As for me , I prefer Scotch in my glass than on my board : my results with Black are so good that I don't rely too much in Scotch with White
I still prefer Scotch Gambit 4 Bc4 that is not quite a gambit , just a move order to avoid Italian game
It will be my choice if my tries with Ruy Lopez are unsuccessful
In Ruy Lopez , many things depend on the spirit of Black Player
If he chooses an active defence , I can get sharp play , but against "Berlin Wall" , I still wonder what I can do

photophore wrote on 12/16/06 at 18:25:24:


I think that the Spanish is best played in the spirit of an attack that starts quietly and builds momentum.  If you must have play on the sharp edge, I would think that the Scotch would be a better bet, having played 1. e4.   

Maybe someone will disagree, but I think it's easier to insist on very sharp play, while still preserving real winning chances, after 1. d4 than after 1. e4.  For example, there is always the QGD exchange with 0-0-0.  Dangerous, but respectable and extremely sharp.  Likewise 4. a3 versus the Nimzo.

Eh? 4 00 Nxe4 is the start of the line to the endgame. Did you mean 5 Re1?

4.Qe2 would be a compatible choice, leading to similar types of positions just without the moves 3...a6 and 4.Ba4. There may be certain variations in which the placement of the bishop could make a difference, but this would at least seem like a reasonable starting point.

Hmmm, the short answer is that it is very difficult to recommend a method which allows you to play aggressively all of the time. Perhaps it would be worth considering a sideline involving delayed castling. After 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2!? Tiviakov has experimented with an early advance of the kingside pawns. This is not the method I recommend in my book, as I thought it might be a bit extreme for the majority of players, but if you want to be aggressive at all costs then it could be worth a look. Check out the following game for an example:

[Event "37th Olympiad"]
[Site "Turin ITA"]
[Date "2006.05.25"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Tiviakov, S."]
[Black "Gareev, T."]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Bc5 6. d3 d6 7. c3 Ba7 8. h3
Bd7 9. Bc2 Ne7 10. Nh4 O-O 11. g4 Be6 12. Nf5 Nd7 13. Be3 d5 14. Nd2 c5 15. Bb3
c4 16. dxc4 d4 17. cxd4 Bxf5 18. gxf5 Nxf5 19. exf5 exd4 20. Bxd4 Bxd4 21.
O-O-O Re8 22. Ne4 Nc5 23. f3 a5 24. Bc2 Rc8 25. Kb1 a4 26. a3 Nxe4 27. Bxe4 Qb6
28. Rc1 Bf6 29. Rhd1 h6 30. Rd5 Rc5 31. Qf2 Rec8 32. Rc2 Be7 33. Rd7 R8c7 34.
Rcd2 Qa6 35. Rxe7 Qxc4 36. Rc2 1-0

The early aggression lured Black into playing a questionable pawn sac, which Tiviakov converted with some accurate technique.
Of course Black has some different ways of playing after 5.Qe2, but this may at least be a starting point.

Hope that helps a bit!

Andrew