Which is better: e4 or d4?

Hey everybody,

Challenging question here; which is better; e4 or d4?

Thanks!

Oh god, here we go again.

By far, the answer is 1.d4!  It scores a full 2% better than 1.e4.

1.d4 players (along with 1.c4 and 1.Nf3 players) show a deeper understanding of chess strategy. 

1.e4 players play 1.e4 because they don't have the patience to appreciate the true aspects of the game, just want to ram tactics in your face, and once you blow off their attack, their pawn structure is weak, their pieces are uncoordinated, their position is shattered, and they lose!

I believe d4, and not just because I play it as white - lets look at my most recent tournament, the Chicago Open:

5 d4 games, 5 white wins

1 c4 game, 1 white win.

1 e4 game, 1 black win.

e4 scored the absolute worse!

Actually, I think the c4 game started with Nf3 Nf6 c4, but it transposes to english anyways.

thanks anyway.

it's al about preference

1.e4 tentds to lead to more open positions and is thus better for juniors trying to learn the game because there are a lot of tactics. unfortunantly it's hard to get anything going against e5 (berlin wall petroff marshall closed breyer) and even harder to survive against the many sicilian. 

1.d4 leads to more closed positions and the play is less forced and more positional. I think d4 will greatly increase your understanding of the game and is problably best for players who are actually trying to improve. altrough black has quite a few good answers there is no way for black to liquidate the play immediately ( like in some critical 1.e4-e5 lines) so white can always try for an advantage

also many exclusive 1.e4 grandmasters by new have included 1.d4 in their repertoire eg: anand. while exclusive 1.d4/c4/Nf3 (they often transpose) gm's don't seem to be intrested in 1.e4 (who can even think of kramnik playing 1.e4)

its e4 not d4 d4 isint as good as e4 because e4 is more solid and better chances for white e4 has been played in more wolrd championships and by more supergms e4 also is more practical since often when you play d4 your subject to harsh prep e4 its harder to prep against someone who plays e4. e4 also has a better chance of being winning for white with optimal play.

d4 is better when you need to win e4 when you only want a draw. for example if im playing a person such as magnus or just a gm im gonna play e4 since i can always have the safety net of forcing a draw but d4 you dont have that as easily since their are lines where black can prolong the games

also e4 is harder to play against since e4 e5 nf3 nc6 is unpleasant and the carokann is also unpleasant in variations such as the classical

and the french is also very hard to play

same for alternatives

STATISTICALLY, 1.d4 lines are harder to get an advantage against, BUT the REAL answer depends on YOUR playing style! if you prefer open tactical games, then 1.e4, if you prefer closed positions and more wiggling to get anything done (yes, I phrased that with contempt) then you might be a 1.d4 player.

personally, I despise closed positions and toothless pawn pushing GM approved lines that are a terrible match for my style and will take the -2 points "blunder" englund hartlaub/charlick gambit against 1.d4 PRECISELY, because it's the best way to turn 1.d4 into an open game. It's ironic that I hate (sound) 1.e4 d5, but love "unsound" 1.d5 e5!?

best is to figure your playing style out and try to find lines that agree with it.

I'm finding that the English, 1.c4 is a really tough nut to crack as it has an OTB advantage in almost EVERY LINE that creeps higher and higher. there are no detectable spikes that point to black gaining an advantage that I could find trying to come up with a reply

EXCEPT when white faces a good COUNTER GAMBIT!

1.e4 e5 rousseau gambit? 46:51 @ 1.3m games

1.e4 c5 nimzowitsch variation's WORST line, the main line is 44:50 @ 81k

french just drives me nuts from the get go, and add pirc, modern & owens to that!

I have a slightly LOSING king's gambit stat too because of the falkbeer counter gambit, keene & norwalde variations where I'm winning in everything else

1.d4 gives players a lot more time to figure stuff out without immediate threats USUALLY where 1.e5 is a lot more double edged with stuff that goes south blowing up and catching fire fast. I have way more 1.e5 minatures than EVERYTHING as black combined. my black games take almost twice as long usually

as a former 1.d4 stonewall attack player too, I used to have a winning record with that. even as a 1400, it was EASY to play fritz 6 for 35 or more moves. if you have the PATIENCE for it, 1.d4 is a tougher nut to crack. if you don't, like me, it's an insufferable long drawn out torture

So, does anyone remember this Chessbase article from a decade or so ago where the author did a database analysis and determined that, adjusted for ratings differences where e4 players are typically a little lower rated, 1. e4 actually scores best?

I say this not as an 1. e4 advocate, because I don't usually open 1. e4 (I normally open 1. Nf3).

But it does kinda make sense 1. e4 would be best. The reasoning is that what white really would like to do is pick up both center pawns and play 1. e4&d4. In defenses where black allows it white will almost always play both pawns forward, regardless whether the game started 1. e4 or 1. d4 (eg Modern Defense). And the point is that white really wants to play both moves, and that after 1. e4 white will typically have a much easier time fulfilling that dream and getting in d4, at some point, than getting in e4 if the game started d4.

Now I don't think there's a big difference though. I think 1. e4, 1. d4. 1. Nf3 and 1. c4 are all top tier.

E4

e4 is better.

Chessbase says d4 because your pawn is protected and you are not opening your king

e4 is a much better way to get sharper, more tactical positions and fight for a win

d4 is more slower, closed, and positional and requires more knowledge of your opening and is honestly more drawish

e4 players play e4 for the open position and tactics

d4 players play d4 for a calmer, more solid game and try to win by outplaying you in an endgame. or just want to play a system opening, (which is most of them)

The choice of e4 or d4 on move 1 is irrelevant to the outcome of the game. Middlegame, endgame and combinational skills are more important to the ultimate outcome.

how so?

they play differently and the outcomes can be very different

Move 1 is just move 1. What wins the game is all that stuff after move 1. Even if you play main-line opening theory out to move 20 or so, the actual game will start when you leave your book preparation and start thinking on your own. This is way more important than move 1.

I agree. For 99.99% of players, it doesn't matter. It's just personal preference. Even for the .01% it doesn't make much difference either. Grandmasters play both.