Tree path 7 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Philidor Defense › Philidor Defense › Philidor Countergambit › del Rio Attack › Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Berger Variation
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Philidor Defense C41
- Philidor Defense C41
- Philidor Countergambit C41
- del Rio Attack C41
- Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Berger Variation C41 you are here
Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Berger Variation
Overview
Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Berger Variation is a gambit, classified under ECO code C41 within the Open Games family. As with all gambits, one side sacrifices material early — usually a pawn — in exchange for development, open lines, or initiative.
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 13 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5 4. dxe5 fxe4 5. Ng5 d5 6. e6 Bc5 7. Nc3.
It is a variation of Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, del Rio Attack, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
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
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
388 games · White 50.5% / Draw 3.9% / Black 45.6%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| c6 | 205 | |
| Qf6 | 137 | |
| Nf6 | 25 | |
| e3 | 13 | |
| Nh6 | 3 | |
| Bb4 | 2 | |
| g6 | 1 | |
| Nc6 | 1 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:49:40
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