Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation
Chess opening · ECO C41 · 6 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4
The Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Philidor Defense with 3. d4 exd4.
How often it is played
The Philidor Defense: Exchange Variation and its variations appeared in 0.34% of games — 10,281 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 125 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 52%, 4.3% were drawn and Black won 44%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.80 — a clear edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 | 10% |
| Petrov's Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 | 1.3% |
| King's Pawn Game: Busch-Gass Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Bc5 | 0.39% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Philidor Defense: Morphy Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 | 0.03% |
| Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. c3 | 0.02% |
| Philidor Defense: Larsen Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 g6 | 0.01% |
| Philidor Defense: Boden Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Bd7 | 0.00% |
| Philidor Defense: Paulsen Attack | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 d5 5. exd5 | 0.00% |
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