This month I am covering the Bishop's Opening at the request of Aaron Carter from South Africa. I will be examining it for White and Black, since it pays to know the alternatives for both sides. 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 This signifies the Bishop's Opening, but it does not constitute its own system since transposition to the Italian Game or Vienna is common. As we will see, this move order can be a way to avoid the Petroff Defense. 2...Nf6 Other moves would not get to the set-up I want to look at. 2...Bc5 The main line of the Vienna has the bishop go to the b4-square, so Black has to be prepared for a transposition to the Vienna when the bishop is on c5. Otherwise we could just transpose … [Read more...]