1. f4 and 1... Kingside Pawn, but which?

Black was voted to utilize a Kingside Pawn against 1. f4, and there are four candidate moves in today's poll. Which is best?

1... e6 is a gnarly way to get White into a poor French Defense setup, but also to question the very purpose of the early f-pawn thrust. Much alike White's playing 1. e4 d6 2. d3?!, the slower pawn advance by Black resists the urge to open the game up. If White's intent was to play an open, tactical, brawling kind of game, then 1... e6 is pumping the brakes against White's motor. 

1... e5 is not as bad as it may first seem. If White captures then Black has 2... d6 with the opportunity to have both Bishops activated before White has done anything. White can transpose into a King's Gambit with 2. e4, and then we are in a known system. Defending the f-pawn with 2. d3 (and not d4) is another way for White to react. 

1... f5 attempts to use symmetry to minimize White's possibilities, or at least that's the idea. It's more likely that the game will lose a lot of steam right away. With both sides having played the f-pawn to the center it doesn't seem likely that either side will make another move toward the center on the next turn. I am not too familiar with this setup, either. But what I can infer is that the position remains fairly balanced, but inflexible. 

1... g6 speaking of flexibility! Fianchetto-ing the dark-square Bishop is a long-term strategic idea that will guide the rest of Black's play. By fighting for the central dark squares this move will likely provide a lot of fruit later on in the game. Not saying this will lead to a  slow, maneuvering kind of game, but 1... g6 is by far the least committal of the Kingside Pawn moves. 

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