you are right there are plenty of lines that can 'unbalance' the position.  you have to find the ones that unbalance in a way that suits you!  you see I play 4...Qh4 against the Scotch: that's an 'unbalancing' line.  in another thread i mention the fianchetto against the Spanish: 3...g6.  it is unbalancing in a way, at the very least i know the theory, and some new tricks as well, that my opponent does not.

if with 1. e4 e5 you get too many positions that don't suit you, maybe its time to switch to the French or something.  I play 1. e4 e5 to get an open position.  If I recall a good response to the Goering Gambit goes 4. c3 d5, blasting the position open, though Queens may get exchanged early.  Perhaps its the Queen trade you don't like?!  Well the Goering won't come up much, and just dont play the Russian 1. e4 e5  2. Nf3 Nf6 as Black!

first of all "drawish" in theory is one thing: in practice it's quite another.

secondly, in playing chess for 35 years, and 1. e4 e5 for 32 or 33 of them, I have NEVER faced the Danish.  And I'm not sure I've ever faced the Goring Gambit either; the Scotch Gambit on the other hand comes up with some regularly.  Lucky for White too, cause I love the 4...Qh4 line against the Scotch.

Good Luck

Hi everyone!

As I am changing my repertoire against e4, I am hesitating between a lot of lines. For instance, I would like to play e5, but I find (well, I think!) that in a few lines (like the goering gambit or danish gambit) it is difficult to have real winning chances, as some positions we might get at the end of a line are really drawish (I refer for example to Emms' book "Playing the open games as black").... Am I wrong????
I guess there are some lines that are more unbalanced, maybe....