Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...d6

Philidor Defence
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/ppp2ppp/3p4/4p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6

2... d6 – Philidor Defence

The Black fortress is solid. White should not wait before attacking it, because Black can play 3...f5 if White plays a passive move, which would definitely equalize.

The best move is probably 3. d4. White threatens a queen exchange with dxe5 dxe5 Qxd8+ Kxd8 and Black can forget about castling. It puts pressure on the center and the Black fortress may collapse at any time.

Another possibility is 3. Bc4 leading to a more positional game, playable for both camps.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6

	3	4	5
1	d4 exd4	Nxd4 Nf6	Nc3 Be7	=
2	Bc4 Be7	d3 Nf6	c3 O-O	=

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.