Chess opening · ECO A02
Bird Opening
1.f4 is the Bird Opening: a flank pawn move that controls e5 and prepares a kingside setup with Nf3, e3 and often b3 and Bb2. In effect White plays a Dutch Defense with colors reversed and an extra tempo. The cost is a slightly airy king, since the e1-h4 diagonal is open and some Black replies aim straight at it.
- Rank by weighted share
- #47 of 159
Key moves
1. f4
- 1. f4The pawn on f4 controls e5 and gives White a grip on the dark central squares. Because it leaves the e1-h4 diagonal open, White usually castles kingside soon and steers clear of lines where a black queen or bishop arrives on h4 with check.
The From Gambit
1...e5 offers a pawn at once. After 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6, Black has given a pawn for quick development and open lines toward the white king, with ...Qh4+ and ...Ng4 ideas in the air.
Players who would rather avoid this often meet 1...e5 with 2.e4, which turns the game into a King's Gambit.
Stonewall or fianchetto
After 1...d5 White chooses between a Stonewall with e3, d4 and Bd3, and a fianchetto with g3 and Bg2 or b3 and Bb2. The Stonewall clamps down on e5 but leaves a hole on e4 that no white pawn can ever cover; the fianchetto keeps the center fluid and points the bishops along the long diagonals.
A queenside fianchetto plan
1... d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2
White's bishop on b2 and pawn on f4 both bear down on e5, so a black knight can rarely settle there. Black answers with a kingside fianchetto that contests the same long diagonal, and the game becomes a slow maneuvering fight over that one square.
Top replies by rating
d5 leads every band. From 1800 up, e5, the From Gambit, climbs into the top three, and at 2000 and up its share closes much of the gap to d5.
| Rating | Top | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1200 | d5 36% | e6 19% | Nf6 10% |
| 1200–1399 | d5 43% | e6 19% | Nf6 7% |
| 1400–1599 | d5 41% | e6 15% | c5 8% |
| 1600–1799 | d5 39% | e6 13% | c5 9% |
| 1800–1999 | d5 39% | e5 15% | e6 10% |
| 2000 and up | d5 34% | e5 27% | c5 11% |
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