Current position
Philidor Defense: Lion Variation
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6
The Philidor Defense starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 and is catalogued under ECO C41, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 44 lines inside it, grouped into 38 named variations, and the position after those moves has 2 playable continuations to walk from here.
Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.
Current setup
Move ideas
Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.
Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.
Meets White’s center directly and opens lines for Black’s queen and bishop.
Idea: Fight for equal central space in a balanced, open position.
Develops the king’s knight and attacks Black’s e5-pawn.
Idea: Increase central pressure while getting ready to castle.
Advances to d6 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Advances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Develops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Develops the knight to c3, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Develops the knight to d7, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Waiting for Lichess game popularity.
Each line below is an indexed entry under Philidor Defense. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.
14 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.
ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the Philidor Defense.