Don't know about a book, but the "Bird-Opening Chess Training" cd by Dmitrij Oleinikov is quite good. (It's the same cd that Chewie's put up for the Bird-tournament first prize.)
The Bird is a big part of my opening repertuare, and I got most of my knowledge about it from that cd. Though now that I've had a fair bit of experience with the opening, I find that I don't take every recommendation in Oleijikov's cd; for example, he recommends turning the From gambit (1.f4...e5) into a Kings gambit (1.f4...e5 2.e4), while I find that I am more comfortable with From's gambit accepted (1.f4...e5 2.fxe5). But I think these are just matters of preference.
The cd concentrates on illuminating different plans that you can use, rather than putting much weight on precise lines, and I think that is excellent - it helps you to understand the opening, instead of just knowing a number of opening lines.
-Jarno
You could also have a look at the games in the current Bird's Opening Tournament. Many interesting ones so far, plus lots of short disasters (so you can learn what NOT to do). Feivel seems to be going through the field like a knife through hot butter, so you could start by looking at some of his games.
Originally posted by PyrrhoI agree with you, I have the CD too and it's great! Only 25 Euro's, I ordered it via Chessbase.com.
Don't know about a book, but the "Bird-Opening Chess Training" cd by Dmitrij Oleinikov is quite good. (It's the same cd that Chewie's put up for the Bird-tournament first prize.)
The Bird is a big part of my opening repertuare, and ...[text shortened]... ing, instead of just knowing a number of opening lines.
-Jarno
Check my game with Feivel about the From Gambit accepted: Game 244413
When I saw I had to play him, I was like, 'not you again, I won't stand a chance', so he, pitying me, gave me 'one chance', and I think it's working out fine for me now...🙂
Don't worry though, he's trashing me in most of the other games we're playing...🙂
Olav
Originally posted by LivingLegendThere's an interesting one.... can't really comment in more detail as it's an ongoing game though. In one of my games I'm currently playing the From Gamibit accepted against quite imposing opposition myself - against Edmond Dantes. I intended to play the same line as you did (taking the second pawn also), which I still think would have been my best bet, but for some reason beyond me, I played 3.Nf3. Not a bad move at all, but still... 🙄
I agree with you, I have the CD too and it's great! Only 25 Euro's, I ordered it via Chessbase.com.
Check my game with Feivel about the From Gambit accepted: Game 244413
When I saw I had to play him, I was like, 'not you again, I won't stand a chance', so he, pitying me, gave me 'one chance', and I think it's working out fine for me ...[text shortened]...
Don't worry though, he's trashing me in most of the other games we're playing...🙂
Olav
In the Bird tournament, I tried once to play the From gambit as black, and it probably would have ended badly for me, if it weren't for the fact that my opponent disappeared off the site and got timed out.
-Jarno
Originally posted by lloydkWell, I think Hemming did, when I tried the From Gambit on him... 🙂 The From gambit indeed is good against opponenents who are not good at defensive play, and it is kind of fun to play with black. But accurate defense leaves white with a definite advantage in the endgame, making e4 kind of risky reply to the Bird, IMHO.
If you like tactical complexity the From Gambit seems fine. I think White tends to take it a little too lightly. If White plays precisely he probably wins, but who plays precisely in such positions?
Here's the game where I tried it on Hemming - I went for a very aggressive strategy from the begining, and was hoping to overwhelm him early on. There were indeed many opportunities for him to make a mistake, but he played quite accurately I think: Game 288690 Right until the point where he dissappeared off the site of course. I think that had he continued, he would most likely have won.
-Jarno