Philidor Defence

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This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Philidor Defence
Moves	1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6
ECO	C41
Named after	François-André Danican Philidor
Parent	Open Game
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The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 d6

It is named after the famous 18th century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to the common 2...Nc6. Today it is known for being a solid, but rather passive, opening for black. It is rarely seen in top level play.

The Philidor was the opening to one of the most famous instructive games ever, the "Opera Box 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. This game, however, continued 3. d4 Bg4, in an early deviation from the modern standard line.

Contents 1 Variations 1.1 3.d4 White option 1.2 Hanham Variation 1.2.1 A common line is 1.2.2 Another White response to 3...Nf6 1.2.3 Alternative move order 1.2.4 Black should not play 3...Bg4? 1.2.5 An alternative approach for White is to play 3.Bc4 1.2.6 Black experimenting to reach the Hanham Variation 2 References 3 External links

[edit] Variations

[edit] 3.d4 White option

With 3.d4 White immediately challenging Black in the centre.

In this position, Black has several options.

3... exd4 The most common response which relieves some central tension but keeps white from weakening black's kingside.
4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3

Then Black normally plays ...Be7 and ...O-O and achieves a strong defensive position.

In this line, black can also fianchetto his bishop on g7, though this is uncommon. Bent Larsen tried this in a few games, including a draw against Mikhail Tal in 1969.

[edit] Hanham Variation

The other main option for Black is to maintain the central tension and adopt a setup with ...Nbd7, ...Be7 and ...c6. This plan is called the Hanham Variation and was favoured by Nimzowitsch.

[edit] A common line is

3...Nf6
4.Nc3 Nbd7
5.Bc4 Be7
6.O-O 6.Ng5 is an interesting alternative: after 6...O-O 7.Bxf7+ Rxf7 8.Ne6 Qe8 9.Nxc7 Qd8 10.Nxa8, White is material up, but Black can develop a strong initiative after, for example, 10...b5 11.Nxb5 Qa5+
6...O-O
7.a4 to prevent ...b5
7...c6.

International Master Larry Kaufman, in his book The Chess Advantage in Black and White^[1] , 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 defenses to 1. e4, except for the annoying detail that Black can't actually reach the Hanham position by force."

[edit] Another White response to 3...Nf6

White retains some advantage with the following; (Both Kaufman ^[2], and Grandmaster Christian Bauer^[3]recommends this.)

4.dxe5! Nxe4
5.Qd5! Nc5
6.Bg5

[edit] Alternative move order

3...Nd7 intending 4.Nc3 Ngf6

4.Bc4! is awkward for Black to meet, since 4...Nf6? loses a pawn to 5.Ng5, as does 4...Be7?
5.dxe5 Nxe5 5...dxe5?? 6.Qd5! wins
6.Nxe5 dxe5
7.Qh5! ^[4]

So. . .

4...c6 is best, but leaves White with the advantage of the bishop pair after
5.0-0 Be7
6.dxe5 dxe5 6...Nxe5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5! wins a pawn
7.Ng5! Bxg5
8.Qh5! Qe7
9.Qxg5 or 9.Bxg5 ^[5]

A more aggressive approach for black is 3.d4 f5?!, a move which Philidor himself recommended. This can lead to more open positions than the other lines, but is considered dubious ^{[6] [7]}

[edit] Black should not play 3...Bg4?

Black should not play 3...Bg4?, as he will be forced to trade bishop for knight with serious loss of time after

4.dxe5 Bxf3 or Black should not gambit a pawn with, for example, 4...Nd7?!, known as the Duke of Brunswick Gambit. 5.Qxf3 dxe5
6.Bc4

the "natural" 6... Nf6 allows White to win a pawn with 7.Qb3. This was played in the famous "opera box game", when Paul Morphy as White declined to win the pawn but retained a strong initiative after 7...Qe7 8.Nc3.

[edit] An alternative approach for White is to play 3.Bc4

An alternative approach for White is to play 3.Bc4, and either delay d4 or forego it altogether and instead play d3.

[edit] Black experimenting to reach the Hanham Variation

In recent years, Black has experimented with other move orders in an attempt to reach the Hanham Variation while avoiding 3..Nf6 4.dxe5! and 3...Nd7 4.Bc4!

One such line is. . .

1.e4 d6
2.d4 Nf6
3.Nc3 Nbd7 intending 4.Nf3 e5

However, White can deviate with 4.f4!? ^{[8] [9]} or even 4.g4!? ^[10].

Another line is . . .

1.e4 d6
2.d4 Nf6
3.Nc3 e5
4.Nf3 Nbd7 transposes to the Hanham

but White can instead try to gain a small advantage with

4.dxe5 dxe5
5.Qxd8+ Kxd8
6.Bc4 ^[11]

Kaufman opines that 4.Nge2 "is also promising."

After 4.dxe5, Bauer concludes that "White stands a trifle better" but that "provided he plays accurately, Black doesn't have much to fear. Following 6.Bc4, by choosing any of the three valid replies,

6...Ke8, 6...Bb4 or 6...Be6

Then . . .

7.Bxe6 fxe6 his position remains a hard nut to crack" ^[12]

As of 2004, there are no top players who employ the Philidor Defence with any regularity, although Etienne Bacrot and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu have occasionally experimented with it. However, its popularity in master play has increased slightly over the last twenty years^[13].

The ECO code for Philidor Defence is C41.

[edit] References

Christian Bauer, The Philidor Files, Everyman Chess, 2006, ISBN 1 85744 4361

Larry Kaufman, The Chess Advantage in Black and White, McKay Chess Library, 2004, pp. 65-66, 69-74, ISBN 0-8129-3571-3

[edit] External links

• Some background and analysis
• Opening overview