Post your favorite response to 1.e4

I find that the hardest thing to decide at the start of the game when your opponent playing white moves his pawn to e4 is how to respond. should you move your pawn to c5? e5? d5? possibly knight to f6? there are endless possibilities. I am opening this thread so you, as chess player's can vote for your favorite response to 1. e4. have fun

I usually play 1. ... Nh6 followed by f6, Nf7, h5, g5 Bg7, Nh6, etc etc.

c5 ftw

Usually 1...c5, but I'm flirting with 1...d6 lately.

For me, it was a process of elimination.  1. ..c5 was fine, but seems annoyingly overpopular, and the razor's edge of some variations can get annoying.  I started running into players rated 500 points lower that had 20+ moves memorized.  1. ..c6 left white with too many options and too much space for my taste.  1. ..e5 certainly has its merits, but I felt I was was often getting forced into long, slow defenses playing for 2 results.  And the constant barrage of critical gambit lines made my head spin.  1. ..d5 seemed to leave white firmly in the driver's seat and seemed to give white too much space and development for my liking.  Also I wanted more pawn levers and more active plans.  1. ...g6 was fun, but I started to see it everywhere at my club and I also got tired of playing the game of white's choosing, not mine.  So I've settled on 1. ...e6.  It has it's issues, but it gives me solidity, counterattack, pawn play, and forces white to defend his advanced center or give me some good activity.  Never tried 1. ...Nf6.

a7 ofcourse, the saint george defense :D

I like going into Queens Indian defense, but I usually respond directly by playing b6 

Usually c6 (Caro-Kann), occasionally c5 (some form of the Sicilian), and on rare occasions e5 (Ruy Lopez)

I usually play the french (e6) versus 1. e4

1...c5 FTW!!!!

1...e5

yep the pirc rulez! :)

The is a reason why c5 is most popular. It's just better.

But if you are looking for something less complicated that give many players a lot of trouble try the Pirc.

anyone considered knight to c6?

1....d6 --have had fun playing it

1 c6 or 1 g6 depending on my mood

d5,exd c3

1...g6. i dont use it that often, but its my favourite.

...d5 =)

c6 is the safest...maybe