Should e4 be less focused on for beginner and intermediate players?

Also, the thread title is a bit conflated.

"Beginners" and "intermediate players" are two different experience levels.

With beginners, things like basic principles of development are often more than enough to focus on.

Something like:

"What's a good move for white here? Nf3, or a3?"

and

"What's a good move for black, here? Nh6 or e6?"

Then the coach explains the logic behind the moves.

This is how I first learned openings, as a beginner. I didn't learn the "names" of the openings until much later.

I’m glad I switched over to c4.

No more cheap tricks, traps and boat loads of theory.

I have been trying out c4 and it seems to create interesting positional battles. You'll have to advise me on how to play it.

There’s a lot of freedom so it came down to personal choice and taste for me.

My mainline is the Reversed Sicilian (complex) with sidelines consisting of the Larsen Attack (simple, positional and open tactical game) and Botvinnik System (closed).

Theres a lot of possible transpositions into d3, d4 and e3 lines as well. I feel very comfortable and enjoy the positions no matter how black responses because I always have at least 2 choices instead of paying one narrow path that you get find yourself in e4 and d4 openings.

My latest set of games on the Reversed Sicilian, Larsen Attack and Botvinnik System in order:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/51214226355

https://www.chess.com/game/live/51253831011

https://www.chess.com/game/live/51243554769

From what I can tell from the first game, (very nice game by the way) is that you try and control the weak light squares, and treat it like a reversed Accelerated Dragon?

Yes. Black really has to worry about the potential d4 push after 3. ...Bc5.

Thank-you.

You are correct.

I prefer the Sicilian Dragon as white but not black because the two tempi and no Yugoslav Attack is a luxury to play being a Sicilian player. The accelerated line also takes away blacks cheap trick in the Shirov/Kramnik/Reversed Rossolimo attempt.

Things became a lot of fun for me once I understood the ideas, themes and strategies in both the English and Sicilian. As you mentioned, light square dominance is one theme and long term strategy. Then you can add in dark square strategies with the DSB that can lead to a double fianchetto set-up or have both bishops pointing at the king side in menacing in lines such as the Dutch (f5 ideas) and Reversed Grand Prix.

The other aspect to freedom is white chooses where he wants counter play on the board: queenside, central or king side or two!

Another example in the Botvinnik System, you can lock the centre and choose which file to counter play on such as the b or f files. The king side counter play will appeal to KIA and Vienna players; I can say this because I use to play e4.

I forgot the Cuban NM who advocates this?

Main key is understanding the ideas of imbalance and counter play, not theory or move orders because there aren’t many books on this stuff anyways, thus freed me up to play and bypass a lot of theory or avoid cheap tricks or theorizing a narrow path to victory associated with e4 and d4 lines.

Case in point in the Scandinavian, my opponent was routinely playing his pet line and oblivious to what I was doing; easy win. It was all improvised:

https://www.chess.com/game/live/24620535969

That is one strong way to beat the Anglo-Scandinavian!

I tried a reversed Closed Sicilian and it all went downhill when I lost control of the light squares. In a miracle situation, they blundered on move 20, but after misevaluating a tactic and getting low on time, I had to force a three-fold repetition.

I tried some e4 games without learning any theory and it sort of proved my point, sort of contradicted it.

#63
1 e4 is more natural to play.

e4 and d4 would make sense for beginners to be in the centre of the board and learn the combinations thereafter.

Watching the high elo players battling it out in speed chess I observed curiously that after learning most of the opening repertoire with e4,d4 and c4 the chess doesn’t really begin until almost the middle game. So I watch for the pause, when finally they begin to play.An opening like b4 changes that dynamic. The polish seems to start the chess from the first moves. The advantage for black is only best if you know the combinations thereafter

Thank-you!

it’s easy to play when white gets everything he wants:

1. Control of the center and long diagonal.

2. Castled King with a Fianchetto Bishop.

2. Tempi on the Queen 

Actually, for me, I find having to work to defend the king's pawn much less natural than having the d pawn defended by the queen or the c pawn just not as vulnerable to attack.

It appears to be that Alpha Zero liked c4/nf3/d4 more than e4, yet Stockfish thinks that e4 is best. I guess they both have a different style of play.

Agreed.