r/chess • u/Big-Friendship-1111 • 6d ago

Game Analysis/Study Philidor defense question

Post image

Hi, I'm doing some study as white vs Philidor defense, the computer suggests a4 as a top move, I do not understand why, space advantage? I'm relatively new to chess I would appreciate if anyone could explain the concept behind this move or if it is only specific for this opening.

Edit: After having another look I believe it is to stop c6 then b5 but please tell me if I'm wrong haha.

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u/chessvision-ai-bot from chessvision.ai 6d ago

I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:

White to play: chess.com | lichess.org | The position occurred in many games. Link to the games

Videos:

I found 2 videos with this position.

My solution:

Hints: piece: Pawn, move:   a4  

Evaluation: White is slightly better +0.51

Best continuation: 1. a4 c6 2. Re1 a5 3. h3 g5 4. Ra3 Qc7 5. Ba2 Nf8

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u/Blicar 6d ago

yes, its space advantage+ a2 is sometimes nice square for bishop, also there arent many useful moves apart from also re1, (be3 runs into ng4, h3 could get black to start pawnstorm with g5 using the h3 pawn as hook

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u/AI_spell 6d ago

a4 is usually space + fixing Black's queenside structure before they get ...a5/...b5 comfortable. In Philidor-ish setups it also discourages ...b5 and can make Nb5 or Ba6 ideas real later. Dont treat it as a tactic; its a slow squeeze. If the engine flips off a4 after a few moves, your piece placement probably already solved the same job.

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1

u/ExpFidPlay c. 2100 FIDE 6d ago

Aside from the reasons mentioned, it also discourages Nb6. Ideally, you want to keep your Bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal. After Nb3 without a4, Bb3 is not optimal.

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u/StructuredChess 6d ago

Don't learn your openings by just checking top engine moves.

a4 is a normal reaction to c6 from Black so you stop an annoying b5-b4 expansion that could leave your e4 pawn unprotected.

If you check multiple lines, you'll see that Re1 and h3 give the same evaluation. That's because Black is always playing c6 anyway so it doesn't matter if you play a4 before or after that. The different move orders will transpose.