Philidor Defense
Black defends e5 with the d-pawn and builds a compact wall. Solid and light on theory, but the first six moves are full of traps on f7.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 Black supports e5 without committing the queen's knight. The defence is named after François-André Danican Philidor, the best player of the 18th century, who valued pawns above everything. The price is a passive bishop on f8 and less space, so it has never been a main line at the top; it survives as a practical weapon because the positions are sound and the plans are simple. Most strong players now reach it by the move order 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5, which avoids the early tricks. In our game data those tricks are where almost all the damage happens: the same patterns against f7 and on the d5 square catch Black again and again in the first eight moves.
The ideas in 7 positions
Click a card to see it on the board. 0/7 viewed
Choose your path
After 3.d4 Black chooses how to treat the centre. 3.Bc4 is White's main alternative.
Common mistakes, by level
Real patterns from club games. Every line is engine-checked; in the evals, plus is good for White.
These are the patterns worth knowing. For the full count, see the Philidor Defense mistakes players make most often at each rating.
Middlegame plans
What to do once the book runs out.
Now make it stick
Reading is the easy part. Solve the real mistakes from this opening until the patterns fire by themselves.
Sources: Wikipedia: Philidor Defence (history, Hanham, Exchange and Antoshin variations, Légal's Mate) · Wikibooks: Chess Opening Theory, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 (CC BY-SA) · Our own game data: most frequent flagged mistakes in the Philidor (Lichess games, both players rated 1800+) and fall rates from analysed Lichess games at 1200–1400, 1500–1700 and 1900–2100 (May 2024 sample) · Stockfish 19, depth 20 on every mistake; every idea, variation and plan line checked move by move at depth 16
A pawn defends the pawn
Move 1 of the line — press → or wait2...d6 holds e5 with a pawn and keeps the c-pawn free for ...c6. The cost: the f8 bishop is shut in and Black has less space, so the next few moves have to be exact.