Philidor Defense: Steinitz Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. c3
The Philidor Defense: Steinitz Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C41, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. c3. 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 2,824 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (79% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 4… Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O c5 7. a4)
- ECO
- C41
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk1nr/ppp1bppp/3p4/4p3/2B1P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 497 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,050 | |
| 2000+ | 277 | |
| All | 2,824 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 2,229 (79%) | |
| 4… c6 | 136 (5%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 97 (3%) | |
| 4… h6 | 85 (3%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 80 (3%) | |
| 4… Bf6 | 50 (2%) | |
| 4… c5 | 50 (2%) | |
| 4… a6 | 25 (1%) |
Master games
88 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 14%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2679) – GM Luca Jr Moroni (2588) 1-0 · Titled Tue 15th Mar Late · 2022-03-15
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2606) – GM V Pranav (2615) 0-1 · Chessable Masters Play-In · 2025-02-17
- GM Zaven Andriasian (2581) – GM Vladimir Hamitevici (2483) 0-1 · Titled Tue 5th Sep Late · 2023-09-05
- IM Pavel Shkapenko (2390) – IM Antoine Bournel (2343) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Jun Early · 2024-06-11
- FM Tuna Ozates (2309) – IM Sergiy Zavgorodniy (2416) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Oct Early · 2023-10-10
Search all games of the Philidor Defense: Steinitz Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nenidon_Andriy (2548) – Zalameroo (2648) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- MariadoBairro (2329) – IM kamblefy (2471) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- SpeedyGonzales7 (2377) – PROchessperson (2420) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Philidor Defense (3. Bc4 Be7) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Be7
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: 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.