I hate being on the Black side of a Four Knight's Game. From the Black side I also fear the Scotch and the King's Gambit. I have faced my fears by starting to answer 1. e4 with e5 almost exclusively. From the White side I won't play 1. f4 out of terror of the From Gambit. I tend to avoid open Sicilian and play Closed Sicilian instead. The general theme is that I tend to fear the openings favored by the rabidly aggressive attacking players. I prefer more positional lines. But I follow some grandmasters in seeking out the positional lines among classical king pawn openings.
most feared openings?

As White (1 c4): 1... c5; 1... c6; that reverse Maroczy-bind stuff
(1 e4): French; Caro-Kann
As Black: London system; Ruy Lopez exchange; King's Gambit; 4 pawns KID; g3 KID
I also play the g3 KID a lot, which is great since it avoids black kingside attacks if d5 is not played and often my opponents don't know what to do afterwards!
There aren't really any openings I'm afraid of (with my opening repertoire I avoid all the good gambits!) that I encounter, but the few that I often find boring are the czech benoni and the hippo.

neat thread, I got rocked by the schliemann defence in the ruy lopez two weeks ago. I fear it cause i am yet to spend the time to figure it out.
Oh. I forgot all about that nightmare. The Schliemann has given me nightmares. about a year back. I've blocked it all out.

For me its hard play to as a black against English opening, and as a white against Sicilian defense. There is a lot of side ways, variations ...
Entirely agreed.

The Frankenstein-Dracula variation, the Bayonet Attack, the Halloween Gambit, the various Poisoned Pawn variations, the Dragon and the Pterodactyl. Very scary!

The Frankenstein-Dracula variation, the Bayonet Attack, the Halloween Gambit, the various Poisoned Pawn variations, the Dragon and the Pterodactyl. Very scary!
I once played black against the Frankenstein-Dracula Variation in an over the board tournament and I knew none of the theory. I used over an hour of my time to survive the initial attack and the following complications. By midnight I had played on the edge, but then I unleashed an unsound knight sac. I was two pieces down, but had three passed pawns on the kingside. I managed to force the pawns up the board and came back, but I missed a win. I managed to hold out for another 15 moves after winning a piece back and both of us queened.
I never understood why people don't like playing against the french. I love going against it! I especially like this cool line:
I find the tactics there very fun!
Also, I just enjoy playing against that pawn structure for some reason, and no light squared bishop to worry about!

Wait, is the Schliemann the one with F4? You guys are crazy man. That stuff is child's play.
no, its where black will plays f5 after Bb5, kinda like answering the ruy lopez with kings gambit. I got rocked!

The Frankenstein-Dracula variation, the Bayonet Attack, the Halloween Gambit, the various Poisoned Pawn variations, the Dragon and the Pterodactyl. Very scary!
What is the Pterodactyl?

What is the Pterodactyl?
The Pterodactyl is a line of the Rat Defence popularized by Canadian IM Lawrence Day: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.Nf3/dxc5 Qa5.

What is the Pterodactyl?
The Pterodactyl is a line of the Rat Defence popularized by Canadian IM Lawrence Day: 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.Nf3/dxc5 Qa5.
A line of the Modern Defence.

That is confidential information...
I am sure your opponents would love to find your weak spots. If it's not going to ruin it for you, I heard you most fear Anderssen Opening
That is confidential information...
I already know... you fear any opening I play, it is not the weapon that kills, it is whoever holds it.
I hate facing the KGD and the Ruy Lopez.