Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4
The Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor is a chess opening classified as ECO B07, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4. It is a line of the Lion Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 802 times by this move order. White won 51%, 5% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4… e5 (81% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.56 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… e5 5. Nf3 exd4 6. Qxd4 c6 7. Be3)
- ECO
- B07
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppnpppp/3p1n2/8/3PPP2/2N5/PPP3PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 48 | |
| 1500-1999 | 342 | |
| 2000+ | 412 | |
| All | 802 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… e5 Anti-Philidor, Lion's Cave | 647 (81%) | |
| 4… c6 | 76 (9%) | |
| 4… c5 | 37 (5%) | |
| 4… g6 | 23 (3%) | |
| 4… e6 | 10 (1%) | |
| 4… b6 | 3 (0%) | |
| 4… h6 | 3 (0%) | |
| 4… Nb6 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
62 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 15%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2710) – GM Vitaly Kunin (2556) 1-0 · World Blitz 2015 · 2015-10-14
- GM David Paravyan (2647) – GM Zhamsaran Tsydypov (2565) 1-0 · Titled Arena Apr 3rd 2021 · 2021-04-03
- GM Nikita Vitiugov (2657) – IM Eline Roebers (2392) 1-0 · 15th LCC Super Rapid 2025 · 2025-12-07
- IM Dennis Breder (2474) – GM Vitaly Kunin (2531) 0-1 · 2nd Bundesliga Sud 2017-18 · 2017-10-22
- IM Dorsa Derakhshani (2370) – GM Vitaly Kunin (2586) 0-1 · 40th Zurich Christmas · 2016-12-27
Search all games of the Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM KAPUTVSEMU (2825) – Sunrise34 (2897) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2829) – puziko52 (2751) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- CM Sultai (2700) – Haunting_Games (2652) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Lion Defense 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7
Continuations
- Lion Defense: Anti-Philidor, Lion's Cave B07 · 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.