White's strategic ideas involve control of the e5-square, offering good attacking chances at the expense of slightly weakening their own kingside.

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.

[4] In more recent decades, grandmasters who have used the Bird's with any regularity include Bent Larsen, Andrew Soltis, Lars Karlsson,[5] Mikhail Gurevich, and Henrik Danielsen.

[6] Black's most common response is 1...d5, when the game can take on the character of a Dutch Defence (1.d4 f5) with colours reversed.

Another strategy, by analogy with the Ilyin–Zhenevsky variation of the Dutch Defence, involves White playing Nf3, e3, Be2, 0-0, d3 and attempting to achieve the break e3–e4 by various means, e.g. Ne5, Bf3, Qe2 and finally e3–e4, or simply Nc3 followed by e4.

Timothy Taylor's book on Bird's Opening suggests as a main line: 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Be2 Nf6 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 c5.

5.axb5 cxb5 6.Qf3, where Black must part with a minor piece, akin to the Queen's Gambit Accepted trap).

This is an important option which may cause Black to consider playing a different line if they wish to avoid the King's Gambit.

If White accepts the gambit with 2.fxe5, Black must choose between the main line 2...d6 and the rather obscure 2...Nc6.

After 2...Nc6, International Master (IM) Timothy Taylor, in his 2005 book on the Bird's, recommends 3.Nc3!

According to Taylor, White has a large advantage in all lines, although play remains extremely sharp, e.g. 13...Rde8 14.Nd2; 13...Rxh2 14.Rxh2 Bxg3+ 15.Kd1 Bxh2 16.exf5!

1.Na3: Durkin 1.a3: Anderssen 1.b3: Nimzowitsch-Larsen 1.Nc3: Dunst 1.c3: Saragossa 1.d3: Mieses 1.e3: Van 't Kruijs 1.Nf3: Zukertort 1.f3: Barnes 1.g3: Benko 1.Nh3: Amar 1.h3: Clemenz