Bishop's Opening

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4

ECO C23

The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4, catalogued under code C23 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO).

The defining move Bc4 is chosen by White on move 2.

28 named continuations branch from this position, including the Anderssen Gambit and the Boi Variation.

What is the Bishop's Opening?

The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4. White develops the king's bishop before the knight, aiming at f7 at once and keeping the f-pawn free for a later f4. It is the oldest opening in recorded chess, and after a long life as a sideline it has become a respectable modern move order, used by Carlsen, Caruana and Nepomniachtchi to reach Italian and Vienna positions while avoiding the Petrov.

Its strength is flexibility. After 2...Nf6 White chooses between 3.d3, the modern quiet system that transposes to the slow Italian after Nf3 or stays independent with Nc3 and f4, and the sharp 3.d4, the Urusov Gambit. Because the knight is not yet on f3, Black cannot play the Petrov and cannot pin with ...Bg4, and White keeps the King's Gambit-style f4 in reserve. The price is the early bishop commitment: ...d5 breaks and ...Na5 ideas can hit it with tempo.

How to reach the Bishop's Opening

After 1.e4 e5 White plays 2.Bc4. Black's main replies are 2...Nf6, the Berlin Defense, attacking e4, and 2...Nc6, which allows a transposition to the Italian after 3.Nf3 or to the Vienna after 3.Nc3; 2...Bc5 and 2...c6 are the other choices. After 2...Nf6 White's 3.d3 is the modern main line, when 3...c6 and 3...Nc6 lead to the main structures, and 3.d4 is the Urusov Gambit. Most modern Bishop's Openings transpose to the Italian Game after Nf3, which is the point: the same positions, minus the Petrov.

Pros and cons of the Bishop's Opening

Pros

Cons

Main variations of the Bishop's Opening

Bishop's Opening: Berlin Defense with 3.d3 c6 (the main line)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bd6 6.Nc3 dxe4 7.Ng5 O-O 8.Ncxe4 Nxe4 9.Nxe4

Black's most reliable answer: ...c6 and ...d5 challenge the bishop and the center at once. White retreats to b3 and keeps the pieces active; after the exchanges on e4 the position is balanced with chances for both, and the play resembles a Ruy Lopez with the bishop already on b3. The line is common at the top level.

Bishop's Opening: 3.d3 Nc6 with Nf3 (the Italian transposition)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Bb3 a6

The most common outcome of the modern Bishop's Opening: after Nf3 and ...Bc5 the game is a slow Italian with c3 and d3, the structure elite players prefer. The move order has cost Black the Petrov and the ...Bg4 pin; everything else is Italian Game theory, including the plans of Re1, Nbd2-f1-g3 and the d4 break.

Bishop's Opening: Vienna hybrid (3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 with f4)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.f4 d6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Na4

White keeps the knight off f3 to play f4, reaching the Vienna Game with the bishop already on c4 and the e-pawn defended by d3. The Na4 hunt for the dark-squared bishop, the f5 clamp and the kingside attack are the plans; Black's ...Bg4 and ...Nd4 ideas are the counter.

Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit (3.d4)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nc3 c6 8.O-O-O d5

White sacrifices the e-pawn for a lead in development and long castling with an attack down the d- and e-files. Black's safest is to return the pawn and play ...c6 and ...d5 as shown, reaching a roughly equal but lively position; 4...Nc6 transposes to the Two Knights. A favorite of attacking players since the nineteenth century.

Bishop's Opening: Philidor Counterattack (2...c6)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 c6 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 cxd5 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bxd7+ Nxd7 7.d4 exd4 8.Qxd4 Ngf6

Black prepares ...d5 immediately with ...c6, gaining a tempo on the bishop and taking the center. The line trades bishops and reaches an open position with an isolated d-pawn for Black and free piece play. Sound and slightly unusual, a good choice for players who want to avoid the Italian transposition.

Bishop's Opening: 2...Bc5 (the mirror)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.exf6 dxc4 7.Qe2+ Be6 8.fxg7 Rg8

Black mirrors the bishop and the game can become very sharp after 3.c3 and 4.d4, the old Lewis and MacDonnell lines, where both sides grab material and the pawn reaches g7. Modern practice prefers the quieter 3.Nf3 transposing to the Italian, but the mirror invites tactics from move three.

How to play against the Bishop's Opening

Black's soundest answer is 2...Nf6, attacking e4 and asking White to declare: against 3.d3 play 3...c6 and 4...d5, hitting the bishop and taking the center, which equalizes cleanly and is what the top players do; against the Urusov 3.d4, take on d4 and e4 and give the pawn back with ...c6 and ...d5 rather than trying to keep it. 2...Nc6 is fine but allows White the Italian or Vienna transposition on White's terms. Whatever the choice, the Bishop's Opening is an Italian in disguise, so the same rules apply: fight for d5, trade the c4-bishop with ...Na5 or ...Be6 when White is slow, and do not allow Ng5 tricks against f7 while the king is in the center.

Plans for both sides

White's plan

Use the move order to reach the slow Italian or the Vienna structure without the Petrov, then play the plans of those openings: c3 and d3 with Re1 and Nbd2-f1-g3, or Nc3 and f4 with the kingside attack. Keep the bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal, retreating to b3 when hit, and prepare the d4 break with care.

Black's plan

Challenge the bishop and the center at once with ...c6 and ...d5, or develop with ...Nc6 and ...Bc5 and treat the game as an Italian. Trade the c4-bishop when the position allows, castle before opening the center, and use the ...d5 break as the main equalizer.

History of the Bishop's Opening

The Bishop's Opening appears in the Göttingen manuscript of the 1490s and in Ruy López's 1561 treatise, and it was the main opening of the Italian school before the Italian Game itself. Philidor played it, Lewis and MacDonnell analyzed the sharp mirror lines in the 1830s, and the Urusov Gambit is named for the Russian prince who analyzed it in the 1850s. It faded for most of the twentieth century until Larsen and later Kasparov used it as a move order, and in the 2010s Carlsen, Caruana and Nepomniachtchi made 2.Bc4 a standard way to avoid the Petrov and the Berlin while keeping the Italian.

Bishop's Opening FAQ

Is the Bishop's Opening a good opening?

Yes. It is sound and used at the top level as a move order into the Italian and Vienna structures while avoiding the Petrov Defense. It promises no advantage, but neither does any 1.e4 e5 opening against accurate play.

What is the point of 2.Bc4 before 2.Nf3?

Developing the bishop first keeps the f-pawn free for f4, denies Black the Petrov Defense and the ...Bg4 pin, and lets White choose between the Italian and the Vienna on the next move depending on Black's reply.

How do you counter the Bishop's Opening?

Play 2...Nf6, and against 3.d3 continue 3...c6 and 4...d5, hitting the bishop and taking the center. Against the Urusov Gambit 3.d4, take the pawns and return them with ...c6 and ...d5 for a comfortable game.

What is the Urusov Gambit?

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4, in which White sacrifices the e-pawn after 3...exd4 4.Nf3 Nxe4 for a lead in development and an attack down the central files, usually with long castling. Named for Prince Sergey Urusov, a nineteenth-century Russian master.

What is the ECO code for the Bishop's Opening?

The Bishop's Opening is classified under ECO C23 and C24: C23 for the general lines and C24 for the Berlin Defense 2...Nf6.

Named variations

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