Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation, Rellstab Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. dxe5 Nxe4 5. Qd5
The Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation, Rellstab Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. dxe5 Nxe4 5. Qd5. It is a line of the Philidor Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 55 times by this move order. White won 62%, 3% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 5… Nc5 (49% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.74 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 5… Nc5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. exd6 Qxd6 8. Nc3)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p4/3QP3/4n3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNB1KB1R b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. dxe5 Nxe4 5. Qd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 21 | |
| 1500-1999 | 19 | |
| 2000+ | 15 | |
| All | 55 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Nc5 | 27 (49%) | |
| 5… Bf5 | 13 (24%) | |
| 5… Nxf2 | 7 (13%) | |
| 5… f5 | 2 (4%) | |
| 5… Be6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 5… c5 | 1 (2%) | |
| 5… Ng5 | 1 (2%) | |
| 5… c6 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
52 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 27%, Black 19%). The strongest:
- GM Yuniesky Quesada Perez (2642) – GM Bator Sambuev (2562) 1-0 · 49th Capablanca Premier 2014 · 2014-05-09
- GM Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder (2475) – GM Alexey Sarana (2682) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 17th Oct Early · 2023-10-17
- GM Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko (2621) – IM Oliver Dimakiling (2412) 1/2-1/2 · 20th Dubai Open 2018 · 2018-04-04
- GM Ihor Samunenkov (2547) – FM Matija Ostovic (2384) 1-0 · TCh-HUN 2023-24 · 2024-05-12
- IM Bryan Smith (2448) – IM Leonid Gerzhoy (2478) 1-0 · 4th Continental Class 2013 · 2013-10-11
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Vnebo (2684) – Rawhen (2502) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM Jup78 (2425) – otb04 (2518) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- TeHarePollitoFrito (2418) – Kirill_t100107 (2252) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 5s
Comes from
Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation (3… Nf6 4. dxe5) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. dxe5
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 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.