Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3. d4 exd4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4
The Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4. It is a line of the Philidor Defense. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 48,383 times by this move order. White won 51%, 5% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nxd4 (72% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.45 (Stockfish, depth 56; best line 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. g3 O-O)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/3p4/8/3pP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 16,487 | |
| 1500-1999 | 28,700 | |
| 2000+ | 3,196 | |
| All | 48,383 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nxd4 Exchange Variation (3… exd4 4. Nxd4) | 34,680 (72%) | |
| 4. Qxd4 | 7,084 (15%) | |
| 4. Bc4 Morphy Gambit | 3,594 (7%) | |
| 4. c3 Bird Gambit | 1,788 (4%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 996 (2%) | |
| 4. e5 | 68 (0%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 44 (0%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 27 (0%) |
Master games
447 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 24%, Black 28%). The strongest:
- GM Levon Aronian (2781) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) 0-1 · Magnus Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2021-03-13
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Anish Giri (2764) 1/2-1/2 · Chessable Masters Final 8 · 2020-07-01
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) – GM Daniil Dubov (2699) 0-1 · Lindores Abbey Final 8 · 2020-05-27
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) – GM Rauf Mamedov (2656) 1-0 · 7th Gashimov Mem Rapid · 2021-12-19
- GM Martyn Kravtsiv (2598) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2776) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 19th Aug Early · 2025-08-19
Search all games of the Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation 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… d6 3. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
Continuations
- Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3
- Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation (3… exd4 4. Nxd4) C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4
- Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4
- Philidor Defense: Boden Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Bd7
More Philidor Defense lines (all)
- Philidor Defense (2. Nf3 d6) C41
- Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. Bc4) C41
- Philidor Defense (3. Bc4 Be7) C41
- Philidor Defense: Albin-Blackburne Gambit C41
- Philidor Defense: Berger Variation 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
- 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.