Philidor Defense win rate

White scored 52.1% (margin 0.5 points) in 43,229 rated games of the Philidor Defense, ECO C41, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 9 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 2.7% of all games.

49.9%

45.7%

White wins 49.9%
Draws 4.4%
Black wins 45.7%

43,229 games

How often does White win in the Philidor Defense?

White won 49.9% of the 43,229 games, 4.4% were drawn and Black won 45.7%. White's score of 52.1% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.3 points is inside the margin of 0.5 points.

Results of 43,229 Philidor Defense games, 1 September 2026.
Result	Games	Share
White wins	21,588	49.9%
Draws	1,890	4.4%
Black wins	19,751	45.7%

Does the Philidor Defense score differently at different ratings?

White's score is highest at under 1200 (53.2%) and lowest at 1600 to 1999 (51.7%). That spread of 1.5 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands.

Players rated 1200 to 1599 choose the Philidor Defense most often relative to their other openings, in 3.4 percent of their games.

White's score in the Philidor Defense by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.
Rating band	Games	Share of the band	White score	Margin (points)
under 1200	8,563	3.1%	53.2%	1.0
1200 to 1599	19,544	3.4%	51.9%	0.7
1600 to 1999	13,588	2.2%	51.7%	0.8
2000 and above	1,534	1.0%	52.5%	2.4

How does the Philidor Defense do in blitz, rapid and classical?

The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out.

White's score in the Philidor Defense by time control, 1 September 2026.
Time control	Games	White score	Margin (points)
Blitz	29,814	51.8%	0.6
Rapid	13,022	52.8%	0.8

What are the most played lines of the Philidor Defense?

The most played named line is the Exchange Variation, with 5,947 games and a White score of 53.7%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row.

Named lines of the Philidor Defense, most played first, 1 September 2026.
Line	Games	White score	Margin (points)
Exchange Variation	5,947	53.7%	1.2
Hanham Variation	734	49.9%	3.5
Morphy Gambit	647	53.0%	3.8
Lion Variation	645	49.1%	3.7
Nimzowitsch Variation	582	56.4%	3.9
Lopez Countergambit	451	48.6%	4.5
Steinitz Variation	433	48.0%	4.6
Bird Gambit	315	54.9%	5.4
Main line and less played lines	33,475	51.9%	0.5

How were these opening statistics measured?

Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full.

Frequently asked questions

What is the win rate of the Philidor Defense?

White won 49.9%, drew 4.4% and lost 45.7% of 43,229 games, a White score of 52.1% with a margin of 0.5 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026.

Is the Philidor Defense good for White?

At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.3 points is inside the margin of 0.5 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening.

What is the most popular line of the Philidor Defense?

The Exchange Variation was the most played named line, with 5,947 games, which is 13.8% of the Philidor Defense games.

Sources

Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026, read 2026-10-22

Related guides and tools

Last updated 2026-10-22.

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