C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense
From the archives
Named for the 19th-century Russian master Alexander Petrov, the Petrov spent a century labeled 'drawish' — then Fabiano Caruana rebuilt it into the wall that held Magnus Carlsen to twelve classical draws in the 2018 World Championship. Symmetry, it turns out, is a weapon too.
4/4
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
The database has no games for this position — or it's briefly unreachable.
- Family
- Petrov's Defense
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C42
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6
SolidClassical
Explore all 50 Petrov's Defense lines →