Tree path 6 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Philidor Defense › Philidor Defense › Nimzowitsch Variation › Philidor Defense: Lion Variation
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Philidor Defense C41
- Philidor Defense C41
- Nimzowitsch Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Lion Variation C41 you are here
Philidor Defense: Lion Variation
Overview
Philidor Defense: Lion Variation 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.
It is reached after 8 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
4 named variations grow from this line, including Bishop Sacrifice, Lion's Claw, with Bc4 and h6, Lion's Claw, with Be2 and c6, and others.
In total, the branch covers 5 sub-variations across all depths.
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
- 8
- Direct variations
- 4
- Total in subtree
- 5
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
1,526,950 games · White 45.6% / Draw 5.5% / Black 49.0%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| dxe5 | 503,803 | |
| Bc4 | 478,059 | |
| d5 | 157,499 | |
| Bg5 | 95,379 | |
| Be3 | 54,814 | |
| Be2 | 49,213 | |
| h3 | 40,478 | |
| Bd3 | 40,218 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:51:28
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