Does anyone here have any experience with the Hanham Philidor? (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0) Or does anyone here have the book "The Philidor Files" by Christian Bauer, Everyman Chess?

Thanks

no, but i think ill go to borders and get that book. it sounds like its a good one, is it.

It has had many good reviews, but I want to be convinced about the Hanham variation. For example Silman's review goes on and on about how Bauer finds ways to reach the Hanham, which turns out to be very well playable for black. However, in none of the reviews I've seen, I've seen concrete variations of the Hanham or reasons why it's so ok for black. It looks very passive to me, and I don't understand why those reviewers are so happy that they can reach the Hanham variation. What's so good about it?

 

Maybe I'll just have to buy the book to find out, but if anyone has played it before I'd be very interested in his or her experience with the system. 

White 42.5% Black 20.7% via chessgames.com  Does look rather passive.

I agree that it looks passive. That's why I found it surprising that Jeremy Silman said on his site (when reviewing the Philidor Files book):

 

"A decade or so ago I noticed that various Russian grandmasters were using a Pirc move order as a means of transposing into the Hanham Variation of the Philidor Defense. At first I thought this was a bit strange since the Hanham wasn't highly thought of. Why leap from a "real" opening like the Pirc in favor of the "inferior" Hanham Philidor? What's more, I noticed that in many of these Philidor Defenses, Black got quite a good position and often won in impressive fashion. Clearly, this needed to be looked into!

My search for the answer to this mystery quickly bore fruit. It turned out that:

A) The position reached in the classic main line (Hanham) of the Philidor (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0) turned out to be far better for Black than I supposed. So striving to reach this position turned out to be a worthwhile pursuit."

 

I really don't see how the Hanham is appealing to a new black player. Sure, if you're a die-hard Philidor fan, the book could be very useful, but if you're looking for a new opening for black, I don't see how a game in this variation can inspire new players. For example, the latest top-level game with that variation was Ivanchuk vs. Tukmakov, and although white is higher rated, black never stood a chance. Or a game where black also has a high rating: Bologan vs. Eljanov. It ended in a draw, but moreover black didn't get any obvious counterplay until move 20 or so.

In the past, I have played this opening quite a bit with the Black pieces.  Mostly, I used the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 c6 and almost always ...Be7 before ...Nf6.  I think that if your opponent is not a master level player, the passivity that results from the Hanham is not so important and in most cases proves to be temporary.  (Sometimes, extremely temporary).  As long as you know where your counterplay is likely to come from, it will eventually come.

 

I have found that players below master level generally tend to attack the Hanham Philidor very aggressively.  They know that top players don't play 2...d6 and think it is therefore very weak and needs to be punished.  Which is, psychologically, quite handy since it is actually very solid.

 

Stronger players, however, tend to develop normally, play a4 and h6 at the appropriate times, suppress all counterplay, and turn your passivity into a slow, methodical, positional crushing.

 

Basically, the tendency for players up to and even above the 2000 rating level to want to punish it (often leading to an overly aggressive treatment), coupled with the straightforward strategic plans available to Black, made this a very attractive option for me.  I had some great successes with it.  (And some miserable failures). 

 

I'd recommend it highly for games against players below master level.  But I have to admit that strong players don't seem to have much trouble with it.  It doesn't tend to threaten anything... and at FIDE 2183, you may find it to be only partially useful.