Why play 1. f4?

thanks for sharing..i will try f4 and start to study more at it

Thanks zibbit; I think that is the best arguement I've heard in favor of the opening!  I'm going to give it a try

Anthony

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game.html?id=8797016#

Look at my game with 1.f4

I don't think 1. f4 is bad at all in chess, except when it comes to other variations, especially the houses. But yea, as long as you don't play stupidly, its playable.

I must say. The Bird's Opening (1. f4) is one of the most stubborn openings to play against. You will have a hard time against a strong player that uses Bird's opening. It's one of those openings where u know it should be a bad first move (since it pushes the pawn on the square that only the king guards), but there's no refutation to prove that it's a bad move.  A year ago when I was rated around 1400-1500, I used the Bird's Opening a lot :-). and I didn't even know the book. lol.  It's a great opening. It's been tried and proven that the opening is ok too.

Muscalu wrote:

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game.html?id=8797016#

Look at my game with 1.f4

 I really liked it!  Good knight sac, and the queen to h6, I am sure that shook him up a bit!  Great game to display.  I hope you continue to use 1. f4 in your chess travels.

thanks Birdbrain..  It was a 10 minute game I think, most games i play are 5 minute games, but I will try to play less games but more with more time on the clock and quality as well..

and I will post some interesting games here too

Hehe.  I usually play 30 second blitz.  Really helped me in a tournament as I made my last 10 moves and mated with 20 seconds to go.  But very nice game!

the worst that could happen if white plays correctly is that black gets equality. However, even if he is equal the game should be unbalanced.

Exactly.  One strong plus about 1. f4 is the lack of theory, and even in an "equal" position, the 1. f4 player knows the position better, so he stands better.  That is one reason why I say 1. f4 - a lot of people who play it play it because they know it, and that helps them to get some wins!

Im open to any turn based games and will play with� 1.f4 as white. I am a pretty bad player when theres low time to think, but now in one of my current games im wining easily against a 1400, in turn based. It is my 2nd turn based game, and lost my first due to time went off.

I think ill start playing a lot more turn based chess because i think that good things take time, and especially with the bird, I find thats an opening where if white dosent make the very best move, black has easy counter chances.

Anyway, open to all challenges, my rating is 1100 i think because my only game i lost on time against a 1200.. anyway open to any challenges from beginner to up to grand master, also i need 5-10 games completed to participate in  tournaments

Me too.  I am very interested in the Bird and want to learn more about it.  BirdBrain has started the Bird's Opening Lovers Club, so it should be a great way to learn.  Join if you haven't yet!

whatch out for the froms gambit

 This was a terrible example to lable for the From's Gambit.  Nf3 is necessary, and you should show it with "best" play for both sides, which favors White.  Nc3 should not be mentioned, except to show the weakness of the e1-h4 diagonal, which is totally covered by Nf3, and then White has two central pawns to Black's none!  Black has to prove his point.

This is not a good example of the struggle involved in this opening, merely a demonstration of how bad it gets for White if he plays a terrible move (Nc3). I call this a "help-mate".

Here's a couple of better examples of the tense contest involved:

http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=8522237

I think in the final position Black has an edge... the queens are off, so the extra pawn must count for something, although White has the bishop pair.

http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=8522240

h3 weakening the h4-e1 diagonal was a mistake by White.

all right im sorry people calm down

I think the From's Gambit is forcing and fun.  Just to get some people out of book, I usually play the KG if that occurs.  Sometimes I just take it if I am in the materialistic mood, which doesn't happen very often.

LOL  Guess what?

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-analysis/what-a-riot?lc=1#last_comment

Take a look at the original post.

Wow, what a brutal way to defend the position linksspringer!  White looked like he was in trouble, but he surely had a ferocious king in that match!  It reminds me of some of the King's Gambit games I saw - the king is an attacker!

Good try with the ...Nc6 lines.