The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
- 1. e4 e5
- 2. Bc4
White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing his d-pawn to d5. By ignoring the beginner's rule, "develop knights before bishops", White leaves his f-pawn unblocked, allowing the possibility of playing f2–f4.
The f2–f4 push gives the Bishop's Opening an affinity with the King's Gambit and the Vienna Game, two openings that share this characteristic. The Bishop's Opening can transpose into either of these openings, and in particular a favorable variation of the King's Gambit, but with care Black can circumvent this. Transpositions into Giuoco Piano and Two Knights Defense and other openings are also possible.
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) assigns Bishop's Opening the codes C23 and C24.
Read more about Bishop's Opening: History and Use, Main Variations
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