Chess Opening Theory/1. f4

Bird's Opening
a b c d e f g h
8 a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8 8
7 a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7 7
6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6 6
5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5 5
4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4 4
3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 3
2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2 2
1 a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1 1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. f4
ECO code: A02-A03
Parent: Starting position

1. f4 · Bird's Opening edit

Bird’s Opening is an aggressive and less common opening, named after the chess player Henry Bird. This opening weakens the h4-to-e1 diagonal, and weakens White’s kingside, but helps control the centre and is good for players who don’t want to study openings. Black can respond with 1...d5 (Dutch variation) or 1...e5 (From’s Gambit); if White accepts the gambit, it creates more kingside weakness, and White must play carefully as a mate is easily seen with 2…d6 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. Nc3 Qh4+ 5. g3 Qxg3+ 6. hxg3 Bxg3#. Overall, this opening can be fun for club players and can usually lead to a tactical and aggressive game.

Statistics edit

Approximate chances
White win 35%, Draw 25%, Black win 39%
Estimated next move popularity
d5 49%, Nf6 15%, e5 11%, c5 9%, g6 8%, d6 2%. Other moves less than 0.5%.

Theory table edit

1. f4

1 2 3 4
f4
d5
Nf3
Nf6
e3
g6
Be2
Bg7
=
...
Nf6
Nf3
g6
e3
Bg7
Be2
O-O
=
...
e6
g4??
Qh4#
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
0-1
From Gambit ...
e5
fxe5
d6
exd6
Bxd6
Nf3
Nf6
Symmetric Variation ...
f5




...
g6
Nf3
d5
e3
Bg7
d4
Nh6
=

All possible Black's moves edit

Quick
Navigation
Na6
a6
a5

b6
b5
Nc6
c6
c5

d6
d5

e6
e5
Nf6
f6
f5

g6
g5
Nh6
h6
h5

References edit

  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.


For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

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