Tactical/aggresive openings

Welcome to the "tactical fun club" 

I would recommend the following replies:

Against 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 = the Elephant Gambit (a quite positional gambit with a few traps) or his more agressive brother

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 = the Latvian Gambit (very tactical, with many traps, but theoretical unsound, but on club level absolute playable)

1.e4 e5 2.f4 f5 = the Panteldakis Counter Gambit (very aggressive) or

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Nc6 = the Adelaide Counter Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d5 = the Khan Gambit or

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 f5 = the Calabrese Counter Gambit

Against 1.d4 e5 = the Englund Gambit

after 2.dxe5 you have to choose one of these options:

2....Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 = Standard Englund

2....f6 = the Soller Gambit or the Felbecker Gambit (with a later Bc5)

2...d6 = the Blackburne-Hartlaub-Gambit

2...Nge7 = the Zilbermints-Gambit

Against 1.c4 d5 = the Vector Gambit

For a deeper look start to google for good analysis or books.

Against the sicilian, you should try the Grand Prix Attack.

That's one way it could go.

Please don't play stuff like the Englund Gambit. This line kills Black's fun for the most part: 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 f6 4.e4 fxe5 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Ng5

I don't know much about Elephant/Latvian either cause I don't play e4 that much often but as with all openings like this, if your opponent is booked up they will come out with a nice advantage.....

Play stuff like the Open Sicilian, either 1...c5 or 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. KG is fine, its not like the latvian/elephant/englund stuff...

Grand Prix is ok but the positions out of it are more closed. Plus you will learn more by playing the Open Sicilian. No need to book up on it, just play chess. Know basic plans and stuff thats all.

No one is booked up on club level against this openings, because they dont waste time to prepare against a defence, which they will face once in a lifetime...so first think, then write...

Well I don't know about your area but certainly where I play, stuff like the Elephant isn't something you will face once in your life. Every tourney I go to theres at least a few games going on in the Elephant/Englund/Latvian in various sections up to around class A/expert.

As White play e4.  If they respond with c5, then play the open Sicilian.  If they then play the Najdorf, play the old main line.  Learn variations in the old main line.  The old main line is the most aggressive variation of the Najdorf.  And it's very exciting.  If they play the Dragon, then play the Levenfish Variation.  Most aggressive in the Dragon.  I'll post some links at the end of the comment.

If you're answered with e5, then play the Scotch Gambit.  Play the most aggressive lines.  

If you're answered with d5, then play the Blackmar Diemer Ryder Gambit.  I don't care if it's considered unsound and "refutable".  It should not at all matter if you're under 2000, and even at master level, this opening has a very high win percentage for white.  The reason I play this is because I'm not in a million years about to go down some boring wimpy Scandinavion Center Counter line.  That's not what I'm going to do.  I'm going to make it extremely aggressive with the Ryder Gambit.  It's very good for your tactics, your attacking skills.  And it's very fun to play.  Play it in otb!  People will be intimidated by you!  Especially if you're under 2000.  Worry about refutation when you become a master.  For now, have fun with it while you can.  

As Black play the Sicilian Najdorf against e4.  If you liked the Dragon, you will love the Najdorf.  It's more exciting so much awesome theory on it.  You can make it very aggressive.  If they try to play the old main line (which is what you want), play the poisoned pawn variation.  If they for some reason don't play the open Sicilian, you're going to need to be booked up on the anti-sicilians.  Don't spend too much of your study time on this but gradually take one variation and spend about a half hour a day or 20 minutes and try to learn how to play against any of the anti-sicilians.  

Agaionst d4, play the Benko Gambit.  This is actually sound (But you shouldn't care about soundness anyways.  Nobody is going to convince me that soundess of gambits should matter under 2000, I don't care who it is!)  If they play the English Opening, play the moves you would in the Benko Gambit, and there's a chance you can transpose into this from the English!  Example: 1.c4 Nf6 2.d4 c5 3.d5 b5.    

For 1.f4 (Bird's Opening). Play the From's Gambit.  Unfortunately I don't have a video on that by the same YouTube user so on this one you're going to have to be on your own.  

All these openings I'm recommending you are very awesome, aggressive, dynamic, fun openings to play.  This is how you should play chess at your level and all the way up to at least 1600.  I'm around 1400-1500 area strength wise and I'm playing these openings too.  

Now remember: This should not be your main study time.  Remember to work on middle/endgames, tactics, etc.  

These videos I am recommending are by a very aggressive chess player like me:

Sicilian Najdorf (Pay attention for both sides):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfLYXrMoxT0

Blackmar Diemer Gambit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BakZpcj_Yek

Scotch Gambit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgjnuHeTVsM

For Black:

Sicilian Najdorf (Listed above)

Sicilian Defense (You must have a basic understanding of the Sicilian before getting into hard core theory):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzydxPgPKzs

Benko Gambit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qGlSDA4w6M

I hope you message me about what you think, and also, if any N/F/I/GM comes and says, "Don't listen to that Anonymous User.  He's unsound." Ignore them.  You're not at that level.  Worry about their opinions when you get to 2000.

To face these openings more often, doesnt automatically mean, that in your area the opponents are better prepared than in my area.

If you do prepare against this stuff,then chapeau...you have my respect!

Although i play only unsound rubbish-openings i have a rating above 1900 and thats nearly the same rating as you have...very interesting...

@IM Pfren: You are right from your point of view and on your IM/GM-Level, maybe it isnt playable stuff, but on my level (1800 - 2000) i almost never face the refutation of these openings...not in OTB, nor in correspondence chess.

With the Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit i have scored 29 - 4 - 4 in correspondence chess and 17 - 3 - 5 on OTB-club-level.

Even with the absolute totally unsound Soller-Gambit i scored 8 - 2 - 1 in corr and

7 - 3 - 2 in OTB.

strange...isnt it...???

It seems not a good idea to try and play tactical openings if your tactics are not so good.

 It seems not a good idea to play ONLY tactical chess if you want to improve.

It seems not a good idea to delibertly play unsound gambits when there are plenty of sound gambits.

Well, the thing is I don't mind losing and then playing with worse opponents, as I'm doing that absolutely for fun.

And about my recent games, it's so bad because last time I was playing chess was a few months ago, I was trying to study this game back then so my level of play was certainly higher. I came back to play a few games without ANY preparation and there we have effects.

But well, I guess I'm gonna go back to tactics puzzles maybe for now, thanks for advices.

I would advise as white 1 e4 if e5 try and get into a lolli attack, 2.nf3 nc6 3 bc4 nf6 4.ng5. Thats always fun. Black could respond with the traxler counter gambit. Awesome gambit where blacks wins most lines and can draw if white plays correctly. White may not play ng5, but nc3 were play does nxe4 and gsins an advsntage in all lines. If on move three white plays bc5 white could play guioco piano with many good traps, although it is unsound so i would advise the evans gambit. I would say stick to these variatiobs and learn basic caro and sicilian nadjorf so that your competitive.

Okay, now that I think of that I think this topic I created is completely pointless. First of all, at my level of play there is not much of strict theory and more of general knowledge and principles. Second of all, after few games I found that every game gives me quite some fun and it's not up to "tactical" or "strategical" playing, and certainly not up to the opening moves.

So now I'd like to ask another question, though I'm not sure whether I should create a new topic (especially because it's generic question that probably has been asked a million times). So basically, I'm not dedication a whole lot of time to chess - let's say I'll play a few games a day, analyze them with Chessmaster and maybe do some reading once in a while if I'm willing to. Is it possible to improve that way? Of course, I would not expect a rapid improvement in my play, I'm reallistic. But would I be able after a month of playing to look at my games and say to myself that I got at least a bit better? And also, how can one improve even the slightest in not much time consuming way?

+ 2 ( I voted using both hands)

The Scotch, Alapin against Sicilian, Advance French and Caro Kan Exchange.

And get your tactics and positionl play straight first or your opening choice won't matter by move 10.

+1, Don't waste your time studying openings, when the rest of your game is so weak.

Now about those pigs...

Hope springs eternal.  

I wholeheartedly reccomend the Schliemann gambit against the Spanish game 1e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3Bb5 f5! a couple examples:

A lot of people go " oh don't learn openings, concentrate on tactics!"  Or "don't use that opening, becuase if you face gary kasparaov he''l know how to overcome it!"  When it comes down to it, if your at a lower level no one will know how to debunk these openings.  The problem with practicing tactics and seeing them in game is if keep getting in openings where it's locked down by pawns, and your sole concern is calculating pawn transactions.  The way  Isee it, is make it simpler, get into good aggresive games with possibilities of tactics, so you can concentrate on what's important, tactics!  So you actually can get better at them.

^ how do you think you can learn positional concepts if you don't study how you should play a certain position?

Against e5

king's gambit,
Scotch gambit / Danish gambit  

Against scandinavian,
Blackmar diemar gambit ryder ganbit

Against sicillian
Smith Morra gambit

Blackmar-Diemer is really fun, and crazy. But I wouldn't suggest the Ryder gambit: it only works on a certain type of player, and it's really hard to come back from that 2 pawn defecit. 

I'm trying to learn the benko gambit, so I can't really tell you how that's working (but I've heard good things about it). As for the Sicillian, my worst upset was against the Smith-Morra gambit, the first time I'd really seen it used against me.