Opening therapy needed

I never thought I would come here for advice about which openings to play, but I really need help in deciding what to play against 1.e4. Against 1.d4 I play the Gruenfeld and score better with it than with any other opening. I also play the occasional Budapest and do quite well with it. As white, I am equally happy playing 1.e4 (Ruy Lopez, Open Sicilians) and the Reti/English and score equally well with each. I would say my style is fairly dynamic, but not super-tactical. I like piece-play, not blocked pawn centres. I am happy to have the initiative or to have counter-attacking chances, not so good with patient defence. I am too old to expect serious improvement, but my rating of just above 2000 is as high as it has ever been.

I have played the Alekhine for years. My results are just about OK, but I really feel I need a more mainstream alternative. I have played the Sicilian Scheveningen occasionally for a long time, but my results in it are disappointing and in Anti-Sicilians even worse. I don't feel that my pieces have the freedom I like in Open Sicilians and in Anti-Sicilians there always comes a time when I wish I had developed a piece instead of playing c5. I have dabbled in the Open Ruy Lopez, which attracts me, but most people avoid it and my results in the Open Games are disappointing. I played the French (and the KID) as a youngster before realising blocked positions were not my thing. I have recently tried out the Caro-Kann. My results have been good, but it doesn't seem like an opening that fits my style. I have played the Pirc occasionally over the years. My results are just about OK, but it is hardly more mainstream than the Alekhine.

I think I need to pick one defence and really put some effort into learning it, but which should I choose?

It's interesting that you say that you have good results with the Caro Kann yet that is the one choice where you don't provide a definitive reason to not play it. It is one of your few choices where you don't sound sure that the defense isn't a fit for you. Since you already are having good results with the Caro Kann, I'd suggest that you continue to use it until you decide to shelve it or use it on a more consistent basis. You might realize that it is a better fit for you than you initially thought it was going to be.

It sounds like your top priority is having an open position, and avoiding things like "Bad Bishops" (i.e. The Dark-Squared Bishop in the Najdorf, King's Indian, etc or the Light Squared Bishop in the French, Kan Sicilian, etc).

If that is the correct interpretation, then your best bet is the Petroff Defense.  Black rarely has a Bad Bishop, and the position is usually pretty open.

@StevieG65

If there are any openings that you would like to practice, I'm always up for some daily chess games.  Just let me know what you would like to work on so that we could get some good practice in.

Hey, i aslo had the same Problem until i started playing the sveschnikov, a opening which gives u a slight positional disadvantage (hole on d5) but good counterplay without being to sharp, like other sicilians (najdorf, dragon).

I also play the Grünfeld and i think if you like the Grünfeld you will like the Sveschinkov too.

And if you study the sveschnikov white has to play a sequence of forced moves to keep the upper hand if white doesnt play 6. Ndb5 hes already worse in most cases, after you play 6. d6 white has to play 7. nd5 or7.  Bg5. The problem with this is that there alot of anti sicilians out there. Most of them arent good and black equalizes easily and is most often even better, i mean if my opponent is playing the alapin im just happy that he gives away his advantage. The only problem and Line you have to study seriously is the rossolimo, its almost as common as the 3.d4 these days. But i dont have a problem with it and i think it gives both sides good play.

Hope i could help, try the sveschnikov and tell me how it went

This is the Rossolimo

If youre Opponent plays 6. Sb3? Lb4! alsmost wins the game (obv not but black gets a veeery good position where white is forced to play perfect moves to dont lose on the spot

And sorry for spam haha

Sure its decent but you cant deny black is just worse then in the sicilian closed ruy or guicco piano and stuff i mean theres a reason no super gm is playing the french

Lol what

I am not really sure if I should say this, but to me it looks like you have tried basically every possible option: Alekhine, French, Caro-Kann, Pirc, Ruy Lopez, Sicilian (Schevenigen), etc.

I don't mean to offend you, but at some point you have to actually try to improve your understanding of the opening/the structures that result from it. Jumping from opening to opening is fun, but counterproductive. If you spend time with any of the openings above for long enough, you will get good results with it and eventually you will start to like them too. Don't pick an opening which you feel disgusted by, but pick something and stick to it. 

Also, how "mainstream" an opening is should play little role in your choice. If you like an opening and understand the intricacies better than your opponents, then it doesn't matter whether any super-GM has it currently as part of their repertoire. Don't pick something blatantly unsound, but don't be discouraged to play underrated/underused openings.

It is ok to play various opening seasonly and switch right after you don't get a satisfaction while opening deciding at first moves.
I come up that opening is doesn't matter — some times you have to adopt completely new openings even without deep theory knowledge. There are no good or bad openings, just play chess.

Thanks everyone for your comments which give some food for thought. Here are some random thoughts.

I think this is sound advice, but I like to have two openings. There are at least three reasons for this.

• I get to play a bigger variety of positions.
• At my level, most opponents don't prepare for specific games, but I do often play the same person twice within a few weeks. In that case it is good to avoid specific preparation.
• When I do decide to change openings I am only playing it in about half of my games, so I still have one I have lots of experience with for particularly important or difficult games.

Given that, I think have stuck to my openings. I have played the Alekhine for more than 30 years. I have tried a lot of others, but this is over more than 35 years, so I have played each regularly for at least 3 years (except the Caro-Kann, which I just started playing in the last year). 

I also agree that you have to like the opening. In fact, I am quite an intuitive player and I think this is very important for me. This is where I have struggled. If I lose a game with the Pirc, I feel my opening has let me down. If I lose a game in the Alekhine, I feel I have let my opening down. I also feel a sense of ownership. When I see a super-GM win with the Grunfeld, I immediately want to go through the game. I don't think I really feel the same with the Pirc. This all suggests that the Pirc is not for me.

By mainstream, I didn't mean fashionable. The Chigorin Defence to the Ruy Lopez is mainstream, but unfashionable. I would even say the O'Kelly Sicilian is mainstream. I think I mean an opening that fights immediately for the centre. Probably 1.., e5 or 1... c5, maybe the French or Caro-Kann.