Counter Early Queen Attacks & the Bishop’s Opening (2-in-1 opening trick)

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πŸ”Ή The Unbeatable Bishop’s Opening (simple and powerful) –

β™› Find these variations/examples from this blog-post –

In this video lesson, GM Igor Smirnov shares with you a powerful counter-technique that can shut down both early queen attacks and the Bishop’s Opening with a single refutation.

These two opening tricks are commonly encountered, even at higher rating levels, making it crucial for you to have a solid defense. With this refutation, you’ll be well-prepared to face these aggressive tricks and secure a winning position.

The Bishop’s Opening occurs after the opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4. In modern days, most chess players hide their intent of early queen attack or Scholar’s Mate by first playing Bc4 and only then bring out their queen (either to h5 or to f3 on the next move), and this gives them more flexibility.

GM Smirnov suggests that you play 2…c6, which is the most straightforward way to refute their move 2.Bc4, aiming to play 3…d5, push the White’s bishop away, grab the center, and get a positional advantage.

At this point, White has 3 options:

3.Qh5 – going for the early queen attack or Scholar’s Mate
3.Qf3Β – similar idea of attacking the f7-pawn
3.Nf3Β – continuing the Bishop’s opening and attacking the e5-pawn

And you will learn how to counter each one of them!

By mastering these strategies to counter both early queen attacks and the Bishop’s Opening, you equip yourself with effective defenses against aggressive opening attempts.

Whether it’s deflecting the early queen attack or capitalizing on the weaknesses in the Bishop’s Opening, you’ll be well-prepared to secure a winning position and outmaneuver your opponents.

β–¬β–¬β–¬β–¬β–¬β–¬
β–Ί Chapters

00:00 Punish Early Queen Attacks + Bishop’s Opening
00:33 Counter the Bishop’s Opening 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4
01:00 1) If White plays 3.Qh5 (piece trap)
02:40 2) If White plays 3.Qf3
04:37 Destroying White’s king in the center
05:32 3) If White simply plays the Bishop’s Opening

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21 Comments

  1. β–Ί Chapters

    00:00 Punish Early Queen Attacks + Bishop's Opening

    00:33 Counter the Bishop's Opening 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4

    01:00 1) If White plays 3.Qh5 (piece trap)

    02:40 2) If White plays 3.Qf3

    04:37 Destroying White's king in the center

    05:32 3) If White simply plays the Bishop's Opening

  2. Thanks Igor, dealing with the early queen moves are annoying. Can you make a repertoire about the trompowsky attack and whether I should play it or not. Great vid as always

  3. when the video comes when you are in trouble with early queen attacks πŸ™‚

  4. Thank you Igor. I am around 600 elo and I have been studying counter attacks from your previous videos on early queen attacks. This one helps though especially because most try to use this backwards scholar's mate to get a great position after kf3. I was confused for so long on what to play after that move and now I know. Thank you.

  5. I like knight to c6. If the white queen goes to the h file and possibly getting the e5 pawn. But I will try this opening.

  6. No one talks about playing e6 when playing a Sicilian… big sad

  7. I like the end with just the Bishop opening. Me thinks turn it into a cow. 🀣

  8. Are those supposed to be boxing gloves in your thumbail? If so, please, dear igor, never enter a boxing ring and stay with chess. If you would fight the way you would ''wear'' those gloves you would be up for a quick matening attack to your chin πŸ˜›

  9. It is possible to give some hint and tricks for the sicilienne grivas,somes young great master like play this opening for black,thank you for your answer.I play this and got some good games thank you for your help.

  10. Thanks Igor for exactly what I was looking for as black! πŸ˜ŠπŸ‘β™Ÿ

  11. What is better than get a good trick? Getting 2 good tricks πŸ‘

  12. When you learn theory but opponent plays somthing else😒

  13. Nah at 2:25 mark they would've just checked the king and traded queen there but then their king wouldn't have been able to castle after the exchanges

  14. 6:20 from what I've seen Bb3 is the only serious move for White, but for Black yeah, exd5 would be nice to see.

  15. I love your teaching style
    So relatable and you make things easy to understand
    You've improved my game massively
    Thank You

  16. I run into this early bishop move so often and haven't learned, until now, how to defend properly !! Now… i have some ammunition to fight back with ! Thanks, GM BossMan for the several excellent examples.

  17. is this sound against Bishop's opening? 1) e4 e5 2) Bc4 Qg5.

  18. l still like 2…..Nf6 It launches an immediate counter attack and keeps the queen out of h5.

  19. The only thing I wonder is what it Bxf7+ on move 2? That is something I have seen a lot with this opening too. Kxf7 is a mire of problems after Qf3+.

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