Bird defense

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Trains

1. e2-e4 e4-e5 2. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 3. Bf1-b5 Nc6-d4

ECO key

C61

Named after

Henry Edward Bird

Oldest source

Paul Rudolf von Bilguer : Handbook of the game of chess , 1843

Played first

1873

The Bird Defense of the Spanish game is an opening variant in chess . Your ECO code is C61 .

It was analyzed as early as 1843 in Bilguer's Handbook of Chess Game . It was named after the English chess master Henry Edward Bird , known for his original style of play , who introduced it to tournament practice in the tournament in Vienna in 1873.

The variant arises after the moves

1. e2-e4 e7-e5
2. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6
3. Bf1-b5 Nc6-d4 .

Black answers the attack on his e5 pawn with a counterattack on the white b5 bishop. However, by doing so he violates an opening principle by drawing a figure that has already been developed again. After the most frequently played continuation 4. Nf3xd4 (4. Bb5 – a4 or 4. Bb5 – c4 are also possible) 4.… e5xd4 White has a small lead in development, and Black's pawn position is somewhat weakened because of the double pawn on the d-file . To compensate for this, the black d4 pawn restricts White's position and prevents e.g. B. the development of the white knight b1 on the field c3. All in all, the variant is theoretically not quite full, even if it is occasionally used by masters in order to avoid the main variants of the Spanish game. The bird defense is examined in an analysis by Anderssen and Lange, Breslau 1859 .

literature

Gene McCormick, Andy Soltis: Bird's defense to the Ruy Lopez . McFarland, Jefferson 1981, ISBN 0-89950-023-4 .