Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
1,036,857 games: White 53.4% / Draw 4.1% / Black 42.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 299,246299K | ||
| 173,544174K | ||
| 142,724143K | ||
| 132,561133K | ||
| 91,77992K | ||
| 76,58677K | ||
| 69,95370K | ||
| 10,01310K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.25 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. Nxd4 Nxe4 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Qd1 d5 9. Re1
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 54% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 183K | |
| 1400–1799 | 762K | |
| 1800–2199 | 557K | |
| 2200 and up | 18K | |
| Masters, over the board | 19 |
Master games
- Fauland, A. – Chernin, A.
- Zaitsev, I. A. – Kuzmin, G. P.
- Nesterets, A. – Sitnikov, A.
- Glek, I. V. – Dreev, A.
- Mitusov, S. – Karamsetty, J.
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: Morphy 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. Bc4 (4 moves).
In 1,036,857 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.4%, Black 42.5% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Be7, in 29% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit
The most played answer, 4…Be7, also scores best for Black: 48.3%, with Black winning 46.0% and White 49.4% of 299K games. Of the main answers, 4…h6 scores lowest: 41.2%. 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
The Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit has stayed between 0.037% and 0.048% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.042% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.047% | 16,656 |
| 2017 | 0.048% | 26,492 |
| 2018 | 0.044% | 34,256 |
| 2019 | 0.041% | 50,700 |
| 2020 | 0.037% | 107,314 |
| 2021 | 0.037% | 145,696 |
| 2022 | 0.039% | 144,999 |
| 2023 | 0.04% | 149,958 |
| 2024 | 0.042% | 148,982 |
| 2025 | 0.042% | 145,953 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.042% | 46,506 |
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: Morphy Gambit (C41)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/philidor-defense-morphy-gambit