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Philidor Defense

Nimzowitsch, Larobok Variation

C41tacticalaggressiveoffbeat

  1. 1.e4e5
  2. 2.Nf3d6
  3. 3.d4Nf6
  4. 4.Nc3Nbd7
  5. 5.Bc4Be7
  6. 6.Ng5O-O
  7. 7.Bxf7+
110 games55%39%

A sharp line of the Philidor's Lion setup in which White answers ...Be7 and ...O-O with Ng5 and the bishop capture on f7, giving check.

Train it in Theoria

About the Larobok Variation

This line arises from the Lion setup of the Nimzowitsch Variation after 5. Bc4 Be7 6. Ng5 O-O. White plays 7. Bxf7+, giving up the bishop for a pawn to pull the rook to f7 near the knight on g5. In practice Black almost always recaptures with 7...Rxf7, and the engine also considers 7...Kh8. It rates the position as roughly balanced, although White scores well in the small sample of games.

Popular continuations