Is 1.f4 a playable opening?

Oh for Pete's sake. The last comment in the game should read "Not Nc3??" and is with regards to White's move, Sigh.

This morning, I have added the first two lines of the Bird - Nimzowitsch Attack. I have 8 lines total for the Nimzowitsch Attack, more lines coming.

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Here is today's Bird Opening game:

Good Chess! Keith

I have added two more lines to my Bird - Nimzowitsch Attack analysis.

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For a change of pace, here is a Black game I played this morning. My quick 3..f5 gives the middlegame a reversed Bird Opening flavor.

Good Chess! Keith

I posted two more lines to the Nimzowitsch Attack. 14 lines to go for a complete Bird Opening repertoire.

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Here is a Bird Opening (From Gambit Declined) game played today.

Good Chess! Keith

Here is another Bird Opening game with my pet From Gambit Declined line:

Good Chess! Keith

Nice!

I listened to perpetual chess this week and was like I bet I am going to see the bird a little more frequently now

Today I complete my coverage of the Nimzowitsch Attack. Next will be the Sicilian lines and then the main lines (against the Gruenfeld formation).

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Here is a Bird Opening game played today.

Good Chess! Keith

Today I posted two of my Bird - Sicilian lines. Only 10 more lines to post before I have a complete Bird Opening repertoire.

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Here are two Bird Opening games played this morning. First game is my pet line against the From Gambit.

Here is the Bird Opening against the Modern Defense response. I won this one with only 0.3 seconds left on my clock!

Good Chess! Keith

I posted two more Sicilian lines of my Bird Opening repertoire.

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What does this Bird Opening player like to play as Black with blitz?? I like to play 1..d6 as a pre-move. Here is a today example, a Maroczy Defense. My 9..Bd6 was lame, but I manage to recover and get a decent middlegame.

Good Chess! Keith

I posted another two Sicilian lines to my Bird Opening repertoire.

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Here is a Bird Opening game played today.

Good Chess! Keith

I personally don't play it cuz I think it ruins the kingside pawn structure which limits your castling options but I have played my fair share against it and I find it quite hard to respond to it

Yes, my coach plays it and he is a very respectable fm, youth champion in like 2012 or something, he plays 1.f4 and 1...f5 even in classical

I posted another two Bird Opening analysis lines this morning. Only four more lines to go for a complete Bird Opening repertoire.

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Here is a Bird Opening game I played this morning. I did not play well, poor middlegame, but it was amusing how my king became an attacking piece, allowing me to pull off a nice swindle.

Good Chess! Keith

The flank openings create very imbalanced positions from the start, and as such, can be very tricky to fully understand and master. Bird's and the Dutch, as you note, also weaken the kingside, and if you are not well versed in the positions, you can find yourself in trouble very quickly. I personally think it is best to focus on King and Queen pawn openings at first, establish a good understanding of centre control, spotting tactical and positional ideas. After you feel comfortable with those, then tackling some of the flank openings is good, as you have a solid foundation upon which to build your understanding of how to play these (this is why many will recommend not playing the Sicilian until you've got a mid-1000s rating, simply because the positions are too complicated to understand until you've established some of the fundamentals - don't do calculus before learning your times tables). While the Sicilian, English, and the Dutch have large amounts of theory, Bird's is relatively under-explored at the top level, so what Keith is doing by bringing together a bunch of theory for people to start with is a great asset.

Drawyah

What do you do when you pre-move d6 (as you earlier said you do) against f4? Or against d6?

How I play White against 1..d6 is shown in line 14 of my blog.

14 Bird Opening - 1..d6 2..Bg4/Misc - Chess.com

That analysis has some of my Black games with 1..d6. Nowadays, as Black, after 2 Nf3, I like to play 2..Bg4. And if White plays 2 e4, then I like 2..e5 and I will follow up with 3..exf4 going for the Fischer defense.

As Black, with 1..d6

1 e4 d6 I play the Maroczy (2 d4 e5), and Antoshin (2 d4 e5 3 Nf3 exd4)

Here is a Maroczy,

Here is an Antoshin.

1 d4 d6 I play the English Rat (2 c4 e5), and Krause Dutch (2 Nf3 f5)

Here is an English Rat:

1 c4 d6 I go for the Dutch (with ..e5 played in one move)

Miscellaneous Opening, like KIA, Larsen, Grob, Sokolsky, etc. I play 1..d6 2..e5.

Good Chess! Keith

I posted the last four lines to my Bird Opening repertoire to my blog. I have a complete repertoire posted. As time goes by, I will be updating older posts with newer analysis, so keep an eye open for updates.

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Here is a Bird Opening game that I played today.

Good Chess! Keith

Yesterday, I finished the White side of my personal repertoire. Today, I will post the first line to the Black side of my repertoire. Keep an eye open to my blog.

Here is a Bird Opening I played this morning.

Good Chess! Keith