill comes with understanding, not memorizing some stupid variation. 

I have come to disbelieve the idea that e4 is a "tactical" opening and d4 is "positional" opening. There are just as many tactical d4 master games as tactical e4 master games. Same with positional games for e4 and d4. But it is true that e4 generally leads to more open games, and d4 more closed games. They simply lead to different "types" of tactical or positional games.

I suggest playing different openings until you find one you like. After playing many different openings, I have realized that I enjoy the Italian and Scotch openings. My plan is to play those types of games until I reach a solid Class A level (as Roeczak mentioned in post #2). Then I will give d4 much more consideration. Both my favorite players, Capablanca and Tal, preferred d4, so I can see myself switching to that in the future. But I think e4 is better for the developing amateur, at least, due to the open board and immediacy of tactics in the opening (which, simply, is due to the unprotected king pawn in the first move).

In the Soviet chess system where chess was taught in school, kids were required to play 1. e4 1. e5 for their first year. After that they could play a queens pawn game or a sicilian or whatever they wanted. The soviets thoughtt here was something to forcing kids to play an open game for at least their first year. I don't know if it was encouraged after year one or not, but its certainly solid. If a player is trying to shy away from or is afraid of tactical games I think that may because they are deficiant in tactics and should correct that no matter what opening they play.