C41

Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Delayed Bishop Sacrifice

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Overview

Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Delayed Bishop Sacrifice is a chess opening at the root of the Open Games family, classified under ECO code 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 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. Nf3 e5 5. Bc4 Be7 6. dxe5 dxe5 7. Bxf7+, after 13 plies of opening development.

Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.

ECO code: C41
Group: Open Games (C)
Plies: 13

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Statistics from Lichess

13,615 games · White 54.9% / Draw 6.3% / Black 38.8%

Moves	Games	W / D / B
Kxf7	13,563
Kf8	52

Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:49:34

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