What do you play against e4? I've tried a few different openings, but I feel like the Sicilian (c5) is the best counter to White. Still, I also want to study e4 e5 thoroughly, prepare ahead of White, and win through study. I like playing Berlin against Ruy Lopez and I have prepared lines. The same goes for Italian's Ng5 Bishop Check Line. I also have some countermeasures for Scotch, 4 Knights, Ponziani, and King's Gambit. However, there's just one problem: I dislike it when White tries to play Giuoco Pianissimo against Italian with 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5. I understand the opening ideas and midgame strategy, but when I have Black, I'm left open to White's experienced and preferred tactics, and I always feel like I'm at White's mercy. So recently, I've been trying out 4...Be7. While this may seem passive because the Bishop isn't in the center, a few moves later, you can reach a position similar to Old Sicilian. For example, let's say the game proceeds as follows: 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6! 7. c3. Note that d6 must be played after you castle. The desired move here is 7...Na4. Since White would want to avoid a BN exchange, 8. Bb5 is the expected move.To drive this out, use the a-pawn instead of the c-pawn: 8...a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bc2. And then, finally play 10...c5. Now, let's look at the position after returning with 11. Ndb7 Nc6. This is almost identical to a Sicilian Defense game played in the following order:1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 e5 4. d3 Be7! 5. O-O Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. c3 d6 8. Nbd2 From here, if 8...Na5 9. Bb5 a6 10. Ba4 b5 11. Bc2 Nc6, we can see that the game would be exactly the same. White doesn't always play this order of moves, but Black can always use this same idea to later play the Italian into a Sicilian-like formation. If you're comfortable playing the Sicilian, it might be worth a try.