White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing the d-pawn to d5. Black's most common reply is 2...Nf6, followed by 2...Nc6 and 2...Bc5. By ignoring the beginner's maxim "develop knights before bishops", White leaves the f-pawn unblocked, preserving the possibility of an f2–f4 push . This gives the Bishop's Opening an affinity with the King's Gambit and the Vienna Game, two openings that share this characteristic. The Bishop's Opening can transpose into either of these openings. Transpositions into the Giuoco Piano and the Two Knights Defense and other openings are also possible.
The Bishop's Opening is one of the oldest openings to be analyzed; it was studied by Lucena and Ruy Lopez. Later it was played by Philidor, whose influence gave the opening long-lasting popularity.[1][a] The opening fell out of favor after improvements for Black were introduced in the mid-19th century.[1][b]
Weaver Adams in his classic work White to Play and Win claimed that the Bishop's Opening was a win for White by force from the second move.[4] He was unable to prove this by defeating players stronger than himself, however, and later abandoned the Bishop's Opening for the Vienna Game, making the same claim.[5] Grandmaster Nick de Firmian, in the 14th edition of Modern Chess Openings, concludes that the Bishop's Opening leads to equality with best play by both sides,[6] and notes that, "Among modern players only Bent Larsen has played it much, but even Kasparov gave it a whirl (winning against Bareev)."[7]
Analysis
The opening is rich in transpositional possibilities, but also has many independent lines. Lines also frequently reached from other openings, such as the Vienna Game, are often regarded as transpositions, including by ECO, but may also be assigned to the Bishop's Opening instead.
Because of this, the opening can be used as a transpositional device. White sometimes chooses the Bishop's Opening move order with the goal of transposing into the Giuoco Piano while preventing Black from playing Petrov's Defense. For example, 2...Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5 reaches the quiet Giuoco Pianissimo. Black can decline this, however, by playing 3...c6 instead.
Examined in this article are the following common variations:
2...b5 3.Bxb5 (Anderssen Gambit and Thorold Gambit)
Berlin Defense: 2...Nf6
Black's most active second move is 2...Nf6, forcing White to decide how to defend the pawn on e4. The usual method is 3.d3. Black must be careful about later ideas of f4 (a delayed King's Gambit) from White.
Following 3.d3, Black's most common replies are 3...c6 and 3...Nc6. The latter almost always transposes to either the closed Two Knights Defense (also known as the Modern Bishop's Opening) after 4.Nf3, or the Vienna Hybrid Variation after 4.Nc3. 3...Bc5 is also common and often transposes to the Giuoco Piano after a later ...Nc6. Transposition to the Two Knights is also common after the occasionally seen 3...Be7 and 3...d5.
White may also avoid playing d3. The most common alternative is 3.Nc3, which transposes to the Stanley Variation of the Vienna Game, followed by 3.d4, usually intending the Urusov Gambit, 3.Nf3, usually intending the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit, and 3.Qe2 or 3.Qf3. A rarely seen gambit is 3.f4, which typically continues 3...Nxe4 4.d3 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 (or 5...e4); 3...exf4, transposing to the Bishop's Gambit; or 3...d5 4.exd5 e4!, a line of the Falkbeer Countergambit favorable to Black.[9]
Paulsen Defense: 3.d3 c6
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Berlin Defense, Paulsen Defense, main line: 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bd6
The most well-regarded response is 3...c6[8], the Paulsen Defense, intending to establish a strong center and win a tempo on White's bishop. It usually continues 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bd6. It is the most commonly played independent line of the opening.
Urusov Gambit: 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3
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Urusov Gambit: 3.d4
The Urusov Gambit is named after Russian Prince Sergey Semyonovich Urusov (1827–1897). After 2...Nf6 3.d4 exd4 (3...Nxe4 4.dxe5 gives White some advantage) 4.Nf3, Black can transpose to the Two Knights Defense with 4...Nc6, or can decline the gambit with 4...d5 5.exd5 Bb4+ 6.c3 (6.Kf1 is recommended by Michael Goeller, winning a pawn at the expense of castling rights) 6...Qe7+ 7.Be2 dxc3, when 8.bxc3 and 8.Nxc3 both offer approximately equal chances.
Black can accept the gambit with 4...Nxe4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 (5...Nd6? 6.0-0 gives White an overwhelming attack), and White will continue with Nc3, Bg5, Qh4, 0-0-0, and usually intends to meet ...0-0 and ...h6 with the piece sacrifice Bxh6, exposing the black king. Black has a solid position with no clear weaknesses, but White has attacking chances and piece activity as compensation for the pawn.
The Urusov Gambit is also occasionally reached via Petrov's Defense after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4. The Max Lange Attack can also be reached from the position after 4...Bc5 5.0-0 Nc6.
Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit: 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nc3
The Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit is named after English players and chess writers Samuel Boden and Lionel Kieseritzky. Boden published the first analysis of it in 1851. Opening theoreticians consider that after 2...Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nc3 Nxc3 5.dxc3 f6, White's attack is not quite worth a pawn. The game may continue 6.0-0 Nc6 (not 6...Be7? 7.Nxe5! with a tremendous attack, but 6...d6 is also playable ) 7.Nh4 g6 8.f4 f5 9.Nf3 (9.Nxf5? d5!) e4 10.Ng5 (10.Ne5 Qe7! threatening Qc5+ is strong) Bc5+. In practice, Black's lack of development and inability to castlekingside can prove very problematic.
Safer for Black are Paul Morphy's solid 5...c6 6.Nxe5 d5, returning the pawn with equality, and 4...Nc6!? (instead of 4...Nxc3) 5.0-0 (5.Nxe4 d5) Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qe7! when, according to Bobby Fischer in My 60 Memorable Games, "White has no compensation for the pawn."[10]
The gambit can also occur via other move orders, such as 2.Nc3 (Vienna Game) Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nf3 and 2.Nf3 Nf6 (Petrov's Defense) 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3. Black can also decline the pawn with 3...Nc6, transposing into the Two Knights Defense.
Classical Defense: 2...Bc5
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Wing Gambit: 3.b4
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Philidor Variation: 3.c3
The Classical Defense (also known as the Boi Variation[11]) is Black's symmetrical response, 2...Bc5. White can then transpose into the Vienna Game (3.Nc3) or the Giuoco Piano (3.Nf3 Nc6), or remain in the Bishop's Opening with the Wing Gambit (3.b4) or the Philidor Variation (3.c3). The main line of the Philidor Variation runs: 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5! 6.exf6 dxc4 7.Qh5 0-0 8.Qxc5 Re8+ 9.Ne2 d3 10.Be3. Transpositions into the King's Gambit Declined and the Giuoco Piano are also possible after 3.d3.
The Wing Gambit results in positions similar to those in the Evans Gambit. It can transpose into the Evans Gambit, for instance by 3.b4 Bxb4 4.c3 Ba5 5.Nf3 Nc6. It can also lead to the Four Pawns Gambit after 3...Bxb4 4.f4 exf4 5.Nf3 Be7 6.d4 Bh4+ 7.g3 fxg3 8.0-0 gxh2+ 9.Kh1.
Black's most energetic response to the Philidor Variation is the Lewis Countergambit, 3.c3 d5, named for the English player and author William Lewis (1787–1870) who published analysis of the line in 1834.
Among amateurs, 3.Qf3 and 3.Qh5 are also popular, threatening an immediate Scholar's mate. But the threat is easily met (e.g. 3.Qh5 Qe7) and the moves are considered inferior since they hamper White's development or leave the queen exposed, leading to loss of tempo.
Other second moves for Black
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Philidor Counterattack: 2...c6
2...Nc6 is also common and most often transposes to the Italian Game after 3.Nf3 or the Vienna Game after 3.Nc3 (or these may occur on the fourth move after 3.d3). Other alternative moves for Black are rarely played. If Black tries to transpose into the Hungarian Defense with 2...Be7?, then 3.Qh5 wins a pawn. The Calabrese Countergambit (2...f5?!) is named after Greco's homeland, Calabria. It is considered dubious, as the line recommended by Carl Jaenisch, 3.d3 Nf6 4.f4 d6 5.Nf3, gives White the advantage. Other analyses, however, have found that the sharp 3.f4! or safe 3.Nc3 are better for White than 3.d3.
Notes
↑ "As a matter of fact, the proper name for the Bishop's Opening would be Philidor's Opening; for although it was examined in the Göttingen manuscript, as well as by Lucena and Lopez, it was Philidor who built the theoretical foundation of the Bishop's Opening."[2]
↑ "Bledow and the Berlin Pleiades of masters worked out the so-called 'Berlin Defense': 2...Nf6, which neutralized f2–f4 in view of the counterstroke ...d7–d5."[2]
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