Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Philidor Defense › Philidor Defense › Philidor Gambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Philidor Defense C41
- Philidor Defense C41
- Philidor Gambit C41 you are here
Philidor Defense: Philidor Gambit
Overview
Philidor Defense: Philidor Gambit 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 begins with 6 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bd7 to reach the canonical position.
It is a variation of Philidor Defense, 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
- 6
- Parent
- Philidor Defense
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
28,153 games · White 57.3% / Draw 3.6% / Black 39.1%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| dxe5 | 20,133 | |
| Bc4 | 2,600 | |
| d5 | 2,427 | |
| Nc3 | 1,563 | |
| c3 | 444 | |
| c4 | 331 | |
| Be3 | 173 | |
| Bd3 | 170 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:26:12
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