Bird's Opening

Bird's Opening (or the Dutch Attack) is a chess opening characterised by the move:

Bird's is a standard but never popular flank opening. White's strategic ideas involve control of the e5-square without occupying it, but his first move is also non-developing and slightly weakens his kingside. Black may challenge White's plan to control e5 immediately by playing From's Gambit (1...e5!?). However, the From's Gambit is notoriously double edged and should only be played after significant study.

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings assigns two codes for Bird's Opening: A02 (1.f4) and A03 (1.f4 d5).

History

The opening was mentioned by Luis Ramírez de Lucena in his book Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con Cien Juegos de Partido, published circa 1497. In the mid-nineteenth century the opening was sometimes played by La Bourdonnais and Elijah Williams, among others. The British master Henry Edward Bird first played it in 1855 and continued to do so for the next 40 years. In 1885, the Hereford Times named it after him. In the first half of the 20th century Aron Nimzowitsch and Savielly Tartakower sometimes played 1.f4. In more recent decades, Grandmasters who have used the Bird's with any regularity include Bent Larsen, Andrew Soltis, Lars Karlsson,Mikhail Gurevich, and Henrik Danielsen.

Bird (disambiguation)

A bird is a feathered, winged, bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying, vertebrate animal.

Bird or the bird may also refer to:

Other common meanings

Arts and entertainment

Music

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Places

Bird's Custard

Bird's Custard is the brand name for the original powdered, egg-free imitation custard powder, now owned by Premier Foods. Custard powder or instant custard powder are the generic product names for similar and competing products. The product is a cornflour-based powder which thickens to form a custard-like sauce when mixed with milk and heated.

History

Bird's Custard was first formulated and first cooked by Alfred Bird in 1837, because his wife was allergic to eggs, the key ingredient used to thicken traditional custard.

Usage

In some regions, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, the popularity of this type of dessert is such that it is simply known as "custard". In such cases, general usage of the word may be more likely to refer to the "Bird's" custard rather than to the traditional egg-based variety.

Bird's Custard and other brands mimicking its composition are also popular in India, where a large portion of the populace follows a vegetarian diet, although ovo-lacto variants are also available.