Popularity
Out of the twenty possible opening moves, 1.f4 ranks sixth in popularity in ChessGames.com's database, behind 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.Nf3, 1.c4, and 1.g3. It is less than one-twentieth as popular as the mirror image English Opening (1.c4). The move 1.f4 slightly weakens White's king's position. ChessGames.com's statistics indicate that the opening is not an effective way of preserving White's first-move advantage: as of February 6, 2009, out of 1,685 games with 1.f4, White had won 32.8%, drawn 25.3%, and lost 41.9%, for a total score of 45.45%. White scores much better with the more popular 1.e4 (54.25%), 1.d4 (55.95%), 1.Nf3 (55.8%), 1.c4 (56.3%), and 1.g3 (55.8%).
Read more about this topic: Bird's Opening
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