Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. d4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
The Philidor Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4. Black is to move. 6 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 92,097 times by this move order. White won 52%, 5% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… exd4 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.58 (Stockfish, depth 58; best line 3… exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/3p4/4p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 39,839 | |
| 1500-1999 | 46,905 | |
| 2000+ | 5,353 | |
| All | 92,097 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… exd4 Exchange Variation (3. d4 exd4) | 48,383 (53%) | |
| 3… Bg4 | 15,799 (17%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 6,908 (8%) | |
| 3… f6 | 4,733 (5%) | |
| 3… Nd7 Hanham Variation | 4,351 (5%) | |
| 3… Nf6 Nimzowitsch Variation (3. d4 Nf6) | 2,926 (3%) | |
| 3… Qe7 | 2,419 (3%) | |
| 3… f5 Philidor Countergambit | 1,468 (2%) |
Master games
437 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 70%, draw 9%, Black 21%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) – Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) – LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2729) – GM Zaven Andriasian (2585) 1-0 · World Rapid 2017 · 2017-12-26
- GM Sanan Sjugirov (2663) – GM Agamaliev, G. (2485) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 22nd Dec · 2020-12-22
- GM Anna Muzychuk (2545) – GM Wenjun Ju (2568) 1-0 · SportAccord Blitz w 2014 · 2014-12-15
Search all games of the Philidor Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- human_machine (2698) – RoryMcCann (2726) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- sunchess137 (2711) – RoryMcCann (2685) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Yakamuzosan (2697) – ChessGodSlayerKing (2685) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense (2. Nf3 d6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6
Continuations
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3. d4 exd4) C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7
- Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation (3. d4 Nf6) C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6
- Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5
- Philidor Defense: Philidor Gambit C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bd7
- Philidor Defense: Albin-Blackburne Gambit C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Nd7
More Philidor Defense lines (all)
- Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. Bc4) C41
- Philidor Defense (3. Bc4 Be7) C41
- Philidor Defense: Berger Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit C41
- Philidor Defense: Boden Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3… exd4 4. Nxd4) C41
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (4. Nxd4 Nf6) C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Delmar Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Krause Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Schlechter Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Sharp Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Steiner Variation C41
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.