C41

Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit

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Statistics from Lichess

477,825 games: White 55.5% / Draw 4.0% / Black 40.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	283,396283K
	73,93574K
	34,90035K
	22,10722K
	21,25421K
	11,17111K
	10,76311K
	4,7754,775

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.11 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... dxc3 5. Nxc3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Be7 7. Qc2 O-O 8. Be2 Nc6 9. Rd1

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 (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	89K
1400–1799	322K
1800–2199	272K
2200 and up	13K
Masters, over the board	4

Master games

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: Bird Gambit (ECO C41, Open Games) is a gambit in the Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3 (4 moves).

In 477,825 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.5%, Black 40.6% and 4.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…dxc3, in 59% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit

4…Nf6 scores best for Black: 49.0%, with Black winning 46.7% and White 48.7% of 74K games. The most played answer, 4…dxc3, scores lowest: 40.9% in 283K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…dxc3.

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

The Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit dipped to 0.016% of Lichess games in 2020 and has recovered since: 0.022% in 2025.

0.022%0.022%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.022%	7,778
2017	0.021%	11,478
2018	0.02%	15,639
2019	0.018%	22,741
2020	0.016%	46,349
2021	0.016%	61,962
2022	0.017%	62,866
2023	0.018%	67,127
2024	0.02%	71,031
2025	0.022%	75,949
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.023%	24,739

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit (C41)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/philidor-defense-bird-gambit