Whats the best response to d4? Is it Nf6?

I have tried playing d5 in response to d4, but I have exactly had great results. More than the results I don't really enjoy playing those games. The position is closed and I have learned that I like open positions more than closed ones.

So I was looking to change things, and started playing 1.Nf6. I think the results have improved (or atleast that is what I feel, haven't looked at concrete numbers). However even with the better results against d4, I find I am still not enjoying the games. They lead to closed cramped positions and its not fun.

So what is the best response to 1.d4? Also what is the move in response to d4, which is most likely to lead to an open game.

I mean in the OP that I have *not* had great results with 1.d5 against 1.d4.

1. ... Nf6 is the most flexible response and many believe it gives the best practical chances. 

However in terms of keeping the theoretical draw--there are several moves which are ok. 

I quite like 1...Nf6 more because it offers flexibility. An even more flexible move if you play the French is 1...e6, because if White replies 2. e4 you can reply 2...d5 giving you your French position.

Would you please expand on the Benoni.

I used to play 1. ..d5 in response to 1. d4, and had much the same experience as you.  It's inflexible for black and gives white too many options for development.  1. ..Nf6 (which I switched to about 2 years ago) is vastly superior, almost to the point where I'd call it "proper".

The point of 1. ..Nf6 is that it gives black the options of how to continue.  I have found the Grunfeld to be a particularly effective continuation, but virtually all of the Indian Defenses, variants of the Queen's Gambit Declined, and a host of other openings, are available to black, and white is stuck waiting to see which one you will try to transpose to, after making a first move that doesn't help his own development so much (at least as compared 1. e4, 1.c4, and 1. Nf3).

1. ..Nf6 is a hypermodern reply to a classical 1. d4 opening.  The point is to seek counterplay rather than equality.  You allow white to stake out a big pawn center, but in return you gain a development advantage, and position your minor pieces so as to undermine and eventually destroy that pawn center.

One more bit of warning - if you do start to play 1. ..Nf6, you will eventually need to be prepared for the Trumpowsky Attack.  It's highly tactical and anti-positional, which means it is rarely played by 1. d4 players (who usually choose the opening for its safety and positional merit).  However, it is the most sound anti-system out there for folks who want to avoid the Indian Defenses and the Grunfeld (which is basically an Indian Defense, too).

Yeah I looked into the Tarrasch which a lot of you are recommending and that is the structure that I hate. It leads to closed positions and I don't enjoy those games.

Perhaps the discomfort I have with the position is not that it is closed, I can't quite put my finger on it, but it doesn't for some reason excite me.

For now I am sticking to Nf3, will try some b6 openings followed by fiachettoing the bishop.

Yeah...

@BobbyTalparov Yes, the Tarrasch can lead to open positions, and black is OK.  However, white is still dictating the pace and direction of play, and black's isolani is a tricky thing for a C-rank player to work with.  In the position above, white's pieces are clearly more active (though not as well coordinated).

Again, the issue I have with 1. ..d5 is that it is inflexible.  I think JayeshSinhaChess is looking for near-term attacking potential, not just trying to hang on until his opponent makes a mistake.  Both the Slav and the Tarrasch, at least in my experience, seem to accept the fact that black is on the defensive.  The defenses which start with 1. ..Nf6 are far adaptable.

Far more adaptable, is what I meant to say there.

Nf6 against 1.d4 is very flexible and can lead to good chances for the black pieces. It can lead to many openings such as the Kings Indian, the Indian game, Grunfeld, Nimzo Indian, and even the Benoni!!!

However if you want to try something different other than d5 and Nf6. You should check out f5 which is the Dutch Defense

@Dsmith - I think you have hit the nail on the head. The discomfort is that black in those openings has almost no initiative. I like attacking. Quiet positional plays don't excite me. The games I play, and where I have fun is where I am dictating play. Very often its a race to see who mates first, me or the opponent. Those games are a lot of fun.

Also mostly in my games the decision hangs on whether I attack well or not. Most times I just over extend and the attack slowly fades out leaving me defensively vulnerable. Or I just put the opponent in so much pressure that he just blunders.

 Sometimes I just execute the attack well and #. However the point is I am the one dictating play.

Against 1.d4 I find it very hard to do that. So suppose the better question to now ask is, which response to 1.d4 gives black the most attacking opportunities.