yes really with d4 you only need to know the von popiel and the hubsch gambit which is 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e4 Nxe4. almost everything else transposes to e4 openings. for example after d4 if they go d6 you go e4 its a normal pirc. the only things that might not transpose are obscure things like the Englund gambit and the old Benoni defense (which btw if you play the smith morra you can go into that) and the dutch(which again you can go with the Staunton gambit)
If you don’t want to give up 1.e4 but still want to have the von popiel in your repertoire it’s possible to get this against the Scandinavian by playing d4 on move 2 rather than exd5
@@willking3202 As an 1.e4 I've started playing it as a response to the Scandi and it's so much more fun than other options. I play 1.e4 to get fun gambits like the Urusov, so another exciting line is a great addition to my repertoire!
Yup, and in addition to the Scandinavian, the von popiel tranposition is also possible against the alekhine: e4 Nf6 Nc3, here most people play d5 where you can then play d4! :) They could play 2… e5 but then they probably know the Vienna less well than you do if they started with 1… Nf6 haha
