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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c5/2. Bc4

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Bowdler Attack
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black kingd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black pawnd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white bishopd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 black kingg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK1NR b

Moves: 1. e4 c5 Bc4

Bowdler Attack

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This is a mistake that allows clear equality. Black's best answer is 2. ...e6 followed by d5 at some point which easily removes White's bishop and gives Black a tempo and clear centre.

For example: 1. e4 c5 2.Bc4 e6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. O-O d5 6. exd5 exd5 7.Bb3

Black needs to play Nc6 before d5, otherwise the king will be exposed on the a4-e8 diagonal, and therefore inviting a check from White's light square bishop.

It is analogous to some lines in the Italian Game but Black has played the move c5 which helps prevent d4 and makes b3 a less attractive place for the White Bishop (because of c4).

Interestingly, 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 (as opposed to the usual 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 XXX 6. Bc4 where XXX is e6, Nc6, g6 or a6), does not allow for such shenanigans by Black who has no better option but to transpose to a main line open Sicilian where White plays Bc4. In contrast to 2. Bc4 where Black obtains immediate equality, the only real advantage of 3. Bc4 for Black is that he gets to choose his defence (Dragon, Najdorf, Scheveningen, Classical) with the knowledge that White has committed his bishop to c4. However it may confuse some unwary Black players who feel they should "prove" that White has made an "inaccurate" move.

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