Bird Opening: Dutch Variation
Chess opening · ECO A03 · 2 half-moves
1. f4 d5
The Bird Opening: Dutch Variation is reached after 1. f4 d5. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Bird Opening with 1… d5.
How often it is played
The Bird Opening: Dutch Variation and its variations appeared in 0.41% of games — 12,380 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 108 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 49%, 3.6% were drawn and Black won 47%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at -0.35 — a small edge for Black. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Pawn Game | 1. e4 | 59% |
| Queen's Pawn Game | 1. d4 | 26% |
| English Opening | 1. c4 | 3.0% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Bird Opening: Williams Gambit | 1. f4 d5 2. e4 | 0.05% |
| Bird Opening: Lasker Variation | 1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 c5 | 0.01% |
| Bird Opening: Sturm Gambit | 1. f4 d5 2. c4 | 0.00% |
| Bird Opening: Dutch Variation, Dudweiler Gambit | 1. f4 d5 2. g4 | 0.00% |
| Bird Opening: Thomas Gambit | 1. f4 d5 2. b3 Nf6 3. Bb2 d4 4. Nf3 c5 5. e3 | 0.00% |
Check your own games
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