Enter 1.f4, Bird's Opening! by Andrew Martin

There seems very little room to create new opening ideas in 2010 and the creative competitor must work hard to find new approaches which help to win games. Enter 1.f4, Bird?s Opening! 1.f4 has hardly been given comprehensive coverage in the textbooks and on this new ChessBase DVD, International Master and Senior FIDE Trainer Andrew Martin examines this ?last frontier? of sound and original opening play. A repertoire is suggested for White, a little off the beaten track, where the emphasis is on setting new problems for the opponent and putting Black under pressure to find original solutions, right from move one! There can be no doubt that 1.d4 always provides entertainment and interesting positions. If the opening is mastered it will produce excellent results over the board. Back in the late seventies and eighties it was the Trompowsky Opening (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) which was giving Black a serious headache. Will 1.f4 continue in the same tradition in 2010 and beyond? Video running time: 3 hours. International Master Andrew Martin is 52 years old. He is a Senior FIDE Trainer and Manager of Coaching for the English Chess Federation.