Source Lichess
White wins at least 9.8 more of every 100 games than it loses
how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident
At All Ratings, Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit keeps White's wins running +9.8% ahead of its losses at worst, 90% confident, from 311K Lichess games. This gambit is effective. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
| Rating | Edge at worst | White Win | Draw | White Loss | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | +5.0% | 52.4% | 2.8% | 44.8% | 4.4K |
| 1000-1199 | +8.0% | 53.4% | 2.6% | 44.0% | 14K |
| 1200-1399 | +8.7% | 53.4% | 2.8% | 43.8% | 34K |
| 1400-1599 | +8.9% | 53.3% | 3.0% | 43.7% | 60K |
| 1600-1799 | +9.0% | 53.1% | 3.4% | 43.5% | 78K |
| 1800-1999 | +9.9% | 53.4% | 3.7% | 42.9% | 71K |
| 2000-2199 | +10.9% | 53.8% | 4.1% | 42.1% | 38K |
| 2200-2499 | +10.3% | 53.6% | 4.7% | 41.7% | 10K |
| 2500+ | +3.3% | 50.3% | 8.5% | 41.2% | 796 |
The games never stop proving it. White comes out ahead at every rating we can see.
White wins 53.3% of Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit games, draws 3.4% and loses 43.2%. That rests on 311K games from Lichess.
2000-2199. There White wins at least 10.9 more of every 100 games than it loses (90% confident), its highest Edge at worst.
Rapid. For White, the Edge at worst — how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident — is +9.3% in Blitz (170K games) and +10.9% in Rapid (48K games).
Yes. The first rating where the games do not show White coming out ahead is 2500+ in Blitz, 0-999 in Rapid and 2000-2199 in Classical. In Bullet, White comes out ahead at every rating we can see.
The Philidor Defense: Bird Gambit is extremely sharp: 3.4% of its games are drawn, so 96.6% end with a winner.
Play it. White comes out ahead at every rating we can see.
This one is hard to meet at every level. As Black, develop fast, castle early, trade pieces, and do not get greedy with the extra material. If sharp positions are not your game, decline it.
This rests on 311K games from Lichess. Every figure carries the range it is in, 90% confident, and the table above shows how many games sit behind each rating and each clock — the fewer there are, the wider that range.