Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation 3…exd4 4. Nxd4
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Statistics from Lichess
9,260,511 games: White 52.3% / Draw 4.9% / Black 42.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,483,7233.5M | ||
| 1,673,0191.7M | ||
| 1,142,8001.1M | ||
| 878,791879K | ||
| 713,937714K | ||
| Philidor Defense: Larsen Variation | 339,233339K | |
| 324,852325K | ||
| 142,077142K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.53 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. Qd2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 a6 9. h4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 52% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.7M | |
| 1400–1799 | 8.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 4.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 222K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,451 |
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
Overview
Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (ECO C41, Open Games) is a variation of the Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 (4 moves).
In 9,260,511 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.3%, Black 42.8% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nf6, in 38% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Philidor Defense: Larsen Variation and Philidor Defense: Paulsen Attack. In all, 4 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 4. Nxd4
4…Be7 scores best for Black: 46.9%, with Black winning 44.5% and White 50.7% of 1.7M games. The most played, 4…Nf6, scores 46.5% in 3.5M games, and 4…c5 scores lowest: 43.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nf6.
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: 0.33% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.5%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.5% | 179,525 |
| 2017 | 0.47% | 259,697 |
| 2018 | 0.42% | 328,544 |
| 2019 | 0.4% | 503,551 |
| 2020 | 0.37% | 1,090,738 |
| 2021 | 0.36% | 1,406,679 |
| 2022 | 0.35% | 1,319,320 |
| 2023 | 0.34% | 1,296,418 |
| 2024 | 0.34% | 1,217,272 |
| 2025 | 0.33% | 1,135,157 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.32% | 353,413 |
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 (3)
All 4 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (C41)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/philidor-defense-exchange-variation-2