Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (4. Nxd4 Nf6)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
The Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6. It is a line of the Philidor Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11,197 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nc3 (74% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.56 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Qd2 Nc6)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/8/3NP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3,029 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,834 | |
| 2000+ | 1,334 | |
| All | 11,197 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nc3 | 8,302 (74%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 1,245 (11%) | |
| 5. Bg5 | 773 (7%) | |
| 5. Bc4 | 263 (2%) | |
| 5. f3 | 241 (2%) | |
| 5. Bb5+ | 50 (0%) | |
| 5. Qe2 | 46 (0%) | |
| 5. e5 | 42 (0%) |
Master games
3,388 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 22%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3840) – ScorpioNN 3.0.8 (3706) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-26
- ScorpioNN 3.0.8 (3706) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3840) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-26
- AllieStein v0.6-n14.3beta (3815) – Ethereal 12.09 (3718) 1-0 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-27
- Ethereal 12.09 (3718) – AllieStein v0.6-n14.3beta (3815) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-27
- rofChade 2.217 (3660) – Xiphos 0.6.1 (3717) 1/2-1/2 · 5th TCEC Cup 2020 · 2020-04-25
Search all games of the Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- sunchess137 (2711) – RoryMcCann (2685) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Yakamuzosan (2697) – ChessGodSlayerKing (2685) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Yakamuzosan (2697) – ChessGodSlayerKing (2686) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3… exd4 4. Nxd4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4
Continuations
- Philidor Defense: Berger Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O c5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Re1
More Philidor Defense lines (all)
- Philidor Defense (2. Nf3 d6) C41
- Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. d4) C41
- Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. Bc4) C41
- Philidor Defense (3. Bc4 Be7) C41
- Philidor Defense: Albin-Blackburne Gambit C41
- Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit C41
- Philidor Defense: Boden Variation C41
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3. d4 exd4) 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.