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Bishop's OpeningBETA

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    This ancient chess opening has seen a surge in popularity nowadays, but is still seldom played. The Bishop on c4 immediately targets the weak f7 pawn and may come as a surprise to an unsuspecting Black player. Although this often transposes into the Italian Game or the Vienna Game, Black also has the option of playing for an early c6 and d5, taking advantage of the early committal of the White Bishop.

More common is 2. Nf3, keeping the option open for the Bishop to develop to other squares. After 2. Bc4, Black has the move 2. … Nf6, already neutralizing White’s advantage. Several other moves are playable for Black; for example, 2. … Nc6, 2. … Bc5, and 2. … c6 have all been tried at the Grandmaster level.

Black also has the option of playing the Calabrese Countergambit, 2. … f5!? This aggressive response scores well for Black and can be an effective opening surprise for the ambitious player.