Philidor Defense
The Philidor Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6) protects the e5-pawn with a pawn instead of the usual 2...Nc6. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
53,166,523 games: White 51.7% / Draw 4.7% / Black 43.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 22,698,61622.7M | ||
| 18,979,95019M | ||
| 4,319,5154.3M | ||
| 2,708,5922.7M | ||
| 2,114,4392.1M | ||
| 747,032747K | ||
| 539,513540K | ||
| 428,650429K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.61 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. Qd2 Nxd4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 46% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 44.9M | |
| 1400–1799 | 63.8M | |
| 1800–2199 | 22M | |
| 2200 and up | 785K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,486 |
Master games
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Karjakin, S. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Carlsen, M. – Dubov, D.
- Grischuk, A. – Dubov, D.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Description
The Philidor Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6) protects the e5-pawn with a pawn instead of the usual 2...Nc6. It is a solid but somewhat passive choice.
Origins
The opening is named after the 18th-century French player and composer François-André Danican Philidor. He advocated 2...d6 as an alternative to 2...Nc6, and his original idea was to challenge White's centre with ...f7–f5. The most famous game with it is Paul Morphy's "Opera Game" of 1858 against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard, which went 3.d4 Bg4. The Philidor had almost vanished from top-level chess by the First World War. Bent Larsen experimented with a ...g6 setup, and Étienne Bacrot and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu have tried it occasionally.
The idea
With 2...d6 Black keeps e5 firmly defended and prepares a compact setup: ...Nf6, ...Nbd7, ...Be7, ...O-O and ...c6. This is the Hanham Variation idea of a strongpoint defence of e5. The drawback is that the dark-squared bishop is blocked behind the d6-pawn, and White gets more space. Black's most common reply to 3.d4, however, is 3...exd4, which gives up the centre.
Main lines
- Exchange Variation 3.d4 exd4: the main line continues 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7. Black relieves the central tension but gives up the centre.
- Hanham Variation 3...Nd7 and the Lion setup with ...Nf6 and ...Nbd7: Black keeps the pawn on e5.
- Philidor Countergambit 3...f5: often considered too risky and dubious, but played by David Bronstein and Hikaru Nakamura.
- Morphy Gambit 4.Bc4 after 3...exd4, where White develops instead of recapturing the pawn.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Solid, with a clear defensive setup, although Black cannot always reach it by force.
- Avoids the heavy theory of the Ruy Lopez and the Italian.
- A good choice for amateur players who want a defensive strategy.
Weaknesses
- Passive: Black gets less space and the f8-bishop is limited.
- White has many ways to keep a lasting edge.
- There are tactical traps, especially if Black mixes up the move order of ...Nf6, ...Nbd7 and ...Be7.
Who should play it
The Philidor suits solid, defensive players who like a fixed setup and slow manoeuvring, and who want to avoid main-line theory against 1.e4 e5. It is effective against opponents who attack without a plan. It is less effective against positional players who simply take space and wait.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 51–52% and Black 43.1–44.4% at every band below 2200, and 50% against 43% above it. It is played very often at club level: most of its Lichess games are below 1800. In master games over the board, White wins 41%, Black 25% and 34.5% are drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Philidor Defense
3. d4 scores best for White: 55.5%, with White winning 53.1% and Black 42.1% of 19M games. The most played, 3. Bc4, scores 53.5% in 22.7M games, and 3. Nc3 scores lowest: 52.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. d4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Philidor Defense has lost ground since 2016: 1.9% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 3.0%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3.0% | 1,067,997 |
| 2017 | 2.5% | 1,398,986 |
| 2018 | 2.1% | 1,679,151 |
| 2019 | 2.1% | 2,657,083 |
| 2020 | 2.1% | 6,188,478 |
| 2021 | 2.2% | 8,457,766 |
| 2022 | 2.1% | 7,789,486 |
| 2023 | 2.0% | 7,531,937 |
| 2024 | 2.0% | 6,991,982 |
| 2025 | 1.9% | 6,484,335 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.8% | 1,996,283 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (2)
All 41 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C41 Philidor Defense 3 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense 3 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense 3 moves
- C41 Albin-Blackburne Gambit 4 moves
- C41 Exchange Variation 3 moves
- C41 Hanham Variation 3 moves
- C41 Lopez Countergambit 3 moves
- C41 Nimzowitsch Variation 3 moves
- C41 Philidor Countergambit 3 moves
- C41 Philidor Gambit 3 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit 4 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Boden Variation 4 moves
- C41 Exchange Variation 4 moves
- C41 Delmar Variation 5 moves
- C41 Krause Variation 5 moves
- C41 Schlechter Variation 5 moves
- C41 Sharp Variation 4 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Hanham, Kmoch Variation 5 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation 4 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Shirov Gambit 5 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lopez Countergambit, Jaenisch Variation 6 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit 4 moves
- C41 Nimzowitsch Variation 4 moves
- C41 Klein Variation 4 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch, Locock Variation 4 moves
- C41 del Rio Attack 6 moves
- C41 Zukertort Variation 4 moves
- C41 Steinitz Variation 4 moves
- C41 Exchange Variation 4 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Steiner Variation 6 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Larsen Variation 4 moves
- C41 Bishop Sacrifice 6 moves
- C41 Lion's Claw, with Bc4 and h6 6 moves
- C41 Lion's Claw, with Be2 and c6 6 moves
- C41 Rellstab Variation 5 moves
- C41 Sokolsky Variation 5 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch, Larobok Variation 7 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Paulsen Attack 5 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Berger Variation 7 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Berger Variation 10 moves
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Forcing Line 8 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Philidor Defence, version of 29 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Philidor: adapted from the Wikipedia article François-André Danican Philidor, version of 7 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Philidor Defense (C41)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/philidor-defense