Question from a Beginner about the Birdie Opening?

I'm a true beginner even though I've played on and off for years. I usually open with King's pawn to e5 (I think the one called Sicilian or Italian opening?) I wanted to explore a different opening and decided on the Birdie. I find that I struggle largely with this. Is there a reasonable explanation or does this have to do more with the way I play? I'm very interested in the logic here, grateful for any explanations about this opening. Tia!

The Bird is a line in the Spanish game (or the Ruy Lopez in america)... 

The Bird is a way for black to avoid huge amounts of Lopez theory and get a nice little game, at that.  The Sicilian in a WHOLE different monster! 

I hope this helps!!

If I understand correctly (your post was a little ambiguous, as you cannot open e5 except as black, and there is no 'birdie' opening to my knowledge, only Bird's opening as explained below), as white you open with 1.e4, which is this:

This is known as the King's Pawn opening. The Sicillian Opening is actually this:

Bird's opening, 1.f4, is this:

I would suggest that you read this page: http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-opening , which lays out some of the general principles of how you should move in the opening. Also, as a beginner, the general wisdom is that you should play mostly 1.e4 or 1.d4 as your first move, not because it is easier per se, but because helps your development and maintains the struggle for the center.

Thanks for the reply! I understood the Birdie opening to be the bishop's pawn on the right 2 spaces forward. Maybe there's a different term for this opening? I do alternate openings with the King's pawn whether it be the Spanish or Sicilian but my game is very similar with either using the King's pawn. The Bishop's pawn makes a very different game for me so it seemed worth asking about.

Vadsamoht, thanks for clarifying I didn't mean to confuse! Let's just say my game usually starts with King's pawn 2 forward and go from there. Trying (as white) to do the Bishop's pawn (2 spaces) on the right. Hope I'm making sense. Thanks for the link, I'll take a peek.

Ah yes, the abiguity of the post threw me off... what I mentioned is Bird's Defense in the Spanish game... indeed 1.f4 is called Bird's Opening.  Don't bother playing 1.f4.  It's a mess... And I agree with vadsamoht, study the PRINCIPALS of the opening phase, worry about memorized lines later.  You should be thinking about development and coordination of your pieces and sticking with 1.e4 and 1.d4.

Bird's Opening, not The Bird or Birdie:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Bird_%28chess_player%29

See section 2: Legacy.

@giagirl No problem, I found explaining myself very hard as well when I started playing chess. Wikipedia explains Bird's opening thus:

"Bird's is a standard but never popular flank opening. White's strategic ideas involve control of the e5-square without occupying it, but his first move is also non-developing and slightly weakens his kingside."

At a beginner level it really does not matter too much which opening you play, because the deciding feature of the games is likely to be one player losing pieces for free, but it's worth keeping the opening principles in mind, even if you do not follow all of them.

Ah, reread your post Vads. If I understand you correctly the opening I'm familiar with gives me more control of the center whereas the one I'm trying to learn doesn't. It's really strange playing the new opening, it's almost like reading a foreign language :)

Prawn, I think I had golf clubs on my mind with the holidays! I'll have to brush up more on the subject so I have the correct terms, and not sure why I decided to challenge myself with this.

Golf?! then you are obviously excused, on grounds of insanity.

Hi Limau, once I get into the rhythmn of playing the game I usually play, (King's Pawn) is not a problem, and believe me I will be using these tips as I continue to play. But my question was really to understand logically what was going on with the board when I start one more over. I became obsessed with trying to figure out what my problem is and learn from there even though I know I play a much better game using my other pawn. Just trying to gain some insight from all of you ;)

Moving the King's Prawn two squares is even better:

Moving the f-pawn is often the most dangerous move on the board for

you (it exposes your king) and your opponent (you threaten to rip

open the file with fxe5  for your rook after you castle. I like the name "birdie"...

Every move usually has its plusses and minuses and this applies quite often

to moving the f-pawn  (it is very provocative - check out From's Gambit

and King's Gambit.)

hehe Prawn I love your sense of humor, and yes the holidays has me insane ;)

Beardog, I will definitely report back after I look up the info. You like "birdie", I love "provocative", I'm trying to think of myself as a provocative beginner (giggles).

I never thought of that move being a larger threat to the King, interesting...

If you scored -1 on the first hole then you hit a birdie.

1.f4, Bird's Opening is quite a respectable choice, although the resulting positions can be quite difficult to master. Many people will claim that it is not a good move but this simply isn't true (Bent Larsen's philosophy was "go ahead and prove it"). It is an aggressive opening that grips e5 and supports kingside advances. One does have to have a good positional understanding, as there can be quite a bit of subtle maneuvering involved.

Black's most radical attempt against it is the From Gambit (1...e5) as mentioned above. The resulting lines are quite tricky/trappy, but with accurate play white is fine. Alternatively, white can turn things around and transpose into the King's Gambit (with 2.e4).

The more common responses to 1.f4 are 1...d5, 1... c5, and 1... Nf6. White usually plays 2.Nf3 after to protect key kingside squares from early attacks. Although the kingside is marginally weakened, the benefit here is that white has not blocked his pawn with his knight and is setting up for a nice kingside assault. Against 1...d5, in particular, white can reply with 2.c4, which is the Sturm Gambit and usually results in a very exciting game containing some similarities to the Queen's Gambit. Another option against any of the above responses is a quick 2.b3, 3.Bb2 - fianchettoing the bishop to prevent 2...g6. Against 1... c4 one can transpose into the Grand Prix Attack of the Sicilian.

By the third move, white can pick the flavour of the game with 3.g3, the Leningrad Variation (featuring a kingside fianchetto which can be similar to the King's Indian Attack) or 3.e3, the Classical Variation (which is a dark square control game involving the queenside fianchetto - via either b3 or the more ambitious b4). There's also the Stonewall formation possible... but this would perhaps be unnecessarily defensive for white.

There is a Bird's Opening Lover's group that I encourage you to join if you are interested in learning more about the opening.

Thanks for all your responses. Since I'm a beginner I think my real problem with the Bird opening is being used to the center and the close proximity of the opponent's pieces. If I practice with the Bird opening, I could probably develop better skills in using my pieces to dominate the board from a distance, which is where I fail miserably. I'm not sure if this is why I'm being drawn to learning this, but maybe someone here can confirm if there is some logic here.

I've done some recommended reading including the King's and From's gambit (thanks Mezmer for your input, I will examine further) but I don't want to get too ahead of myself. Is there an advantage to learning to play instinctively rather than studying the game? I'd like to develop better skills but not sure if studying the game is the way to go. I understand the first way I will lose many games before I win. Would this be good topic for another thread perhaps, or maybe there is one already? Thanks again!

Okay, I'll admit it:  I kinda like calling it the Birdie Opening (I think I will do so from now on). 

Here is a diagram illustrating the various birdie openings.