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| Moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | C23–C24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Named after | Bishop in 2.Bc4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Open Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Bishop's Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
White attacks Black's f7-square and prevents Black from advancing the d-pawn to d5. By ignoring the beginner's maxim "develop knights before bishops", White leaves their f-pawn unblocked, preserving the possibility of f2–f4.
The f2–f4 push gives the Bishop's Opening an affinity with the King's Gambit and the Vienna Game, two openings that share this characteristic. The Bishop's Opening can transpose into either of these openings, and in particular a favorable variation of the King's Gambit, but with care Black can circumvent this. Transpositions into the Giuoco Piano and the Two Knights Defense and other openings are also possible.
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings assigns the Bishop's Opening the codes C23 and C24.