Conclusion: 1.Nf3 !

What even is this? Nobody will take with the h pawn unless there’s either reasoning issues or tactical issues. And black just dropped a rook.

Let's just learn an see, bizmark, learn I see. I'm learning now too.

Minute 4:38

What a beauty:

"Anaconda Plan" - by Bobby Fischer

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044654

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Of course of course, posting videos on how to attack the fianchettoed king. None on how to defend it. 

Stop trying to sell your opinions as objective evaluations. It’s not working.

@solmyr1234 - Hanging Pawns is a reasonably good YouTube channel if you don't want to spend any money, but he's not a great source of information. His openings videos are fine for beginners, and it's clear he spends a lot of time on them, but they aren't very deep. For instance, his series of videos on the Alekhine Defense are pretty bad. His suggestions on what to do against 2.Nc3 are almost comically terrible and about as sharp as a bowling ball.

But again, they do have the advantage of being free.

Doing a work as large as His scale, it's almost impossible to make it qualitative as well, but I know he's asking GMs, and he's reading books. So yes, some content will be good, some less, some even bad.

He plays Caro Kann and Semi-Slav - so in these I expect professional work.

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I don't 'just trust him', I look at his coverage, trying to collect points that seem correct to me.

And, he has 6 SGM games in the first video. and, GM Perelshteyn - a master of openings from Russia, who plays King's Indian, admits that it's somewhat risky. [I think in the video of him vs. Irina Krush]

(Darn it! One of them has just revealed our scheme. - let's scram!)

umm.. ah, Hi everybody, how are we all doing today?

Right back at ya!

it's called the "ridiculous inflatable swan thing" and you can buy it at amazon for about $50 USD

Agreed. I used to watch him alot when I was lower rated - and took everything he said as gospel, which I think can be very harmful for beginners. Now, whenever I watch his videos as a stronger player, they are almost unwatchable because I notice that literally every video is filled with either misleading, or completely incorrect information about chess. Not quite as bad as some other terrible youtubers (like the Backyard professor) but still, when you are giving constant incorrect advice to an audience of improving players it means you're not qualified as a teacher.

Qualified....especially if you put a diaper on a kid. They end up a killer you get extra.

Overall e4 is good, even the sicilian probably gives good opportunities for white. But practically 1. Nc3 is maybe better against sicilian players, because you can avoid c5 many times. Transpositions to the Vienna game, the Blackmar-Diemer-Gambit, the French or Pirc is likely/possible. And if ...c5 is played there is the Novosibirsk variation and closed sicilians. But I currently think that the delayed wing gambit and the delayed alapin from 1. e4 is better so I don't really explore 1. Nc3 much atm.

But I wouldn't be surprised if 1. Nc3 works practically the best overall of you study it as deeply, because the opponents will be out of book from move 1 many times. Many will play the Pirc for example even if they aren't Pirc players.

1.Nf3 may work for some people, but I don't think it's that great of a move. Whether you want to face it or not, playing 1. Nf3 pretty much will always lead to a position that could be reached via a d4 or c4 on move 1. It's not unique by itself as an opening. 

#38
After 1 Nf3 c5 the best white can do is 2 e4 transposing to the Sicilian.
#37
1 Nf3 is better than 1 Nc3, because 1 Nf3 prepares O-O.
The most logical replies are 1 Nc3 d5 and 1 Nc3 e5. 

Incorrect. 1.Nf3 and 1.Nc3 are equally good because they are both draws with best play. Objectively, there is no advantage for black after 1.Nc3.

Also, you may claim 1.Nc3 e5 is a "logical reply" for black, but it is already a slight mistake objectively (white maintains a healthy opening advantage in the Napoleon attack) and a catastrophically bad move practically (black is walking on a tightrope trying to avoid the literally hundreds of traps and knight tactics and should expect to score less than 25% in practice). If black wants to equalise after 1.Nc3 he should respond with 1...d5 or 1...Nf6.

But Nf3 and O-O are passive moves. Using the opening for a middle game strategy but not for an advantage in the opening itself. This has up- and downsides.

The advantage of 1. Nc3 is that it is not efficient to spend much time preparing against it. An objectively around equally good but much rarer opening os practically better if you know the opening yourself. We play against humans not computers.

An example: If 1. Nc3 Nf6 2. e4 is played, it is an Alekhine's Defence sideline, but black will most of time don't know the Alekhine and will not play d5. Instead the Vienna Game or the Pirc will appear, but black will often don't know them either. For example it is less likely that d5 will be played against the Vienna Gambit. It it statistically better to reach these position via 1. Nc3 than via 1. e4.

#40
1 Nc3 d5 and 1 Nc3 e5 and 1 Nc3 c5 and 1 Nc3 Nf6 should all lead to a draw with best play.
Of course there is no black advantage after 1 Nc3.
It is more difficult to hold the draw after 1 Nf3 than after 1 Nc3.
Hort once played as black 1 Nc3 Na6.

#41
O-O is a powerful move, not passive at all: brings the king to safety and connects the rooks, the most powerful pieces after the queen. O-O is like 3 moves in 1: Kf2, Rf1, Kg1 so it gains 2 tempi.
Nf3 prepares O-O, and controls d4 and e5, that is not passive at all.

There is no such thing as an opening advantage: that is an illusion from the previous century.

1 Nc3 may surprise some, but there are may ways to counter it. An Alekhine Defence player may respond 1...Nf6 to  transpose. A Sicilian player may respond 1...c5. A Pirc player may respond 1...d6. An 1...e5 player may respond 1 Nc3 e5 or 1 Nc3 Nf6. The most logical reply is 1 Nc3 d5, but objectively they are all equivalent: a draw with best play from both sides.