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Philidor Defence
The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The solid move 2...d6 defends Black's pawn on e5. White's usual response is to immediately challenge Black in the centre 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 centre by the pawn thrust ...f7–f5. Today, the Philidor is known as a solid 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 positional play became more developed, and it had almost completely vanished from top-tier chess by World War I.
As of 2017[update], there are no top players who employ the Philidor with regularity, although Étienne 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 tension, although it gives up the centre. After 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3, Black normally continues 5...Be7 and 6...0-0.
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Philidor Defence
The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The solid move 2...d6 defends Black's pawn on e5. White's usual response is to immediately challenge Black in the centre 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 centre by the pawn thrust ...f7–f5. Today, the Philidor is known as a solid 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 positional play became more developed, and it had almost completely vanished from top-tier chess by World War I.
As of 2017[update], there are no top players who employ the Philidor with regularity, although Étienne 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 tension, although it gives up the centre. After 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3, Black normally continues 5...Be7 and 6...0-0.