Favorite Opening

White - Italian, Evans Gambit, Smith-Morra Gambit, Queens Gambit, Scotch

Black - Alekhines Defense against E4 and 1...Nf6 against all else.

isn't alekhines defence 1. e4, nf6??

I like the Classical Dutch as black. I get a lot of fun king side attacks against the castled king, and I let my opponents attack on the queen side pretty much all they want, since there's no king there for them to capture. I've won some fun games ignoring threats to my b and c pawns while I play moves like Qh5, Ng4, f4, Bh3, etc to get to my opponent's king.

classical dutch is like d5 f4 right? Does that lead to the stonewall variation?

Could someone explain or show the noteboom to me?

So who's winning the games you lose then? And in what phase?

AM CONFUSED.

The Dutch is when black answers 1. d4 with f5. The Classical variation is when black's pawn formation is on f5, e6, and d6, usually planning to eventually push e5. The Stonewall Dutch would be an f5, e6, and d5 pawn structure, where the e pawn isn't going anywhere.

There is a reason why some openings are played at the highest level and some not

The only time I have full control over the opening is when I play myself. So what openings do I play against myself because of their interest and beauty? Most often I play the Ruy Lopez: sometimes the Exchange Variation, sometimes the Open Defense, rarely the orthodox continuation of the Morphy Defense. If the yen strikes me for a queen pawn game, I stay away from the hypermodern openings in favor of some version of the Queen's Gambit Declined: but again, I usually avoid the Orthodox Variation in favor of the Cambridge Springs Defense, the Lasker Variation, or the Rubinstein Variation, etc.

French defense.  I like it because it's basically solid in every variation, allows good counter-attacking chances, and is surprisingly resourceful.  It's also not as tactical as say the Sicilian.

Torre Attack. It's similar to the Colle System, but doesn't lock the queen bishop behind the pawns at the beginning. It is characterized by the opening moves 1.d4, 2.Nf3, 3.Bg5, and followed up with (not necessarily in this order) e3, Bd3, O-O, Nbd2, c3. If allowed to continue, often Ne5, f4, Ndf3.

I've played it a few times in the past and had some good results. It can be fun. In some cases, it seems like a decent alternative if black is looking to avoid typical Queen's Gambit responses. In other cases, it could be possible to transpose early.

lol.  I was obviously making a joke...but thank you for the responses...they gave me a chuckle.

 Of course it is true that if you lose a game because of bad opening play, your opponent wins the game in the opening, but not because his opening qualities, but because the failing opening abilities of the opponent.

In fact, if both players play an opening according to the book moves, both player come out the opening about equal. There is no such opening that gives you an advantage against a player that makes only the right (book) moves. So you can't win a game only based on the fact that you play a good opening! But if you make a few mistakes in the opening, your opponent can be able to create an advantage. So there it is: You can't win a game by playing an opening only, but you can lose one by making to many mistakes!

 I think the french defence is one of the simplest openings to learn..

There are not so many variations and it is a very solid game. But, I think it's an opening with little fantasy, little space to create something. It's an opening that has great changes to lead to a draw if both players are familiar with it..

Plus there is indeed little tactics, therefore I rather go in the sicilian after 1.e4

As white i open with e4, d4, c4, Nf3, on occasion b3 and g3. I tend to rest more on systems and general ideas than specific variations.

As black i usually answer 1. e4 with 1... e5 or c5. Against 1. d4 i answer 1... Nf6 always.

What do you think of the opening 1.f4??

I've recently started playing this sometimes. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I play the Dutch (f5) against 1. d4 (and 1. c4, 1. Nf3, etc), so you'd think Bird's Opening (1. f4) would be the same thing with an extra tempo. But it really doesn't quite work out that way. I'm still learning it and getting used to playing it.

 In fact I thought so to. It's the reversed dutch so you have an extra tempo. And I think that thought could be quite okay. But of course, not everybody replies with d5. Nf6 and g7 are also common answers. (I usually play Nf6 against f4..)

I think the goal of f4 is to start an attack on the kingside, with moves as e4 and g4 supporting the f4 move. But It's important to castle your king fast, because your in a very open and fragile position.

I Think it's a nice alternative for e4, and I think it is possible to have a good game, if your not afraid to attack kingside without your king in full safety.

Personally I don't think it's smart to play openings with traps. I see you are a low rated player, but when your playing against high rated players, those traps can do horrible damage to your game.

If someone refuses or knows the trap, you are probably worse off. So i would recommend to play a regular opening instead of one with traps!

Felis catus.