What are the most romantic opening responses against 1.e4 and 1.d4?

Hello. Recently, picking up chess has been very fun. I've had a lot of success with the King's Gambit out of all openings I've tried OTB, and I've decided that I would like to pursue a romantic style of play on the black side of the board as well.

I have done many searches and have asked some friends about it - but all of them weren't too sure as well. I have the Dutch defense and King's Indian in mind, and for e4 I am kind of stuck. I would also love to hear suggestions on romantic openings for the white side as well.

I hope to hear from some more experienced players and thank you all for your contributions.

I am not sure if bumping is allowed, but I would still love some advice on this topic @_@

Currently I've planned out my repertoire to be:

White:

1.e4

vs e5: King's Gambit

vs Caro-Kann: exchange, Panov Botvinnik Attack

vs French: Paulsen

vs Sicilian: Open Sicilian, planning to play the Rossolimo attack against 2.Nc6. Against Najdorf, f4 variation and against the Dragon Yugoslav Attack. Against 2...e6, King's Indian Attack.

vs Modern/Pirc: Aiming for a Be3, Qd2 and f3 set-up.

Black:

vs e4: Still stuck with this! need help!

vs d4&c4: Considering King's Indian Defense and perhaps the Dutch.

Still would love some advice on what openings allow a romantic style of play with space for creativity. Thank you to all who contribute.

 

 

It's much harder to play romantic-style defences as Black without getting blown off the board . When i was playing OTB chess 20+ years ago i used to alternate between the 'risky' Dutch and the super-solid Nimzo-Indian, Funnily enough, i scored about equally well with both (just over 70%). I had far more problems v 1.e4 though, dabbling unsuccesfully with such openings as the Centre Counter and Philidor's Def. Eventually i tried to learn the Sveshnikov Sicilian (romantic score = High) with mixed results, often with my queenside teetering on the brink of total collapse but sometimes giving me dramatic wins due to long diagonals for bishops and open files for rooks!

Some romantic-style Black defences could include the Latvian Gambit (not very sound unfortunately but its romantic score is off the charts and could be an effective surprise weapon in blitz/rapid) and um... the Albin Countergambit, which apparently is OK even at GM level, though i've never tried it.

Thanks for the input, Probe_Plankton!

The suggestion of the sveshnikov sicilian was helpful. I looked into it and while I don't understand it too much, I hope to study it as it looks like something I would like to play. I agree that the Latvian gambit is not sound enough for OTB in most cases.

 

The floor is still open for suggestions. For those who think there are more romantic alternatives to the repertoire I've planned in post #2, please do give your help and suggestions as I still think it could be better in that aspect! Thanks for the help in advance.

With 1 e4 vs French, you might also consider the Milner-Barry Gambit. It may be a bit suspect at the highest levels, though it has been played in correspondence play.
As you have noticed, a Romantic opening against 1 e4 as Black is a bit tougher, since White will have a lot of choice over openings that evolve after 1 ... e5, though getting into a Romantic opening is quite possible if White cooperates. After 1 e4 d5 2 exd5, you could try the Icelandic Gambit or the Scandinavian Gambit. If White avoids the latter one by playing 4 d4, then you could transpose into the Panov-Botvinnik Attack with 4 ... cxd5.
Trying to get Alekhine's Defense is possible, if you would consider that a Romantic Opening. The Latvian Gambit has been played even in correspondence with Black wins and draws, though I haven't checked the statistics.
If you still don't consider that sound enough, as an alternative choice you may have good chances of getting into the Philidor Countergambit, which is somewhat like a delayed Latvian, and may (or may not) be sounder.
If White plays 1 d4 and 2 c4, the Budapest Gambit would appear to be a possible good choice for Black, for the way you want to play.
If you ever decided to open
1 d4 yourself, you could try playing the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit against 1 ... d5, but you'd have to come up with something against 1 d4 Nf6. After 1 d4 Nf6, you could try to trick Black back into the BDG by playing the Paleface Attack with 2 f3 (then if 2 ... d5 3 e4 dxe4 4 Nc3 gets you back into the main lines of the BDG). However, the downside is if Black doesn't play 2 ... d5, you could end up on the White side of the Samisch, the Pirc, or others, though you could still get good play. It would take a bit more preparation, if you ever have the time and want to try it.