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Bird’s Opening: 3 quick facts

  • Bird’s Opening, named after English chess player Henry Bird, is an offbeat opening, not popular at all at top levels or among grandmasters.
  • Starting with 1. f4, this opening is a bold choice for White because moving the f-pawn slightly weakens White’s king from the get-go and doesn’t preserve White’s initial first-move advantage.
  • Similar to the Dutch Defense, but for White, Bird’s Opening includes some sharp variations, such as From’s Gambit, with 1…e5

Bird’s Opening: The move

Here is the move for Bird’s Opening:

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1. f4

A gif showing the opening move for Bird’s Opening: 1. White’s f-pawn moves to f4.

A little bird told me to shake things up from move one

If you want to catch your opponents totally off-guard, try Bird’s Opening!

If you’re looking for more openings, check out our guide featuring over 30 options for every skill level!