Openings · C41

Philidor Defence

Defend e5 with a pawn instead of a knight: solid, cramped, and named after the man who thought pawns were the soul of chess.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6played as Black

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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Your move 1 of 20/2
  1. 1.e4e5
  2. 2.Nf3d6

White is answering…

The idea

2…d6 holds the centre without exposing anything. The modern way to play it is the Hanham set-up — …Nd7, …Ngf6, …Be7, …c6 — a small, sound house with everything defended, waiting for the moment to strike with …d5 or …exd4 and …Re8.

The danger is the difference between solid and passive. Black has less space, so every piece needs a square worked out in advance; a Philidor where the pieces just come out is a Philidor where White plays d4-d5 and Black has nothing to do for forty moves.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Legall's Mate

After 7.Nd5#
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Pinning with 3…Bg4 and then taking the queen when the knight moves.
Why it costs
The knight on e5 is not hanging, it is bait: 5…Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5 is mate, with three minor pieces and no queen. It is the most famous mate in chess and it is still played every day.
Instead
Take the knight or leave the pin alone — 5…dxe5 first, and Black is fine. Better still, do not pin with …Bg4 in this structure until …c6 and …Be7 are in.

Handing over the bishop, then walking into Qb3

After 7.Qb3
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Trading the bishop for the knight and developing with 6…Nf6 anyway.
Why it costs
7.Qb3 hits b7 and f7 at the same time, and there is no move that defends both. Black gives up a pawn and the position: this is the standard punishment for opening the queen's diagonal and then ignoring it.
Instead
6…Qd7 or 6…Qe7 first, covering the second rank — or keep the bishop with 4…Nd7 rather than trading it off at all.

The house with no door

After 7.d5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Completing the set-up with no plan for what happens when White closes the centre.
Why it costs
7.d5 takes the break away and leaves Black with a good position and nothing to do in it. White then plays on the kingside or the queenside at leisure, and Black waits.
Instead
Play …c6 before castling, so that d5 can be met by …cxd5, or take on d4 and use the open file with …Re8. The Philidor needs one break prepared at all times.

In real games between beginners

  • 1 in 110games end with Black giving checkmate by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 54.
  • 1 in 41games end with Black getting checkmated by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 33.

From 13,571 Lichess games in this opening between players rated under 1200, blitz and slower, September 2026. How we counted.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 4 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. d4+0.6
  2. Bc4+0.4
  3. Nc3+0.3
  4. h3+0.2
  5. c3+0.2
  6. a4+0.2

The engine's main line from d4: d4 Nd7 Bc4 c6 Ng5 Nh6 O-O exd4.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

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