I lifted this off the Everyman website awhile ago and posted it on the Daring Defense forum in a discussion on "Why is the Bird so unpopular?" that's now two or three pages back.  I don't know the status of the book and haven't inquired.  Frankly, I rather wish that Henrik Danielsen were working on a book--I think his treatment of 1 f4 is excellent and very much in line with the way I would like to play the Bird...



Bird's Opening: Detailed coverage of an underrated and 
dynamic choice for White 
 
Timothy Taylor 
 
1-85744-402-7; 6 x 9; 234 x 156mm; $19.95; Paperback 
November 2005 
 
Bird's Opening is an underrated and dynamic choice for 
White that immediately directs the game into 
relatively unexplored territory, setting Black players 
early problems and forcing them to think for 
themselves rather than having the luxury of relying on 
the theory of more mainstream openings. Itís also a 
very flexible option that can lead to both sharp 
gambit play, such as the notorious From's Gambit, as 
well as quieter positional lines. 
In this book International Master Timothy Taylor 
unearths the secrets of Bird's Opening and its many 
deviations. Using illustrative games, he examines 
tactical and positional ideas for both colours and 
recommends the best paths in both the ëmain linesí and 
the lesser-trodden paths. A study of this book will 
give the reader the required knowledge and confidence 
to play the Bird's Opening with either colour. 
 
*Written by a Bird's Opening expert 
*A complete up-to-date survey on an active chess 
opening 
*Ideal for club and tournament players 
 
International Master Timothy Taylor is an experienced 
tournament player who has enjoyed several notable 
successes including winning the US Open. He is also a 
skilled chess writer, one of his previous books How to 
Defeat the Smith-Morra Gambit becoming a US Chess 
Federation best seller. 
Outside of chess, he is the author if two published 
novels, Elaine the Fair and Amanda, while he directed 
the film Wicked Pursuits.

Danielsen did look much better going into the ending, didn't he?  It was rather peculiar, but very interesting!  And you're right about the Reversed Leningrad-like set up--when I replied, I had only looked at the first three or four moves...

Quote:


Thanks for this--Keith Hayward's website is an important tool for Bird players.  With the absence of literature on the Bird (I understand Tim Taylor is working on a book), this website is pretty valuable...

HgMan,

This link may be of interest to you..

http://www.geocities.com/drawyah/

Danielsen has a very good record against 2 ... Bg4, and he hasn't played it very often...

I'll have to give this some thought.  White's queen may be misplaced, but Black surrenders the bishop pair rather easily, and White's light-squared bishop can be a monster in some lines.

But I still don't understand why 2 Nf3 is necessarily best.  Many lines might transpose, I guess, but what about 2 d3 ?  Surely 2 g3 is playable if White insists on a Reversed Leningrad.

Does 2 ... Bg4 invariably suggest that 3 ... Bxf3 will follow?  Naturally, I would prefer not to have to play 4 Qxf3, as I think that's not the best place for the queen.

Why is 2 Nf3 best?