Frankly at this point I feel compelled to give you some advice. Even if the advice I am giving is not the best.
It certainly is better than telling you to be the Element of Water!
What's the best answer to white's e4 opening?
Sort:
The advice I will give you mainly be on the French Defense simply because the French Defense really does not have many sub-mainlines.
The Sicilan Defense on the other hand will require you to give me more information about yourself in order for me to give you advice on that properly.
For example: I will have to know what mainline of the Sicilian you have tryed.
I will start with the French Defense:
Some very nice advice for you to be aware of is:
The 4 mainlines of the French.
The above position is a position you will see maybe 80% of your games if not more.
I recommend being aware of the main 4 responses in this position.
I would say these 4 responses are really huge.
- 3.Nc3 which is the Mainline
- 3.Nd2 which is the Tarrasch Variation
- 3.e5 which is the Advanced Variation
- 3.exd5 which is the Exchange Variation
I believe if you are serious about the French you will need to have a line/response to each one of the above moves.
Now I will say these are not the only lines you will see.
White can play alot of offbeat side lines.
However, I believe if you are really trying to keep the French Defense in your main weapon against 1.e4
Than you should be familar with these continuations first before going onto side lines!
Side line/Off beat lines are off beat for a reason.
Usually it is because they are not that great which is why I would devote more time on these lines above than only later start looking at the side lines after you have some understanding of what you plan to do against the 4 above responses.
As for the Sicilian.
You will need to pick a Sicilian line before you can really get any help lol.
There are over 30 Sicilian lines out there. Which they are completely different from each other in some cases.
The Sicilian Kan
Sicilian Najdorf
Sicilian Dragon
Accelerated Dragon
Scheveningen
Classical
There is alot of sicilians for sure the list goes on and on.
Well you could try to defend with the Ruy Lopez.
So I wouldn't reccomend the ruy lopez, it's essentially busted for black.
RasputinTheMad wrote:
This isn't a Ruy Lopez. And the Halloween Gambit is a loss for White.
You probably thought your post was an obvious joke?
Maybe he is trying indirectly talk smack to me.
Since I play the Halloween Gambit.
However, I use fancy pictures when I say Halloweens Gambit!
1..c6
Actually, I started studying Halloweens gambit a few days ago because I was absolutely blown away by how sound it was (comparitively) and it's actually incredibly dangerous. If black plays all the right moves he can win, but black probably has only one accurate move per turn, many of them are extremely counter-intuitive. If black wants to survive the halloween gambit he has to play several engine moves in a row before he starts have enough breathing room to get options.
I am going to play the halloween gambit in a few games just to see what it's like.
But regardless of how well I do it's an awesome opening and wheover came up with it is a genius.
I've found the Scandinavian to be very dangerous as Black. Been very good for me in tournament play...especially the Icelandic Gambit. Dynamic attacking play.
There is no best response to 1. e4 it is strictly a matter of taste.
chester6 wrote:
"... the Sicilian looks so complicated I've been putting off getting started on it."
You are apparently not the only one to feel that way. An attempt is now underway to try to sell The Lazy Man's Sicilian by Valeri Bronznik and Steve Giddins.
i agree with samuraichick, dont over-reach and await an opening. agression early often leads to poor position and the domino affect
With the Sicilian Kan you get a pawn on e6, as in the French. But maybe this is so in many Sicilian lines?
I'm also playing the French against 1. e4 (exclusively) and I am looking into playing something else for diversity. But one thing that worries me at a glance is that the d-pawn looks like a weakness in the Sicilian, and I really hate that!
The Kan comes with e6 and then a6 as well.
And with the c-pawn gone, another pawn already on e6 with the d-pawn behind it, and a lot of white pressure on the d5 square, preventing black to advance it to d5, blacks d-pawn could become a target on the open file.
As I said, that is my first impression after looking very quickly at this variation. But I assume there are some concrete reasons why you can play this!
According to the magazine, Chess, there were 54 Sicilian Kan games out of 1933 games in July 2015 with both players rated over 2400 Elo. For comparison, there were 59 Nimzo-Indians.
So, there are other variations to the Sicilian where you play d6 and leave the e-pawn on its starting position, but if you do not wish to fianchetto your Bishop you have to move that e-pawn.
However I have noticed after playing through some master games (most of them black won 
) that that d-pawn I'm so worried about seldom becomes a long term liability and it is possible to advance it.
I will try out some variations against the computer and see if they suit me.
I like quiet positions, but I don't shun away from active play if I think it's to my advantage or if I feel I it is what it takes to save a position!
Are there some variatons of the Sicilian that aren't ultra sharp, or is it all in the hands of white to decide if the game will be sharp no matter what black decides to play?
The Taimanov variation of the Sicilian Defense arises after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6.
Mazkor wrote:
"... Are there some variatons of the Sicilian that aren't ultra sharp, or is it all in the hands of white to decide if the game will be sharp no matter what black decides to play?"
Maybe try The Lazy Man's Sicilian by Valeri Bronznik and Steve Giddins. it might turn out to also be necessary to have some book like Fighting the Anti-Sicilians by IM Richard Palliser
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627130915/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen106.pdf
or Starting Out: The Sicilian by John Emms.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627122350/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen123.pdf
Thanks SamuraiChick for your advice.
LOL
I have to admit.
I think you handled that advice very cool and calmly.
I applaud you sir.
I honestly don't know if I would be able to handle that advice the same way you did.
I am laughing to hard.
StealthDodger has been playing the French and some of the Sicilian.
He asked for advice on those 2 openings.
SamuraiChick response?
BE LIKE WATER!
What a wonderful response that was. Unbelieveable.