SWJediknight wrote on 06/24/10 at 16:47:54:

Short - and also Tsjigorin - were quite above 1500. If White is flexible, like these two, and enjoys both saccing and defending a pawn the Evans and 4.Ng5 form a great combination.

Why nobody is mentioning the exchange ruy lopez? Its even played by Fisscher i thought. But the normal Ruy Lopez isnt that hard to play. The main line and most side sidelines are pretty straightforward. Castle, Re1, c3, (h3), d4 and hop your knight Nd2-f1-e3/g3-d5/f5. Only though nuts to crack is the open and the archangel. Dont forget to play a move order to avoid the marshall. The most important thing for me at least is to have a straightforward plan. And thats easier in the Ruy Lopez as it is in the Scottish.

Another line that was extremely popular on my club was the scotch gambit. Especially the e5 d5 Bb5 Ne4 Nd4 etc line. I would recommend that line (or play 0-0 instead of e5) then going for the pawn with Ng5. 

But i wont recommend the italian at all. White wants a pawn break if he wants the initiative. Either d4 or f4, but those are extremely hard to manage in the italian. The reason is that with the bishop on c4, there are a lot of tricks with Nxe4 and d5. Freeing black while attacking the bishop and defending the knight. In the Ruy Lopez with the bishop on b5 white is fast enough for the c3-d4 pawn break and so can do without defending the e4 pawn. Its way easier to create your center and maintain the initiative in the ruy lopez without sacrificing a pawn. In the italian you are likely to play either the evans or moller. Both involving a pawn sacrifice. The Guico piano is the only setup that goes for c3-d4 in the italian, but is so much slower as the ruy lopez that it doesnt make sense to me. Sometimes black manages even to play d5 before white can make his d4 pawn break. 

If you want to go for c3-d4 pawn center and long lasting initiative, go for the ruy lopez. If you want a open strategic battle (with of without queens), go scotch. If you want early initiative go kings gambit. If you want to do it a bit different and want a f4 pawn break without directly sacrificing it (a bit like the queens gambit) go for slower setups with Nc3/Bc4 and a later f4. 

Sorry i wont recommend italian at all. It was my first opening till i came to the conclusion that it isnt in line with the e4 e5 opening at all. And i should know because i played e4 e5 openings with both colours for years 

sim wrote on 06/24/10 at 14:49:25:

I'd say you can read my thoughts! 
So, OK, I'll first try the Evans/2 knights, at least it'll give me a first contact with e4-e5, and then when the time will be ripe, I'll think of switching to the Ruy Lopez or the Scotch.

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I find that especially true for the 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 lines. I always lose in that variation, it doesn't matter if I play black or white.
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The long lasting edge you get in the Spanish or Scotch means precisely that you can prevent black from entering lines that are theoretically fully adequate. Consequently, I think if one wants to avoid the two knights because it is equal for black, one should play the Spanish or the Scotch.
Which is to say: I think you should indeed try the Evans and take the 2 knights with it (either the 4.Ng5 or the d3/c3 lines). But if it turns out the two knights doesn't work for you, it's all the more reason to try the Spanish.

sim wrote on 06/24/10 at 08:26:10:

You are right: my feeling is that I should try the Evans and take the 2 knights with it. But it must not be that terrible. Up to the statistics on chessgames.com for the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, it seems plays Bc5 about 65% of the time and Nf6 only in one third of the games.
This is not so different from what happens with 1.d4. I like to play the Botvinnik and the moscow with white, but usually my opponents are opting for the Cambridge Springs or other QGD-like variations. There is always a price to pay 

What's the Riga Variation?

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Sorry, that was a heavy-handed attempt at irony on my part!!