Philidor Defence

The Philidor Defence (or Philidor's Defence) is a chess opening characterised by the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 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. It is also frequently reached via other move orders, such as 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5, where 4.Nf3 transposes. This order encourages White to play Nc3 early, but allows White to exchange queens early via 4.dxe5. 3...Nd7 and only then 4...e5 is another possibility avoiding the endgame but allowing White to avoid transposing in other ways. The Philidor 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.