Tree path 4 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Philidor Defense › Philidor Defense
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Philidor Defense C41
- Philidor Defense C41 you are here
Philidor Defense
Overview
Philidor Defense is a named branch in the Open Games group of chess theory, classified under ECO C41.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
Play reaches this position via 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4, after 5 plies of opening development.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Philidor Defense, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
6 distinct sub-variations branch from this opening; prominent examples include Albin-Blackburne Gambit, Exchange Variation, Hanham Variation, and others.
Below the direct variations, the full subtree contains 36 documented sub-variations.
Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.
- ECO code
- C41
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 5
- Parent
- Philidor Defense
- Direct variations
- 6
- Total in subtree
- 36
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
19,574,425 games · White 53.1% / Draw 4.8% / Black 42.1%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| exd4 | 11,926,348 | |
| Bg4 | 2,766,114 | |
| Nc6 | 1,194,000 | |
| Nd7 | 1,128,343 | |
| f6 | 664,845 | |
| Qe7 | 463,002 | |
| Nf6 | 423,809 | |
| f5 | 325,264 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:12:53
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Variations (6)
Show all 36 sub-variations (full subtree)
- C41 Albin-Blackburne Gambit 8-ply
- C41 Exchange Variation 6-ply
- C41 Hanham Variation 6-ply
- C41 Nimzowitsch Variation 6-ply
- C41 Philidor Countergambit 6-ply
- C41 Philidor Gambit 6-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit 7-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Boden Variation 8-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation 7-ply
- C41 Delmar Variation 9-ply
- C41 Krause Variation 9-ply
- C41 Schlechter Variation 9-ply
- C41 Sharp Variation 8-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Hanham, Kmoch Variation 9-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation 8-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Shirov Gambit 9-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lopez Countergambit, Jaenisch Variation 11-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit 7-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation 7-ply
- C41 Klein Variation 7-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch, Locock Variation 7-ply
- C41 del Rio Attack 11-ply
- C41 Zukertort Variation 7-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation 8-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Steiner Variation 11-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Larsen Variation 8-ply
- C41 Bishop Sacrifice 11-ply
- C41 Lion's Claw, with Bc4 and h6 12-ply
- C41 Lion's Claw, with Be2 and c6 12-ply
- C41 Rellstab Variation 9-ply
- C41 Sokolsky Variation 9-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch, Larobok Variation 13-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Paulsen Attack 9-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Berger Variation 13-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Berger Variation 19-ply
- C41 Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Forcing Line 15-ply