ChessPub Forum - Switching to e4

thibdb13 God Member Offline Tal was the best Posts: 948 Mechelen Gender:	Switching to e4 06/18/10 at 12:43:54 I am thinking of switching after nearly 30 years from d4/c4 to e4. The idea is to play something different but to keep a mix between positionnal and aggressive. What would you recommend I could start with?
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dfan Full Member Offline Long analysis, wrong analysis Posts: 163 Boston	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #1 - 06/18/10 at 14:46:17 What is your rating?
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thibdb13 God Member Offline Tal was the best Posts: 948 Mechelen Gender:	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #2 - 06/18/10 at 15:00:27 1800-1900
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TicklyTim Full Member Offline likes to tickle the pieces sometimes... Posts: 205 England Gender:	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #3 - 06/18/10 at 15:01:34 Do you like your theory heavy or light? Do you want your lines to be critical and on a knife-edge? Do you want the position to open in the centre or stay relatively closed? Do you mind sacrificing pawns for the initiative? Do you have a prefence to Bishops or Knights?
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thibdb13

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #4 - 06/18/10 at 15:20:19

TicklyTim wrote on 06/18/10 at 15:01:34:

Do you like your theory heavy or light?
Do you want your lines to be critical and on a knife-edge?
Do you want the position to open in the centre or stay relatively closed?
Do you mind sacrificing pawns for the initiative?
Do you have a prefence to Bishops or Knights?

Theory might be heavy for so far it is not too difficult to understand
I quite like critical lilnes
Center may be closed or open, I don't mind but it is true I like to put some pression to/through the center
I do not mind sacrificing pawns for the initiative at all
No real preference to bishops or knights but by experience I know I play better (= I get better positions) with the bishops pair

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Yusupov once said that “The problem with the Dutch Defence is that later in many positions the best move would be ...f5-f7” but he is surely wrong.

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TonyRo God Member Online I'm gonna crack your skull! Posts: 801 Cleveland, OH Gender:	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #5 - 06/18/10 at 15:42:42 If you don't mind theory heavy, critical lines that may be closed or open, it has to be the Ruy Lopez!
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dfan

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #6 - 06/18/10 at 15:44:07

I see that you mention only 1.e4 e5 lines in your poll. I'm sure you are aware that there are other responses on move 1 for Black

When I switched to e4, I used Emms' Attacking With 1 e4, which is a complete not-very-theoretical repertoire, and once I was comfortable with it, I started switching parts of it out for more dynamic options (e..g., Closed Sicilian -> Open Sicilian, KIA vs e6 -> Tarrasch). It's a good baseline if you don't mind a little "wasted" work, and you can always keep it around as a backup repertoire.

I'm 1800 and I like it for my level.

Its response to 1...e5, by the way, is the Bishop's Opening, usually transposing into a KGD.

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thibdb13

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #7 - 06/18/10 at 16:07:57

@dfan: My main problem is to know why I should play against e5. I have always played half-closed opening with black against e4 (Pirc, French, Sicilian, Caro-Kann and now Alekhine) and I am quite confident about those openings (except maybe for the French). But e4-e5 is totally unknown territory for me. The last time I played e4 in a serious game, it was in the mid-eighties when I was playing my fisrt games in a club. Long, long ago Huh

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Yusupov once said that “The problem with the Dutch Defence is that later in many positions the best move would be ...f5-f7” but he is surely wrong.

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zoo

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Think better!

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #8 - 06/18/10 at 16:48:11

Either King's Gambit or Scotch. Both require problem solving from White at move 1, which can be a virtue for an e4 newbie. Also try to find an opening where Black's ...Bc5 is not bothersome. You can check your intended openings against Marin's 1...e5 books, which are great except for the Vienna & KG parts (he relies on a ...Bc5 KG which is not problematic for White). Spanish games with ...Bc5 also are a nuisance for White.
Finally, prepare for the Philidor, no longer a lame opening and a favourite of Master vs Patzer.

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People think they have a spare life for learning.

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Conquistador

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #9 - 06/18/10 at 16:51:55

Well I find playing against 1.e4 e5 is pretty easy. I have always used the Italian Game and that has worked well for me over the years. It has some theory to it, but you can control what lines you need to study. Of course I play 1.e4 e5 as black as well so I find it intuitive. In my mind, the Italian has the strongest pieces, but the Ruy Lopez has the strongest center. The Italian requires precision, so at your level it would still be strong.
If you want to play the Ruy Lopez, you have to have a lot of experience to understand the subtile patterns.

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thibdb13

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #10 - 06/18/10 at 17:30:14

Conquistador wrote on 06/18/10 at 16:51:55:

Well I find playing against 1.e4 e5 is pretty easy. I have always used the Italian Game and that has worked well for me over the years. It has some theory to it, but you can control what lines you need to study. Of course I play 1.e4 e5 as black as well so I find it intuitive. In my mind, the Italian has the strongest pieces, but the Ruy Lopez has the strongest center. The Italian requires precision, so at your level it would still be strong.
If you want to play the Ruy Lopez, you have to have a lot of experience to understand the subtile patterns.

What are you playing against the 2 knights?
And if black plays Bc5, are you going for a "classical" Italian or for the Evans Gambit?
Can you play the Italian on a quite aggressive way or is it more positionnal?

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Yusupov once said that “The problem with the Dutch Defence is that later in many positions the best move would be ...f5-f7” but he is surely wrong.

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Conquistador

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Re: Switching to e4
Reply #11 - 06/18/10 at 17:56:47

Against the Two Knights Defense, I attack with 4.Ng5.

Against the Italian, I play straightforward with c3 and build my position in the classival Italian. Few people actually know how to play it correctly.

The style of the Italian allows for aggressive play, but it also allows for quiet positional play depending on your preference. The Italian has lines for really any style you want.

What is your style?

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kylemeister God Member Offline Insert witty and/or pithy saying here Posts: 2177 USA	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #12 - 06/18/10 at 19:01:34 I wouldn't think of 4. Ng5 as attacking, rather the opposite ...
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Conquistador YaBB Newbies Offline WWAD-What Would Alekhine Do? Posts: 42	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #13 - 06/18/10 at 19:25:51 Actually you are correct kylemeister. White grabs a pawn and proceeds to hold on to it. What I meant to say it was aggressive in its intentions.
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thibdb13 God Member Offline Tal was the best Posts: 948 Mechelen Gender:	Re: Switching to e4 Reply #14 - 06/18/10 at 23:18:00 Conquistador wrote on 06/18/10 at 19:25:51: Actually you are correct kylemeister. White grabs a pawn and proceeds to hold on to it. What I meant to say it was aggressive in its intentions. Not really what I was hoping for I'd rather sacrifice a pawn for the initiative.
Back to top	Yusupov once said that “The problem with the Dutch Defence is that later in many positions the best move would be ...f5-f7” but he is surely wrong. IP Logged

Poll
Question: Which opening do you recommend to someone switching to e4?
* This poll has now closed *
Vienna 5 (9.8%) King's Gambit 7 (13.7%) Scotch 5 (9.8%) Scotch Gambit / Göring Gambit 1 (2.0%) Italian / Two Knights 10 (19.6%) Evans Gambit / Two Knights 3 (5.9%) Ponziani 0 (0.0%) Ruy Lopez Exchange 2 (3.9%) Ruy Lopez Worrall 4 (7.8%) Ruy Lopez "Classical" 14 (27.5%) Total votes: 51 « Last Modified by: thibdb13 on: 06/22/10 at 09:16:47 »

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