Need More Openings Against 1.d4

You seem to know too much, sir.

If you want to learn an opening that is a little under the radar against d4, but isn't terrible, try the Old Indian.  

But it's easier to blame an opening.

It really depends what your strengths and weakness are. So the Queens Gumboot is boring but are you sucessfull against it? if you do that would tend to suggest you play positionally well at your level which in turn suggests something positional but different would be good. Someone has already suggested the "Blacks Knights Tango" (A stupider name for an opening if I have ever heard one). The Dutch is also a good try. I will add the Polish Defence 1.d4 b5, Tomas Kaptinak put out a good book on the subject. Of course, if you want something to try against the Queens Gambit which produces something different postion wise, Chigrons Defence 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 is a good opening to investigate.

i have found b5 to be interesting against d4 it really throws sspanner into most qgd stratagy hange to a queen flank for black vs centre push for white , and transposes games into new positions that are hardwer to evaluate. is a type of st goerge openning and i found as a example of way play anti engine game play , but found not only did it show up engine use more quickly , and slowed their game down , it also pretty effetive with humans in otb as again it more likley to put them in les traveled paths :) .

is for blak a st goerge  or i ee it as a reverse polish openning  in otb i have played thi quiet a few times over the last 18 months and highest rated layer i have beaten with it was 185 ef which i about 2130 fide i think

Nobody who can't play the Queen's Gambit Decline has any business playing 1. d4 b5 2. e4 Bb7 3. Bd3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 a6 6. O-O Nf6 7. Re1 Be7 as black.

Edit that is a bit harsh, what is it about the Queen's Gambit Decline that you find boring? How weird are you willing to get to avoid being board?

The Polish Defense is garbage. Do not even bother with looking at It. Any player above 1300 will take the center and beat you.

Ah...O.K my bad apparently I am being told that the Polish Defense is "garbage". Well, let me see on the one hand we have 'GiorgiVanDerway" rated at a staggering 1506 (Standard) and on the other hand you have Polish Defense practitioners suc as the late Tony Miles (2635), Istvan Crom (2490 est) and Julian Hodgson (2385 est). Well, thats me put in my place then.

There are plenty of exciting alternatives to the QGD. The Budapest Gambit is fairly unpopular but still very playable and exciting. The KID is very exciting but it's a bit more popular than the Budapest.

Hey trapper4. You seem to have the exact same problem I had. I also, used to play the qgd for black and always end up with boring positions in which I was a little worse and had a tough position to defend. I got tired of playing that so I switched to the Grunfeld. It may seem like there is a lot of theory and stuff to learn, but it isn't that bad at all. Another thing with the grunfeld, is that it gives winning chances with black, even against players rated higher than you. The QGD does not really offer this. I am about 1900 and I have already have a couple of decent results against higher rated players with the Grunfeld. You should look into this. By the way trapper4, what is your current rating? Hope I helped!

practitioners you said?

You mean they play it regularly, or that they played it once or twice in their life and maybe in an exhibition game? Something tells me it's the latter.

OK, I don't know that much ... but ... how can ANY first move be "an instant draw"?  There are so many thousands of ways the game can be played after any first move!  That's what keeps chess so much more fun that checkers or tic-tac-toe or something.

I like the Czech Benoni. It might give White too much at the master level, but in between a lot of White players don't play the closed positions well. I don't know how many times I've had people play an early f4 when Black can capture with the e5 pawn and plant a Knight on e5. Even if White plays better than that Black has interesting plans. Andrew Martin has a good Chessbase ABC trainer on the line some games by Nisapeanu(sp?) and there's a book recommending the line too called "how to play against 1. d4" I think but it recommends more the older "classical" setup with the weird "Fiancetto" of the knight which I don't like as much as the "modern"  Nd7-f8-g6-f4 plan. If you like slow manuvering, it's worth a look... otherwise there are other sharper Benonis not yet mentioned here too... also KID which is a huge can of worms.

oh, also Blumenfeld Gambit. I think Black might be just plain better if it's accepted but White has a really good way to decline it, though I think someone recently published a book recommending it and a couple other odd gambit lines vs some of White's other d4 alternatives and giving some new analysis; might be worth a look if it's you're style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_R1YakSIlo ( http://www.chessbase-shop.com/en/products/the_abc_of_the_czech_benoni http://www.amazon.com/How-Play-against-1-d4/dp/185744616X http://www.amazon.com/Attack-Black-Valery-Aveskulov/dp/1906454396 )

There is no need for more openings against d4, because the Dutch Defence is sufficient. Saying we need more openings is like saying we need more than one sexual position. Rubbish.

to each their own I guess. personally the thought of playing such cramped positions makes me feel somewhat ill.

False once again

Modern chess is all about the Classical Dutch and the Rubinstein French.  All else is noise.

After the knight maneuver I already mentioned all Black's pieces are good... the f8 Bishop is wide open, the e7 Bishop has opportunities outside the pawn chain via g5 (unlike White's often bad Bishop behind two pawns on d3) and ok maybe one knight is not very active beyond supporting the other, but f4 is a great square for one supported knight to occupy. Sure it takes time to get into that setup, but with a closed center you do have the time. Plans are slower and deeper in closed positions but that's no reason to be put off by them entirely. Alternately there's the older "classical" plan built around the f5 break. Obviously the position can be cramped if you don't play it right, but there are at least two sound plans to "untangle" at Black's disposal. Rather than run other people's sound, GM-approved suggestions down if you'd like to suggest something more open, something you do like to play, that does appear to be what Trapper4 is asking you.