How to Play Classical Reti with Bf5 & Bd6 (for White)
It’s been a while since my first post and video on the Reti Opening. Back then, I focused on the classical Reti setup, but these days, the name has been used for a wide range of variations that look quite different from the original. It’s still frustrating how much confusion there is around what the Reti Opening really is, but for now, I’ll leave it at that.
In this blog post - and my latest YouTube video - I dive into how to handle the classical Reti when Black sets up with pawns on c6, d5 and e6, knights on d7 and f6, and bishops on f5 and d6.
In the video I mentioned, Black’s bishops were on e7 and f5, which is the more common and accurate setup. But I’ve noticed that many players today - especially at the intermediate, advanced, and club levels - prefer to push the dark-squared bishop further to d6. They seem to think this gives them better chances for an active game and even some attacking opportunities.
There’s some truth to that. The bishop on d6 helps Black fight for control over one of the key squares in the classical Reti - e5. As we all know, the a1-h8 diagonal is a Reti trademark, dominated by White after creating the iconic queen-and-bishop battery. By placing the bishop on d6, Black increases their chances of playing e6-e5 early, keeping e5 under their control right from the start.
That’s the upside, but let’s now look at the drawbacks. The main one is that the bishop on d6 invites the e2-e4-e5 push, which could fork Black’s two minor pieces. That wouldn’t happen if the bishop stayed on e7.
In fact, pushing e2-e4 is the engine’s preferred approach for White. In the game example I use in my video (Reti vs Lasker, New York 1924), White already has c2-c4 on the board. Now, after White pushes e2-e4, that creates a weakness on d4 (after Black captures with d5xe4 and White recaptures - d3xe4).
In a concrete position arising from the Reti, Stockfish still slightly favors White, but I wonder: what if White delays c2-c4 in the Reti move order? If the pawn stays on c2, everything else the same, there wouldn’t be a hole on d4.
Another drawback of placing the bishop on d6 is that after e2-e4, followed by d5xe4 and d3xe4, White’s queen from d1 often targets the bishop. This can actually help White execute the e4 plan more quickly.
Those are my critical findings on how to play the Reti, when black puts their bishops on f5 and d6!
If you'd like to see these ideas in action and the full game, check out the latest video on the Bad Bishop Chess Channel: Discover the Reti Opening with Reti Himself
And if you can, leave a review or a comment - it would be much appreciated!
