Philidor defence

Philidor defence - Introduction

The Philidor defence is named after the famous 18th-century french composer and chess player, François Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to black's common knight to C6 on move two. The original idea was to challenge white's centre with a pawn thrust to F5. Though François's analysis in his mid 18th century chess treatise popularised the opening, it was by no means an original work. Gioachino Greco the 17th-century Italian chess player and author had written of it a full century prior to Philidor. That is not to say that Philodor's contributions were insignificant. Today, the Philidor is known as a solid but passive choice for black, it is seldom seen at elite levels of play with the exception as an alternative to the heavily analyzed openings that can ensue after the normal knight to C6. 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 openings such as the french defence. However, the resulting pawn structure can prove to be a lethal weapon in the hands of a strong positional player. François Philidor once said, "Pawns or the soul of chess"; which is appropriate since his defence's most advantageous quality are the solid pawn structures which result from careful play.

The Philidor is named after the french aristocrat François Philidor, it is a slow positional response to white's E4 pawn push. Black will prioritise their pawn mobility, looking to leverage a strong pawn structure to slowly dismantle white's attack.

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Philidor defence - Classic (Bishop) Variation

The Classic variation of the Philidor defence, though now surpassed by the Exchange variation in popularity, is still an effective response by white to black's simple, yet flexible D6 pawn push. Though mentioned by Greco in the 17th-century. It was Philidor who extensively analysed and championed this particular opening. François, firmly believed that pawns were the soul of chess, this may have been one of the reasons why he was such a staunch proponent of the D6 pawn push, he did not want to constrict his pawns with knight to C6, though this is not shared throughout the chess masters, there is something to be said about being able to avoid the Spanish game with a simple C6 pawn push. The Philidor defence aims to control the centre of the board and provide a solid defence for black's king. Black creates a central pawn chain taking control of the important C5 and E5 squares. Black's pawn chain also serves as a barrier protecting black's king. The Philidor Defense has a reputation for being a solid yet drawish opening. However it can result in dynamic and tactical positions should white attack aggressively.

The classical variation is a straightforward response to black's D6 pawn push, though not common at higher levels of play, maybe even more frequent than the exchange at the club level.

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Philidor defence - Exchange Variation

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Introduction to the Philidor defence

Philidor defence - Introduction

Philidor defence - Classic (Bishop) Variation

Philidor defence - Exchange Variation