Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Sharp Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7 4. Bc4 Nb6
The Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Sharp Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7 4. Bc4 Nb6. It is a line of the Philidor Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6 times by this move order. White won 17%, 0% were drawn and Black won 83%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bb3 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.96 (Stockfish, depth 29; best line 5. Bb3 a5 6. a4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Be6)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp2ppp/1n1p4/4p3/2BPP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 3 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7 4. Bc4 Nb6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bb3 | 4 (67%) | |
| 5. Bxf7+ | 2 (33%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 50%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- FM Max Becker (2211) – Rodion Bogdanov (2048) 1/2-1/2 · Vladimir Dvorkovich Mem 2014 · 2014-01-24
- Alberto Berlato (1511) – Roberto Fincati (1466) 1-0 · 47th Arco Open 2025 · 2025-10-11
Search all games of the Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation, Sharp Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- priest02f (1579) – Zswenne (1566) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- mrserkan (1566) – romanj12 (1491) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Nechipor (1461) – Humeshsaran2017 (1445) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense: Hanham Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7
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: 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, Delmar 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.