What are the pros and cons of this opening?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philidor_Defence

Passive but playable if you know it better than your opponent.  Though you can say the same for any other "not popular anymore" line! :)

Philidor's Defense.  Playable,  but hardly as strong as many other defenses, like 2...Nc6 or 2...Nf6. 

Problems?  (a) Black can just as easily defend e5 with a piece as well as a pawn.  (b)  Path of the f8 Bishop is limited.  (c) 3. d4 can lead to a dominant center for White,  as well as a lasting initiative.

PROS: Philidor never played it, even though it's named after him (technically we have no record of him ever playing it that is)

CONS: Doesn't develop a piece, blocks the KB development.

PS: IF 3.Bb5+ Nc6 transposes to Ruy Lopez - Old Steinitz Defense - maybe, possibly, perhaps; other transpositions to the OSD are possible as well and vice versa

Bb5+ c6 is good for black over Nc6 as it supports d5 and gains tempo

thx guys for the help..

I don't play this, but i see lots of my opponents playing it..

I'm wasn't sure whether it was good or not

Good point. I was just trying to show how the 2 openings can transpose from one to another with a very basic move sequence; actually it boils down to what name is given to the same position that can arise from either opening.

I'm really not sure how playable it is in this move order. 

I have ~50 games between players rated +2600 in this opening, and the vast majority are rapid/blitz/blindfold games. White wins a staggering proportion of these games, even at higher levels. 

if you want to play the Philidor, I think you need to find a different move order. 

1. he's not playing 2600s

2. just said his opponents were playing this, not him

smyslovfanatic is just used to people asking questions like this, and answered an entirely different one, didn't even bother reading. 

lol

his point is that the lose/win rate is against this opening in all levels, read before you answer , you too 11qq11

What I said was true. What he said was irrelevant.

The Philidor is probably playable, but not with this move order. The cons outweigh the pros because white can get a tangible advantage after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6?! 3.d4. Now Black has four important ways to proceed.

3...Bg4?! is pretty much ruled out because of what happened in the Opera Box Game that Morphy famously won.

That leaves three other options:

3...Nf6 and Now white can play either 4.Nc3 (most common) or 4.dxe5. The positions are considerably different, but white retains a nice advantage in both cases. John Nunn refers to Nijboer-Cifuentes, 1994 to show White's advantage after 4.dxe5 (NCO p.298) The line with 4.Nc3 has been tried in some correspondence games, and white has been shown to gain a nice edge. To see how white may play this, take a look at Baklan-Lobadzanidze, 2002.

3...exd4 This gives white a strong presence in the center without any pressure whatsoever. Having said that, even though White's advantage is indisputable, it is sometimes difficult to win from this position because Black has relatively few targets to aim at. Essentially, white is playing for two results here, but may overstep. Here's an example of how white may continue:

and

3...Nd7!? This is perhaps the most interesting because it strives to reach a playable Philidor using a technique similar to the Modern variation's transposition to the Philidor. But again, white is playing for two results, as in this game:

Guys, you shouldnt care about the theory so much, but the setup and the plans you can try after move 10 or 11. Good example games.

Hmm.  I don't see the move-order issue, SmyslovFan. Most GMs play it by the 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 move-order where 4.Nf3 transposes to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3. Unless this has been very recently shown to be bad, it's quite a topical line actually.

Expertise, as I explained in that line, White has the extra option of 4.dxe5 which also gives white a nice edge. Play may continue:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 5.Qd5, and the game resembles a Russian Defense. White has a comfortable game there. 

So after 3...Nf6, white has a choice between playing into the modern main line of the Philidor or playing in another style with 4.dxe5. This is not the sort of opening I would recommend to anyone U1800 here. 

If I were to recommend the Philidor, it would be via the main line move order from the Modern, as you showed. That is a much more palatable way to play from Black's perspective because it limits white's options.

… I like the Lion Variation of the Philidor. It can be a bit cramped with black. It requires best play against very strong players to have a good middle game position. If you make it to there in a basically drawn position, you should have good winning chances.

Good analysis

This opening is one of my pet peeves. It just doesn't make any chessic sense. If you want to play a passive game, how does meeting 1. e4 with 1. ... e5 help you? And if you want to play an active game, why use your second move to close in one of the pieces your first move opened for? Not to mention Black is handing a space advantage and a touch of development and often a sliver of initiative to White on a silver platter. White is spoilt for choice :P 

The only tournament game against the Philidor defense that I did not win, was in 1996 where I blundered badly and could only draw.