The Bishop's Opening

We have all been taught to develop our knights before our bishops, but the move 2.Bc4 strikes immediately at Black's weakest point, f7, and by avoiding 2.Nf3, White gains the option of playing f4 often with having to gambit the pawn.

The Bishop's Opening dates back hundreds of years but still represents a potent weapon, especially against opponents who are not well prepared to play against it. The author has used the opening at the highest levels of chess long before Garry Kasparov began…