What the...?
What the the idea behind 1...c5?
If it were me, I would be playing 1...e4 or 1...d4 or even 1...f4.
Sokolsky - Birmingham gambit.
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The idea of 1.... c5 is that it is not the most played move by Black, so white must think as well. But in my opinion both players mustn't take the pawn. After e4 (most played move for white) is perhaps Qb6 a nice move, followed with a3 and a5.\\
But I haven't studied the Birmingham gambit yet. So.... I'm still guessing.
I play sokolsky, and I don't find a reason why Black would play c5. If so, just take it bxc5, and support it later with d4, having a good central pawn, why wouldn't you? Dont' you think?
Honestly, 1... c5 is playable against any white opening.
White should just play 2. bxc4 and then will have a much better game than he usually has after 1. b4
I suppose the idea is something like 1.b4 c5 2.b4xc5 e5 to avoid d4, and then taking with bishop on c5, playing d5 (or not) with good centre.
Not so simple, White can challenge this attacking e5 with Bb2 and Nf3.
But in fact, there is a tactical problem for white if he wants to attack e5 :
Now an example where White doesnt take e5 pawn, but black has good play :
White can be in danger if he doesnt play e3 in some variations, because with Bxc5, there are tactics with Qb6 attacking Bb2 and f2...
So 1...c5 is a respectable move, with idea of trading this b4 pawn which can be annoying to develop Nb8 on c6 for instance. I guess the best for white is not to take the pawn, but to push b5. But then after d5 or even a6, i prefer black...
A (another) good system for black in my opinion against 1.b4!
White can play 1. b4 to surprise the opponent. The most played respons for black is 1. ... - e5. But you can also play the Birminghamgambit, 1. ... - c5.
Black can think... I don't know about the theory of Sokolsky, perhaps white doesn't know the theory about c5....
What would you play when you are white, and why?