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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.
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C42
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6
SolidClassical
Explore all 50 Petrov's Defense lines