Philidor Defense 2…d6 3. d4
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Statistics from Lichess
19,574,425 games: White 53.1% / Draw 4.8% / Black 42.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange Variation | 11,926,34811.9M | |
| 2,766,1142.8M | ||
| 1,194,0001.2M | ||
| Hanham Variation | 1,128,3431.1M | |
| 664,845665K | ||
| 463,002463K | ||
| Nimzowitsch Variation | 423,809424K | |
| Philidor Countergambit | 325,264325K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.52 White is slightly better
Best play: 3... exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Qd2 Nc6 8. O-O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 55% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 11.4M | |
| 1400–1799 | 19.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 9.1M | |
| 2200 and up | 539K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,169 |
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 27, 2026
Overview
Philidor Defense (ECO C41, Open Games) is a variation of the Philidor Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 (3 moves).
In 19,574,425 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.1%, Black 42.1% and 4.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…exd4, in 61% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation and Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation. In all, 36 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 3. d4
3…Nd7 (Hanham Variation) scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 47.0% and White 48.3% of 1.1M games. The most played, 3…exd4, scores 45.0% in 11.9M games, and 3…Bg4 scores lowest: 41.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…exd4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.71% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 1.1%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.1% | 393,421 |
| 2017 | 0.98% | 537,726 |
| 2018 | 0.86% | 671,538 |
| 2019 | 0.82% | 1,022,335 |
| 2020 | 0.77% | 2,252,735 |
| 2021 | 0.76% | 2,962,487 |
| 2022 | 0.74% | 2,796,637 |
| 2023 | 0.73% | 2,749,619 |
| 2024 | 0.72% | 2,596,309 |
| 2025 | 0.71% | 2,452,139 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.71% | 773,638 |
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 (6)
Transpositions
All 36 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C41 Albin-Blackburne Gambit 4 moves
- C41 Exchange Variation 3 moves
- C41 Hanham Variation 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 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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Philidor Defense (C41)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/philidor-defense-3