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

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.

Practise the line

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

Your move 1 of 20/2

1.e4e5
2.Nf3d6

White is answering…

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level. Each is ordinary opening theory — a named trap, or the error every coach corrects — not a statistic, and not drawn from anybody's games.

Legall's Mate

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Bg4 4.Nc3 g6 5.Nxe5 Bxd1 6.Bxf7+ Ke7 7.Nd5#

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

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4 4.dxe5 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3

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

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.d5

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.

Try it on one of your own

The board above is for the line itself; this is for a game you played. Paste a game in this opening, or pull one from chess.com, and every move is graded against what the engine would have played. Open the board, read how the grading works, or go back to the other openings.