Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation (3. d4 Nf6)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6
The Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6. 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 2,926 times by this move order. White won 55%, 5% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 4. dxe5 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.76 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4. dxe5 Nxe4 5. Qd5 Nc5 6. Bg5 Qd7)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/4p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,861 | |
| 1500-1999 | 870 | |
| 2000+ | 195 | |
| All | 2,926 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. dxe5 Nimzowitsch Variation (3… Nf6 4. dxe5) | 1,951 (67%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 482 (16%) | |
| 4. d5 | 127 (4%) | |
| 4. Bc4 Nimzowitsch Variation, Klein Variation | 104 (4%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 100 (3%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 75 (3%) | |
| 4. Ng5 Nimzowitsch, Locock Variation | 22 (1%) | |
| 4. c3 | 20 (1%) |
Master games
51 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 67%, draw 15%, Black 18%). The strongest:
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – WIM Melika Mohammadi (2342) 1-0 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 19th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-19
- IM Guillermo Baches Garcia (2329) – GM Boris Savchenko (2551) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 17th Nov · 2020-11-17
- GM Robert Zelcic (2449) – FM Matija Ostovic (2398) 1-0 · 34th TCh-CRO Div 1a 2025 · 2025-11-23
- IM Jean-Christophe Olivier (2371) – GM Vladimir Okhotnik (2454) 1-0 · 3rd ch-Francophonie Rapid · 2016-07-03
- IM Aron Pasti (2377) – WIM Melika Mohammadi (2342) 1-0 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 19th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-19
Search all games of the Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- T-80BVM (2699) – IM Angelicanmade (2519) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- GeForceExperience (2595) – IM Shukh_Nikolay (2607) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Vnebo (2684) – Rawhen (2502) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
Continuations
- Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation (3… Nf6 4. dxe5) C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. dxe5
- Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation, Klein Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bc4
- Philidor Defense: Nimzowitsch, Locock Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Ng5
- Philidor Defense: Lion Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7
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: 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
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.