Bishop's Opening: free opening course

Key ideas

• The bishop on c4 eyes f7 from the first moves. Keep it on the a2 to g8 diagonal, and retreat it to b3 when Black kicks it.
• Against the Berlin Defence, d3 protects e4 calmly. White develops with Nf3, O-O and c3 and keeps all the options open.
• Watch the f7 square. A careless knight jump by Black often allows Bxf7+ or a knight check on g5.
• When Black takes space with a pawn on d4, break with f4 and open the f-file for the rook.
• The Bishop's Opening can turn into an Italian or a Vienna. Know those plans, and pick the one you like.

The 6 variations in the course

• Berlin Defence: 3...c6 and ...d5: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bd6 6. Nc3 d4 … — Black answers 3.d3 with 3...c6 and 4...d5 and builds a big centre. White keeps the bishop on b3, develops quickly and breaks with f4 once Black's pawn has gone to d4.
• Berlin Defence: 3...Bc5: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Bc5 4. Nf3 d6 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Bb6 … — Black puts the bishop on c5 and the game turns into a slow Italian. White plays c3, castles, and brings the b1 knight around to g3 with Nbd2 and Nf1.
• Berlin Defence: 3...d5: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Be7 … — Black opens the centre at once with 3...d5. White trades on d5, develops with Nf3, O-O and Re1, and puts pressure on Black's loose pawns on e5 and the knight on d5.
• 2...Bc5: 3.c3 and d4: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. c3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 … — Against 2...Bc5 White plays 3.c3 and wants a big centre with d4. After 3...Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 Black must find 5...d5. Natural knight moves lose ground, and the coach shows you why.
• Urusov Gambit: 3.d4: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Qxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 c6 … — White offers a pawn with 3.d4 for quick development. After 3...exd4 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 White castles long, puts a rook on e1 and attacks Black's king in the centre.
• 2...Nc6: into the Vienna: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nf3 d6 6. Na4 Bb6 … — Against 2...Nc6 White can play 3.Nc3 and reach a Vienna Game. After 3...Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nf3 d6 White jumps to a4 with the knight and wins the bishop pair.

Traps you will learn (2)

• Paulsen Defence: 5...dxe4?! 6.Ng5 Nd5? — In the 3...c6 line, taking on e4 lets White's knight jump to g5 and hit f7. If Black then defends with 6...Nd5, White takes on e4 and the d5 knight has no good square.
• Urusov Gambit: 5...Nd6? 6.O-O — In the Urusov Gambit the knight retreat to d6 looks natural, because it attacks the c4 bishop. But after 6.O-O the e-file opens, and if Black takes the bishop, the queen takes g7 and the h8 rook is lost.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.