Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5
The Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5. It is a line of the Philidor Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,468 times by this move order. White won 52%, 3% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4. dxe5 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.99 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. d5 Nb8)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp3pp/3p4/4pp2/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 659 | |
| 1500-1999 | 698 | |
| 2000+ | 111 | |
| All | 1,468 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. dxe5 | 831 (57%) | |
| 4. exf5 | 308 (21%) | |
| 4. Nc3 Philidor Countergambit, Zukertort Variation | 144 (10%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 56 (4%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 34 (2%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 33 (2%) | |
| 4. d5 | 31 (2%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 11 (1%) |
Master games
51 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 69%, draw 7%, Black 24%). The strongest:
- IM Mikhail Mozharov (2508) – Kanna T.u. Navin (2348) 1-0 · Chennai GM Open 2013 · 2013-11-16
- GM Grzegorz Nasuta (2558) – Arne Moll (2217) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 2nd June · 2020-06-02
- FM James A Chirilov (2295) – FM Jonathan Pein (2320) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-18
- IM Iaroslav Martemianov (2365) – CM Arne Moll (2217) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 23rd June · 2020-06-23
- IM Fernando Valenzuela Gomez (2393) – FM Raul Omar Gonzalez (2178) 1-0 · Barcelona IM 11 15 Mar · 2021-03-19
Search all games of the Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- anpramon (2309) – dikkebertha (2230) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Sonda01 (2265) – dikkebertha (2232) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- ChessGod334545 (2255) – dikkebertha (2224) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense (2… d6 3. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
Continuations
- Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, Zukertort Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5 4. Nc3
- Philidor Defense: Lopez Countergambit, Jaenisch Variation C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5 4. Bc4 exd4 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Nxh7
- Philidor Defense: Philidor Countergambit, del Rio Attack C41 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 f5 4. dxe5 fxe4 5. Ng5 d5 6. e6
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.