Why play 1. f4?

I would like to play 1. f4 as a secondary opening, but Palliser's Beating Unusual Chess Openings seems sort of pessimistic about White's chances against 1. ...d5 and 1. ...d6 vs the Bird.  Any Bird players familiar with this book and the analysis in the Bird section?

Is Taylor's book now the definitive work on the Bird?

i do not play 1.f4

but i like playing the kings gambit, which is distant cousin, in which the f pawn is not used to controll the center and attack the king but to open the f file and be ridden of, but it does resemble some of the offensive opportunities you can get with 1.f4, only f4 is a bit moderate.

 1. f4 does offer strong possibilities for advantage if you know the positions.  You can always revert to the King's Gambit, but in the event of 1. f4 e5, you might want to learn the From's Gambit with the White side, which if Black falters in his attack early (which is easy to do!), then White has winning chances. 

In the case of 1. f4 d5, White still has good chances - he has the chance to use his f-pawn to attack on the kingside.  You, being a King's Gambit player, should be well aware of attacking lines involving f4-f5.  We have a group for Bird's Opening and I will send you an invite - if you have interest in either playing 1. f4, or finding a defense against it that you enjoy.  We have vote chess matches, as well as 8-man tourneys - this may be a good opportunity for you to find something new and enjoyable!  I hope you consider my offer.

 I believe Tal Shaked used to play this quite a bit (and won quite a bit with it) as well.

I have an idea for a possible gambit that may transpose into a variation of queens gambit accepted, if this exists, could someone tell me the line?

1 f4 d5

2 c4 dxc

3 e4

I have thought about this idea before.  You ought to try it.  It is a variation of the Bird, not as popular as some others, but definetely playable.  The best way to find out is to look in Opening Explorer and see the results.

There is definitely a lot of room for creativity.  I played the Bird for the first time in a tournament game last Saturday and won.  I sacrificed two pawns and a piece for an attack.  I got my forced mate in 7 though.  He played the d6 approach.  I know I did not play accurately all the way through, but it was enough to win.

Awesome!  To play accurate is hard to do sometimes, especially in intense situations, but at least you pulled through.  How many times have I read in a book where a player is in the middle of a blistering attack and plays a move later labeled with a ?, yet it works OTB, because sometimes it is hard to find the right move.

 Palliser recommends either 1.  ...d5  (then Bg4) and 1. ...d6 as the methods to play against the Bird.  I guess you would just have to look at his book to see what he covers as far as variations go.

Dealing with the King's Indian would seem to be another challenge when playing 1. f4, since opponents will probably try to stay in familiar waters when playing against the Bird, i.e., Black might play 1. ...c5 if he/she is a Sicilian player).

Black castling long seems to me nullifies all advantages gained by a kingside expansion

Well, playing the Sicilian is no guarantee of Black gaining anything against the Bird, as he has officially given White even more breathing room for his opening development. 

1...d5 and 1...d6 are both good choices to fight against the Bird, but White still has great chances.  Another maneuver that is popular is ...g6 against 1. f4, and if 2. e4, then ...c5, or if 2. Nf3, then ...d5 are approaches that Black can take.

But the key notion here is that Black still hasn't taken anything strong away from White.  Think of it this way.  He says to defend against the Bird with ...d5 or ...d6, but that is nothing definitive.  It is like reading that the Sicilian is the best against 1. e4, but it still is no guarantee of a win. 

The best thing to do is to play 1. f4 and experience the positions, get a feel for the opening, and then evaluate it. 

Recently, I have been playing the ...d5 and ...Bg4 approaches to the Bird, which is called the recipe, but it is by no means a refutation of 1. f4.  Here are a couple of examples of lines from there you might see:

f4 d5 Nf3 Bg4 e3 Nd7 h3 Bxf3 Qf3 d5, which is aggressive - Black sacs a pawn, but White doesn't have to oblige -either way Qxd5 Qh4+ Kd1 and White is up a pawn, or you can develop while ignoring the pawn.

Otherwise, if you want to play for a more solid advantage, try this -

f4 d5 Nf3 Bg4 e3 Nd7 Be2 Bxf (not required, but you get to see White's idea quickly this way) Bxf e5 d4! and if e4, then Be2 with a French Defense style position reversed for White that has great potential on the queenside.

Then the ...d6 positions.  These are flexible - for instance,

f4 d6 e4 (If White wants to get into King's Gambit style play)

f4 d6 Nf3 e5 fxe dxe Nxe Bd6 Nf3 with a standard From's Gambit, favorable for White

f4 d6 Nf3 Nf6 d3 g6 e4 Bg7 Be2 0-0 0-0 And White has a nice opening position

A bit of study of Bird's Opening will benefit.  I don't know if you accepted my offer for the Bird's Opening group "inject the venom", but it might be fun for you to come and try it out!

How similar are the Bird and the Dutch?

(Other than both move the f pawn two squares)

Truthfully, aside from From's Gambit, they are totally similar.  I began by learning Bird's Opening, and I applied the same principles to the Black side.  Notice that it isn't that I am a move behind the Bird - the Bird is a move in hand to the Dutch!  So what happens is your repertoire is SO much easier to deal with.  Kind of like KID and KIA - the principles are similar. 

You would probably be a fan of the Leningrad system.  There are a few different routes to go - here is a sample line you see fairly often.

More like kissing cousin's... than similar. related and twisted in theyre own weird way. Really just misunderstood.

Birds and the dutch are not similar. f4 has initiative and f5 has unwarranted aggresiveness. I think the key to winning with these is understanding what you can actually achieve with these qualities.  White is basicially playing the dutch with an extra move. The dutch already being a sharp way to open screams for a win instead of a draw. The dutch isnt looking for a way to neutralize, its looking for a way to counter and win. f4 is amazing in a strong players hand as it offers the aggresiveness of a grand-prix and the theory of a kings gambit. The dutch with an extra move perhaps double edged but definitely worth looking into. In fact Birdbrain, youve inspired me... I'm going to play f4 my next 5 games as white! I've been getting into the polar bear and I'm about ready to start Hunting!!!

f4 seems hypermodernish

I played this opening twice, in a tournament this year. With proper play from Black, he has better chances compared to playing against the tried and trusted 1.e4!... I won both games, well after some tough struggle.

This forum post by Birdbrain has definitely ignited interests in me to study the 1.f4 line....tried some here too with success, still evaluating opportunities though...

Playing 1.f4 surely has a surprise element for it is less played and evaluated....but one you can have in your repo nevertheless especially if you have worked out lines not part of standard theory....Thanks Birdbrain!

f4 is not the same as the Dutch at all. The Dutch is d4 f5, and is a specific pawn structure, whereas 1: f4, black doesn't have to play ...d5.

Seems intersting.. 1. f4 is called Bird System right.. and i think black's better ans is 1... d4 (duch defence) g5 is called Hobbs gambit, e5 is Form's gambit.. very rare.. and f5 is Bird.. i prefer d5..what about you???

Against mediocre competition, I usually play the From's Gambit.  Against everything else, I play d5 and a fianchetto on g6.