The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The move 2...d6 defends Black's pawn on e5. White's usual response is to immediately challenge Black in the with 3.d4. Black's most common reply is 3...exd4; 3...Nf6 and 3...Nd7 are the main alternatives.
The opening is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to the common 2...Nc6. His original idea was to challenge White's by the pawn thrust ...f7âÂÂf5. Today, the Philidor is known as a but passive choice for Black, and is seldom seen in top-level play except as an alternative to the heavily analysed openings that can ensue after the normal 2...Nc6 (such as the Ruy Lopez). It is considered a good opening for amateur players who seek a defensive strategy that is simpler and easier to understand than the complex positions that result from an opening such as the French Defence.
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code for Philidor Defence is C41.
In his 1561 book, Ruy Lopez, seeking to debunk Pedro Damiano, advocated 2...d6 as superior to 2...Nc6, on the grounds that 2...Nc6 allows the strong move 3.Bb5, now known as the Ruy Lopez or Spanish Opening. Philidor evidently concurred with this assessment, though he also considered 2.Nf3 inferior to 2.Bc4. Philidor advocated the risky continuation 3.d4 f5!? The Philidor Defence subsequently became a popular opening, though 2...Nc6 remained the most common reply.
The Philidor occurred in one of the most famous games ever played, "The Opera Game" played in 1858 between the American chess master Paul Morphy and two strong amateurs, the German noble Duke Karl of Brunswick and the French aristocrat Count Isouard. The game continued 3.d4 Bg4, a deviation from modern standard lines. The Philidor Defence declined in popularity as became more developed, and it had almost completely vanished from top-tier chess by World War I.
, there are no top players who employ the Philidor with regularity, although ÃÂtienne Bacrot and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu have occasionally experimented with it in classical play. Its popularity in master play has increased slightly, however, over the last 20 years. It has also become fairly popular in rapid, blitz, and bullet chess.
After 3.d4, the most common response from Black is 3...exd4, which relieves the central , although it gives up the centre. After 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3, Black normally continues 5...Be7 and 6...0-0.
This line has been called the Antoshin Variation after Soviet player Vladimir Antoshin; Levon Aronian is an example of a modern proponent. Black achieves a strong defensive position after the intended 6...0-0.
White has several sixth move possibilities; 6.Bf4 (which has become more popular over time), 6.g3, 6.Be2, and 6.Bc4 are all common. The line 6.Bf4 0-0 continues 7.Qd2 Nc6 8.0-0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 and then 9...Be6 10.f3, or 9...a6. 6.Bc4 is not as well regarded for White; after 6.0-0 7.0-0 c6, the position is almost .
With 4...g6, Black intends to fianchetto the kingside bishop with 5...Bg7, with a typical continuation being 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6. Bent Larsen tried this move in a few games, including a draw against Mikhail Tal in 1969. The line can also be reached by transposition, such as via 4...Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nf6.
The other main option for Black is to maintain the central tension and adopt a setup with ...Nd7, ...Be7, and ...c6. This plan can be achieved via 3...Nd7 or 3...Nf6, each with their own drawbacks. American chess master James Moore Hanham, the namesake of the variation, favoured 3...Nd7; 3...Nf6 was favoured by Aron Nimzowitsch, aiming to avoid the variation 3...Nd7 4.Bc4.
White may reply by developing with either 4.Bc4 or 4.Nc3. Black's aim in the Hanham is a defence of e5. Larry Kaufman notes that the Hanham Variation aims to maintain Black's pawn on e5, analogously to closed lines of the Ruy Lopez, and opines that "it would be quite popular and on a par with the major defences to 1.e4, except for the annoying detail that Black can't actually reach the Hanham position by force."
4.Bc4 is awkward for Black to meet, since 4...Ngf6?! loses to 5.dxe5 Nxe5 (5...dxe5 6.Ng5! wins) 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 winning a pawn, and 4...Be7?, a common mistake, loses a pawn to 5.dxe5 Nxe5 (5...dxe5?? 6.Qd5! wins) 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Qh5!
Instead, 4...c6 is best for Black, but this leaves White with the advantage of the after 5.0-0 Be7 6.dxe5 dxe5 (6...Nxe5 loses a pawn to 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5) 7.Ng5! Bxg5 8.Qh5! Qe7 and now 9.Bxg5 or 9.Qxg5.
Tony Kosten dubbed the move order 3...Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 an "improved" Hanham Variation. The original Hanham move order would be 3...Nd7 4.Nc3 Ngf6, but this allows White the option of 4.Bc4 as discussed above. The main line continues 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0, typically followed by 7.Re1 c6 8.a4 or 7.a4 c6 8.Re1, leading to the same position. However, 3...Nf6 permits White to avoid the Improved Hanham with 4.dxe5, a line discussed in the 3.d4 Nf6 section.
Instead of 6.0-0, 6.Ng5 is considered inferior. The point of the move is that after 6...0-0 7.Bxf7+ Rxf7 8.Ne6 Qe8 9.Nxc7 Qd8 10.Nxa8, White is up , but Black develops a strong initiative after 10...b5!, e.g., 11.Nxb5 Qa5+ 12.Nc3 Nxe4.
In recent years, Black has experimented with beginning with 1...d6 in an attempt to reach the improved Hanham while avoiding 3...Nf6 4.dxe5 and 3...Nd7 4.Bc4.
Kosten attributes the move 3...Nf6 to Aron Nimzowitsch. It often transposes to the after 4.Nc3 Nbd7, or, less often, the 3.d4 exd4 line after 4.Nc3 exd4. However, White is considered to have chances of an advantage with the move 4.dxe5, intending to meet 4...Nxe4 (4...dxe5 is a mistake due to 5.Qxd8 Kxd8 6.Nxe5) with 5.Qd5 Nc5 6.Bg5. At that point, Black typically plays 6...Qd7 or 6...Be7. Both moves frequently lead to the players exchanging queens. Two examples of such lines are 6...Qd7 7.exd6 Bxd6 8.Nc3 Qe6+ 9.Be3 (or 9.Qxe6+) Qxd5 10.Nxd5 Nbd7 and 6...Be7 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Nc3 Qxd5 9.Nxd5 Bd6. If Black desires to keep queens on the board, 6...Qd7 7.exd6 Bxd6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.0-0-0 Nc6 is an option.
A more aggressive approach for Black after 3.d4 is 3...f5 (), Philidor's original intention and recommendation. In the 19th century, 3...f5 was also played by Paul Morphy. The move can lead to more than the other lines, but is often considered dubious despite having been played by David Bronstein and Teimour Radjabov.
After 3...f5, White has several ways to proceed; 4.Nc3, 4.Bc4, 4.dxe5, and 4.exf5 are all common.
4.Bc4 is one way for White to obtain a clear advantage.
4.Nc3 also leads to clear advantage for White. It is sometimes called the Zukertort Variation.
4.dxe5 forces Black to complicate matters further after the main continuation 4...fxe4 5.Ng5 d5, leaving an unclear position. The main move at that point is 6.e6, the del Rio Attack, but White also has 6.Nc3!? (Steinitz) and 6.c4.
After 6.e6, White obtains the upper hand after 6...Bc5 7.Nc3 (the Berger Variation), or 6...Nh6 7.Nc3! (Berger); however, Black can maintain lack of clarity with 6...Nf6!? 7.Nf7 Qe7 8.Nxh8 Bxe6, or 6...Bb4+ 7.c3 Bc5 8.Nf7 Qf6 9.Be3 Bxe6 10.Nxh8 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Qh4+ 12.g3 Qh6 13.Qd2 Nd7 14.c4 Ne5 15.Be2 dxc4 16.Nc3 Nd3+ 17.Bxd3 exd3 (Makarov).
After 4.exf5, a typical continuation is 4...e4 5.Ng5 Bxf5 6.Nc3. White is regarded as having a slight advantage after 6...Nf6 7.f3 (Sozin), or 6...d5 7.f3.
An alternative approach for White is 3.Bc4, delaying d2âÂÂd4, or forgoing it entirely, playing d2âÂÂd3 instead. The move 3.Bc4 is also White's route to a possible Légal Trap. Some continuations:
Against the alternative 3.c3, Black can try 3...f5 (3...Nc6 4.d4 Nf6 transposes to the Ponziani Opening) 4.exf5 Bxf5 5.Qb3 Nf6 6.Ng5 d5 7.Qxb7 Nbd7 8.Qc6 Bd6 with and .
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