Sharp yet sound opening repertoire

I am currently working on my opening repertoire. My goal is to pick openings that offer sharp, tactical play, while still being sound. I do not want to play any wild gambits because that would be unsound, but I also don't want to play an opening like the Caro-Kann because it is too positional. I also want to play openings that are fairly mainstream. Please offer your suggestions! 

Here is what I have so far:

1. Najdorf Sicilian (Black vs. e4)
2. Queen's Indian Defense and Nimzo-Indian (Black vs. d4)
3. Ruy Lopez or Scotch? Perhaps the Evan's Gambit if I am playing a lower rated player?(White vs. e5)

As I said before, please leave your suggestions below! 

Well my suggestion would be the kings gambit, but I doubt you would be willing to play that.

1. Najdorf is strong but also (at least to me) quite tough to wield. Have you considered the Sicilian Dragon? Or the Scandinavian? Both (to me) are more fun to play, and the plans for black are (in my opinion) easier to master than the Najdorf.

2. QID/Nimzo are great choices. Can't get much better than those.

3. Ruy Lopez is so theoretical these days that it's more of a Book Battle against your opponent. Scotch can be fun in some lines.

Have you considered the London System? Or the King's Indian Attack? Both are sound with a lot of tactical possibilities. They're also "system" openings that you can wield against any pretty much any defense.

I think the ruy teaches you a lot about chess.

You should study Nadjorf Sicilian now. I play it.I would also recommend Italian opening for white. For d4 Queen'sIndian Defense and Nimzo Indian.

I have played the Sicilian Dragon in the past, but it is starting to get repetitive. Almost every game is the same (Yugoslav attack). I also feel that it is a bit unsound.

Is the Ruy Lopez sharp enough though?

Yes

Yes, very. If you like, I can show you some of the tournament games I played in it as white. More tactics than positional things, though it can go both directions.

Maybe I'll learn the Ruy Lopez then. I can always use the Evan's Gambit as a secret weapon.

Ruy Lopez gets tactical if the other side plays terribly.

Sicilian Defense is the obvious choice. I recommend the Sicilian Kan. 

+1

Najdorf is fun and complicated

Kan is easier to learn

Whichever you like.

If you're planning to go with 1.e4, and truly want a full repertoire, you'll also want to prepare lines against the French, Caro, the Sicilians, Pirc, Modern, Scandinavian, and the Alekhine . . . as you'll be encountering these a lot, too.

(Remember, those players are guaranteed to be booking up against e4!)

None of this promises sharp by any stretch of the imagination:

Playing Devil's Advocate against your repertoire:

Najdorf - I play 6.Be2!

Nimzo/Queen's Indian - I play 3.g3! (The Catalan)

Ruy Lopez or Scotch - I play the Berlin against the Ruy or I could also play the Petroff!

Moral of the story, if you want to be any good, you can't rely on solely tactics.  People that say "I am a positional player" or "I am a tactical player" would be telling the truth only by saying "I am a nothing player!"  You must understand Positional Chess, "Technical Chess" (Not the same thing as Positional Chess), Tactical Play, etc.  It's the whole nine yards or it's nothing!

Really good responses, but I favor ThrillerFan's and BlunderLots' responses.  BlunderLots brings up the point that after e4, the ball is in black's court and they can come in with any number of weapons.  At my level I see a few of those very rarely, but e5, french, sicilian and scandinavian the most.  

I like BlunderLot's respons as it emphasizes the fact that no one opening is going to be a guaranteed advantage.  It all relies upon the opposing player's preparation and knowledge of the various lines.  

I've played a bit with 1. d4 and 1. Nf6, and with mixed results, but I tend to favor the more tactical heavy e4 games, at least so far at my level.  With e4, I have played a bit with the Ruy Lopez, Scotch and Danish Gambit, as well as a couple games in the 4 knights, but I generally enjoy a good King's Gambit game with the crazy wildfire, exposed kings and occasional sacrifices.  I have studied various lines quite a bit and played it a lot, so even though I am only a moderate player at best, I am usually at an advantage in KG lines against players my level.  

Against e4 I play the Dragon when I can and against against d4 or c4, the KID.  I have wanted to branch off of both of those openings, but haven't really found ones that I'm comfortable enough with yet or enjoy as much and I get fairly good results with the KID at least.  Even if the Dragon is a bit of a crapshoot, it leads to some exciting games.

Check out the Modern Benoni against 1.d4

I might add in response to the OP's "Najdorf" and post 16's "Dragon" is that I don't allow either one.  All the more confirmation that Tactical Play can't be forced.

As White, against the Sicilian with 2...d6, I actually play the following - this is for real, not merely devil's advocate:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3! (Instead of 5.Nc3).

White's plan is obvious.  His intentions are to play c4 and set up a Maroczy Bind.  BY FAR less wild and tactical than the Dragon or Najdorf!

In addition, you can't just merely assoicate "e4" with "tactically heavy games".  Other than what I play against the Caro-Kann, almost all of my 1.e4 games are "tactically light?" (if you want to call it that).  Below is basically what I play as White:

1.e4 - Exchange Ruy against 3...a6, Main Lines against 3...Other, 3.Nxe5 and 5.Nc3 line against the Petroff, Advance French, Sicilian Prins against 2...d6, Open Sicilian against 2...Nc6, King's Indian Attack against 2...e6, Fantasy Caro-Kann, Classical Alekhine, Austrian Attack against Pirc/Modern.

1.d4 - Torre (Against Nf6/g6 or Nf6/e6), Colle/Anti-Colle Reponses (Against early ...d5 lines), Zukertort (Again against early...d5 lines, depends on mood), Trompowsky (against 1...Nf6 if mood dictates it over Torre/Colle), Dangerfield Attack vs Dutch.

So once again, you can't force tactics!

For someone seeking help with choosing openings, I usually bring up Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).

http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html

I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site. Perhaps German_MagnusCarlsen would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM Johm Emms (2006).

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

 ThrillerFan,

Thanks for your input. I am well aware that my opponent can almost always steer the game into positional waters. However, openings like the Najdorf will allow for sharper positions more often than openings like the Caro-Kann. What would you suggest for white against the French?