Contemplating switching from 1 e4 to 1 d4.

I am seriously thinking about qiving up on playing 1. e4. What stops me is the amount of work i have arleady invested in it.

What should i start studying, given i have only played 1. d4 from black side? I have always choosed between king indian defence ( minority) or tarrash defense ( sort of - establishing a chain from f2 to d4, c4 with a plan of advancing the e pawn). 

What opening/plan schould i choose for a start?

Perhaps i should mention why am i contemplating the switch. The problem is the sicilian. I have came to belive what coaches and stron players have been always saying - that open sicilian is the only seriuos go, and anything else is just a cheap(ish) trap.  The problem is i hate the white side of open sicilian, and firmly belive it is better for black. White has to rely on elusive things such as space and lead in development ( not so huge as black counterply demonstrates), to make up for its long term inferiority. In practise it goes down to memorising long and numerous lines of tactical trics, as i  can't realisticaly count it all during game. It is not a practical way of playing chess and I dislike having to quicly do something concrete  on the threat of getting into trouble.

That leads to another question - what will require more work  - learning ( somehow) the open sicilian, or swithing to 1.d4?

I did the exact opposite and switched from d4 to e4. 

The open sicilian is the most ambitious choice by white, but you don't need to play the most theoretical lines. For example, I play the opocensky against the najdorf and I always get a great game out of it.  There are plenty of lines that don't require that much theory or are at least similar in strategy.

You might want to take a closer look at some of those antisicilians as well. If you play a sound opening that you enjoy, the results will speak for themselves.

D4 is a great first move, but that might be more work than finding lines you enjoy against the sicilian.

Well, I count at least 10 Open Sicilian variations to contend with... so maybe the switch to 1d4 might be a alternative to add some scope to your development still... just saying!

If you don't like playing Open Sicilian why not playing something else as white? There are some different options: Alapin, closed sicilian, you could even try Sicilian Prins instead of going into Najdorf or something like that.

Switching openings won't improve your chess.

What if it’s prep

why not play a few games, particularly unrated games, on line first. That way, you can experiment with d4 and see what mistakes you make in the opening. Then, you can resolve to not make them again. I’m switching over to the Dutch from Nf6 (in response to d4) and that’s how I’m doing it.

though, when I switched to d4, I just started playing it. Learned by denial and error.

If you are considering it just do it. So what if you play a bit worse for a bit you will learn new stuff!

In terms of how to, maybe start with 1.d4 2.nf3 3.c4 to avoid some of the sharpest stuff, and be willing to play e3 fairly early to keep it solid. Don't bother learning lines just try a few blitz games with that mindset and go from there. 

You are right about sicilian... Its very challenging and playing open against everyone's pet line is quite daunting. That said it's one of the richest battlegrounds in chess! 

Nothing wrong with switching to 1. d4 but I wouldnt switch to 1. d4 just to avoid the open sicilian. play one of the anti-sicilian lines. The good thing about them is that ideas are generally more important than memorizing a long list of moves. The downside is that if your opponent knows them pretty well you will have to try to outplay your opponent in an equal position or something close to an equal position....but is that really so bad?

It's really a matter of temperament. I have played d4 from time to time, but only when trying out a system opening like the London or the Colle Zukertort.  If you're aiming at a mainstream d4 repertoire you need to master the subtleties of the Queen's Gambit, as well as being prepared for such complex defences as the King's Indian, the Grunfeld and the Nimzo- or Queen's Indian. That's just too sophisticated for me. In e4 openings you can generally find a line where the position opens up early allowing a more straightforward game. The Ruy Lopez is an exception, but you can always play an Open Game alternative to that. So if you're drawn to games where the tension builds slowly only to explode unexpectedly at a later stage, d4 may be for you.

Thank You for Your answers. After a bit of thinking i decided to stay with e4 just yet.

I think Pren has hit the nail. All openings require a lot of work, and in a d4 one i will came across something i dislike too sooner or later.

On the other hand, i have started to think about open sicilian like a kind of challange to accept. Besides, I have realisied that i used to be very afraid of kings gambit accepted - and always declined. Having done the work, i discovered that there is nothing to be afraid of, and most K ings gambiters are just bluffing. I think it might be the same case with open sicilian - once i learn how to refute unsound but tricky lines.

Glad you found your answer.  One thing that I don't think anyone mentioned yet though is that black isn't automatically better in the open Sicilian.  Even though the Sicilian has an amazing reputation, white is still the one who gets to push. The english attack, keres attack, yugoslav attack, etc are all launched by white.  Sure white can mishandle a position, but I would say that the Sicilian is usually easier to handle from the white side.  Identify structures you like to play and you will probably be able to find a line you enjoy and understand.  

Also, I have been tinkering with the Taimanov on and off for a while.  When you are trying to find a line there, I'd be happy to play you.  We both might be able to learn something there.   

You found your answer: you don't enjoy playing the Open Sicilian.

Perhaps try one of the many Closed Sicilian approaches.

Or you could even give this a try:

This is one of Carlsen's pet approaches to the Sicilian. And he's the strongest human player in the history of chess ... so perhaps it's worth considering.

Closed sicilian is one of the approaches I tried, although briefly. 

The other is Grand Prix attack, which was my main weapon for quite a lot of time, but with so so results. As my understanding grew, i have noticed that black can get a very decent position ( equal or about equal) just by playing common sense moves. Actually it was after a crushing victory over a player whom i clearly outtheorised, it struck me i am just setting a trap. More complex than say, The Blackburn's schilling gambit, but still just a trap, that won't work on someone who is prepared ( and to my experience about 50% sicilian players are sufficently prepered for Grand Prix attack, it seems to be a popular opening).

As I said, I am not giving up on open sicilian just yet.

Out of curiosity, what is your actual level if I may ask? I see that you are not really playing here.

Well, I think i can say I am no longer a beginer.

I play only on PlayOK ( or stricly said on Kurnik.pl as the polish version is known).

My ranking on that site is for quite a time between 1300-1399. ( 1373 at the moment of writing this). My hightest ever is 1450. My number of games is around 3200, but it is a false number, as I have crossed the barrier of 10.000 as a guest.

Rating on PlayOK must be taken with even bigger grain of salt then any other, but it gives a picture. I remember that I was between 1000-1199 for a long time and was extremally happy to beat the barrier of 1200 ( which happens to be the starting rating for new accounts there).

Well then you shouldn't worry about openings too much, they are really not that important for beginner or lower intermediate players. For instance I am  1500 here which is better than 1 500 on some competitive sites, not to mention names  and I don't really know opening lines. I have some feeling where certain pieces should go, I do know a few moves out of the opening but that is it, I just improvise afterwards and mostly following opening principles. And I am sure that it will be a case for a long time, as there are still much more things to improve before I try to edge out my opponent out of the opening.

 a bilion ways to avoid open Sicilian while playing e4.

Although I disagree I find e6 a very annoying answer against e4 then c5

Eventually the Ruy is a project every E4 player should take on.  In the meantime though, there are plenty of strong alternatives.  

The Scotch, Italian, d3 Ruy lines, etc are easier to incorporate  and are considered a bit more critical than many of the antsicilians.

Plays 2.b4 for Sicilian.

Problem solved.