Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...d6/3. d4/3...Nd7/4. Bc4/4...exd4

Hanham variation C41 Philidor defence → Hanham variation → 4. Bc4 4...exd4 Black trades away White's d4 pawn. This allows Black to develop their knight and bishop without facing dxe5, which would open up a range of tactical possibilities for White. White has two ways to recapture the pawn, with the knight, 5. Nxd4, or the queen, 5. Qxd4. Both are viable: if White intends to long castle, 5. Qxd4 might be preferred. After recapturing, White is ready to castle and bring out their remaining minor pieces, and Black must catch up in development. Black intends ...Ngf6, ...Be7, then ...Nb6 to open up a line to develop the queen's bishop. While White's bishop is on c4, ...Nb6 comes with tempo. After either 5. Nxd4 or 5. Qxd4, it's important that Black develops 5...Ngf6 before ...Be7, otherwise, White has a tactic involving Bxf7+! and the threat of Qg4. Theory table 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hanham VariationNxd4Ngf6 ⩲Qxd4!Ngf6 Nc3Be7 Bf4O-O O-O-ONb6 Bb3a5 a3 ⩲...... ...... Bxf7+!?Kxf7 Ng5+Kg8?? Qc4+ +/−...... ...... ...... ...Ke8 Ne6c5 Qd1Qb6 Nxg7+Kf7 Nf5 = References See also Philidor Defence Schiller, Eric (2002). Standard Chess Openings. 1-58042-048-6. External links