Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. Bc4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4
The Philidor Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 127,815 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3… h6 (22% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3… Be7 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/3p4/4p3/2B1P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 66,413 | |
| 1500-1999 | 57,753 | |
| 2000+ | 3,649 | |
| All | 127,815 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… h6 | 28,624 (22%) | |
| 3… Bg4 | 25,728 (20%) | |
| 3… Be7 Philidor Defense (3. Bc4 Be7) | 19,891 (16%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 11,633 (9%) | |
| 3… Be6 | 10,563 (8%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 9,696 (8%) | |
| 3… c6 | 4,333 (3%) | |
| 3… f5 Lopez Countergambit | 2,923 (2%) |
Master games
806 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 60%, draw 8%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-09
- Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) – LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-09
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2769) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2726) 1-0 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-09
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2777) – GM Rauf Mamedov (2654) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Final 2020 · 2020-09-22
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2723) – GM Ivan Cheparinov (2678) 1-0 · 14th Karpov GM · 2013-08-29
Search all games of the Philidor Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM filolog (2706) – RoryMcCann (2690) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- sunchess137 (2665) – johnsam1 (2726) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Superstitions_Guy (2683) – RoryMcCann (2705) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense (2. Nf3 d6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6
Continuations
- Philidor Defense (3. Bc4 Be7) C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Be7
- Philidor Defense: Lopez Countergambit C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 f5
More Philidor Defense lines (all)
- Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. d4) C41
- Philidor Defense: Albin-Blackburne Gambit C41
- Philidor Defense: Berger Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit C41
- Philidor Defense: Boden Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3. d4 exd4) C41
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3… exd4 4. Nxd4) C41
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (4. Nxd4 Nf6) C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Delmar Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Krause Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Schlechter 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.