With 1.f4 White grabs the e5 square from the side and plays for a kingside attack. You learn calm set-ups against ...d5 with ...g6, ...c5 and ...Bg4, and against 1...Nf6 and 1...c5. You also learn how to meet the sharp From's Gambit 1...e5 and the traps that hide in it. This is a intermediate opening course for White (ECO A02-A03) with 6 variations and 3 traps, written for players rated around 1400. Each move is explained and then drilled on a board; it is free.
Key ideas of Bird Opening
The f4 pawn controls e5. A knight on e5 is often White's best piece in the Bird.
Put the queen's bishop on b2 or keep it at home. On b2 it shares the long diagonal with the e5 knight.
Against a fianchetto on g7, the queen can go to e1 and then to h4. Then the f-pawn pushes and White attacks.
Push the e-pawn to e4 when it is safe. Then White has pawns on e4 and f4 and a lot of space.
The weak spot is the e1 to h4 diagonal. After 1...e5, never let a queen check on h4 when g3 and h2 are loose.
Variations you learn
1...d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 g6: bishop on b2 – 1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2 O-O …. Black puts the bishop on g7. White answers with a fianchetto on b2 and puts a knight on e5. After the bishops come off, White plans to push the e-pawn with a level, rich game.
1...d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5: Lasker Variation – 1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. b3 Nc6 5. Bb2 Bg4 …. Black takes queenside space with ...c5 and pins the f3 knight with ...Bg4. White breaks the pin, jumps to e5 and takes back on e5 with the f-pawn. White gets space and a half-open f-file.
1...d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Bg4 – 1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 Bg4 4. Be2 e6 5. O-O Nbd7 …. Black pins the f3 knight. White breaks the pin, asks the bishop a question with the h-pawn and gets the bishop pair. Then White pushes the e-pawn and opens the game for the two bishops.
1...Nf6 2.Nf3 g6: the queen goes to h4 – 1. f4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Be2 O-O 5. O-O d6 …. Black plays a King's Indian set-up. White builds the classic Bird plan: d3, the queen to e1, the e-pawn to e4 and the queen to h4. Then White plays for a kingside attack.
1...c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e3 g6 – 1. f4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e3 g6 4. Bb5 Bg7 5. O-O Nf6 …. Black answers with a Sicilian-style pawn. White pins the c6 knight with the bishop, gives it up to double Black's pawns and then pushes the e-pawn to gain space.
From's Gambit 1...e5 2.fxe5 d6 – 1. f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. Nf3 g5 5. d4 g4 …. Black gives a pawn to open lines toward White's king. White takes twice, develops the knight to f3 and answers 4...g5 with 5.d4. After the queens come off, White stays a pawn up.
Traps
From's Gambit: 4.Nc3?? Qh4+ – A warning for White. After 1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 the knight must go to f3. If it goes to c3, the black queen checks on h4 and Black mates in three moves.
From's Gambit: 5.h3?? Bg3# – Another warning for White. After 4...g5 White wants to stop the pawn from moving to g4. But the h-pawn move opens the g3 square, and the bishop mates at once.
From's Gambit: 6...f6? 7.Nc4 – In the 4...g5 line Black often kicks the e5 knight with 6...f6. The knight simply retreats to c4. White stays a pawn up, and Black's king is weak.
chessGM