The Bishop’s Opening is 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4

The Classical Variation follows with 2… Bc5, mirroring White’s move. This is generally followed by three main lines, called the Berlin Defense [2. Bc4 Nf6], the Philidor Variation [2. Bc4 Bc5 3. c3] and the Wing Gambit [2. Bc4 Bc5 3. b4].

What is the objective of playing 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4?

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Russians have a thing for chess and, frankly, are very good at it. Being from San Diego, I thought chess was something you put photo albums in.

Playing Chess

Playing chess requires thinking ten or twelve steps ahead. If I wanted to understand the Russian mind, I had to learn to play chess. If nothing else, it would be a good way to pass the time. This I was told by Robert, an American living in the same town as me.

I wasn’t particularly excited about learning, but gave in one day after growing tired of staring out the window. I had seen the movie, “Searching for Bobby Fisher”. What more could I possibly need? How hard could it be?

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Chess is one of the world’s great board games. For centuries chess players around the world have been mesmerized by its challenges, and its great masters have been revered as superstars of a different order — superstars with brains.

** Origins and background of chess

Like many of our popular board games, such as checkers (draughts) and backgammon, chess originated sometime in the first millenium AD, somewhere along the Silk Road that ran between Europe, Egypt, India and the Orient. Most historians trace its origins back to northern India or Afganistan sometime around 600 AD.

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One day that I was old enough to understand the importance of strategic maneuvering when playing a game, my father decided that it was time for me to learn chess. Within a couple of months, I was carrying the chess board everywhere I was going, inviting friends to challenge my new game abilities. I still remember the reactions of those who have never been introduced to chess. They used to look me straight into the eyes asking me why they should waste their time playing such a difficult and boring game. I do not know even where to begin in order to describe what a beautiful game chess really is.

With its variety of sacrifices and combinations, those who are eager to learn how it feels to belong to the winner’s side can advance their gaming experience through chess. Having the opportunity to outwit your opponent either on the tactical or the positional level, chess is in fact a game that requires a constantly working mind. Perhaps it is “difficult” game, but this is the only way one can really be proud of the attained goal of winning a worthy opponent. Now in relation to the accusation of chess being boring, after playing chess frequently for more than ten years in a row, I really cannot describe how far away from the truth this statement really is.
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The ancient game of chess requires skill and strategy, and is only the pursuit of choice for the intellectually advanced or downright boring. Think again! Yeah, a chess game is a tough prospect, but it’s really fun once you learn how to play, and get that little bit competitive with your wife or your buddy. Hear me out. Now I know when you hear the word ‘chess’ you automatically think of teenage grandmasters from eastern Europe, and bright sparks that can play more than one chess game at a time and still win. But there’s a lot more to the game than you think.

The game of chess can be traced back to India around the 2nd century BC, and is one of the worlds most popular strategic thinking games. Widely played across all continents, the chess game today is considered the most challenging and intellectually stimulating games out there – not to mention, it’s also great fun.

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Many comments have been made about the objectives of the opening play and perhaps the best advice we’ve heard is the one about being able to get to the middle game with a playable position. This ideally means that you have your king safeguarded, your pieces have decent mobility and scope, you also have sound pawn structures, and you have opportunities to create real threats to decisively win material or even cause a checkmate.

Most chess instructional books will list the following as important opening concepts to achieve the above:-
- Controlling the Centre
- Develop your pieces
- Safeguarding your king, ideal defence, maintaining the integrity of the castled king
- Hinder your opponent’s attempts to do any/all of the above

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