Open games & French

Bishop's Opening

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4

The Bishop's Opening starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 and is catalogued under ECO C23, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 41 lines inside it, grouped into 40 named variations, and the position after those moves has 7 playable continuations to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
Bishop's Opening
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
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Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.e4

    Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.

    Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.

  2. 1…e5

    Meets White’s center directly and opens lines for Black’s queen and bishop.

    Idea: Fight for equal central space in a balanced, open position.

  3. 2.Bc4

    Develops the bishop to c4, bringing it into the game.

    Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

7 moves
Bc5Bishop's Opening: Boi Variation15 named lines · Bishop's Opening: Lewis Gambit · Bishop's Opening: Lopez GambitDevelops the bishop to c5, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.Nf6Bishop's Opening: Berlin Defense13 named lines · Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit · Bishop's Opening: Vienna HybridDevelops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.b5Bishop's Opening2 named lines · Bishop's Opening: Thorold Gambit · Bishop's Opening: Anderssen GambitAdvances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.c6Bishop's Opening: Philidor Counterattack2 named lines · Bishop's Opening: Lisitsyn VariationAdvances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.f5Bishop's Opening: Calabrese Countergambit2 named lines · Bishop's Opening: Calabrese Countergambit, Jaenisch VariationAdvances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.d5Bishop's Opening: Khan Gambit1 named lineAdvances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.Nc6Bishop's Opening1 named line · King's Gambit Declined: Classical, Svenonius VariationDevelops the knight to c6, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

Named variations

Each line below is an indexed entry under Bishop's Opening. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

16 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.

Openings from the same volume

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the Bishop's Opening.