Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor, Lion's Cave, Lion Claw Gambit
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4 e5 5. Nf3 exd4 6. Qxd4 c6 7. Bc4 d5
The Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor, Lion's Cave, Lion Claw Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B07, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4 e5 5. Nf3 exd4 6. Qxd4 c6 7. Bc4 d5. It is a line of the Lion Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 8 times by this move order. White won 25%, 0% were drawn and Black won 75%. The most popular continuation is 8. exd5 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.08 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 8. exd5 Bc5 9. Qd3 O-O 10. dxc6 bxc6)
- ECO
- B07
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp1n1ppp/2p2n2/3p4/2BQPP2/2N2N2/PPP3PP/R1B1K2R w KQkq - 0 8- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4 e5 5. Nf3 exd4 6. Qxd4 c6 7. Bc4 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 8 | |
| All | 8 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. exd5 | 8 (100%) |
Master games
20 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 10%, Black 60%). The strongest:
- GM Dennis Wagner (2598) – CM Sandro Safar (2203) 1-0 · Titled Tue 4th Jul Early · 2023-07-04
- IM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov (2477) – IM Hernan Filgueira (2283) 1-0 · Abu Dhabi Masters Online · 2024-08-21
- GM Jiri Stocek (2604) – Cengiz Hasman (2101) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 2nd Feb · 2021-02-02
- FM Dirk Troltenier (2162) – GM Simon K Williams (2444) 0-1 · Titled Tue 19th Aug Early · 2025-08-19
- WFM Martina Folkova (2188) – FM Zhanat Saiyn (2399) 0-1 · 25th Czech Open A 2014 · 2014-07-18
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Jackson_Carbonara (2362) – Yal_sistan (2399) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- ll91 (2400) – Matimzozo (2143) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- blitz78 (2247) – coupedegrace (2173) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor, Lion's Cave 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4 e5
More Lion Defense lines (all)
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.