An Overview of ...1. d6 Philidor Defense

This is my very first post on chess openings!

If you've read my past blogs, you'll notice how much I love chess players of the past. I've not reached Philidor yet, but I think his chess opening would be a good start. His opening, e4 e5 Nf3 d6, is one of the most unique ways to defend the pawn on e5. While perhaps not the best, it can certainly through your opponents for a loop!

I'm going to cover some lines where black plays d6 first as opposed to playing the e5 lines. I hope you enjoy!

First, here is a game that Eric Hansen played in the 2018 Pro Chess League.

That is a very instructive game to look over as it shows black quietly waiting, then roaring out with Nf4. Black just pushed through with his rook and bishop in the endgame and with little time there was not much that Daniel could do.

For the second game I will show another ...1.d6 Philidor, but with a slightly different line.

We're not all Bortnyks, but Queenside fianchettos can be very beneficial!

In summary, this is a tricky way for Black to play against e4. I think I'm going to end it here, I may make a part two in the future. Thank you guys for reading and happy chess!

(If you see any errors please tell me; I did this without an analysis board because lichess is down)