C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack
9/9
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5d64.Nf3Nxe45.d4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack1.2M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
75%879k48%
12%140k45%
5%59k40%
2.6%30k38%
0.9%11k41%
0.9%10k41%
0.3%3.6k40%
0.1%1.5k42%
0.1%1.3k40%
Famous games in this line12k master games
Carlsen, M. (2855) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2782)Anand, Viswanathan (2772) – Carlsen, Magnus (2861)Kasparov, Garry (2851) – Anand, Viswanathan (2769)Carlsen, M. (2864) – Duda, J. (2750)Nepomniachtchi, I.. (2792) – Caruana, F.. (2820)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2789) – Caruana, F. (2822)Kasparov, Garry (2851) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2758)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2789) – Caruana, F. (2816)- Family
- Petrov's Defense
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C42
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4
SolidAggressiveClassical
Explore all 50 Petrov's Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Closed VariationC42 5…Nf6Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall VariationC42 5…d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 · 4 deeper linesPetrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Mason-Showalter VariationC42 5…d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 · 4 deeper linesPetrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Mason VariationC42 5…d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.O-O O-O
Nearby lines in the family
From the archives
Named for the 19th-century Russian master Alexander Petrov, the Petrov spent a century labeled 'drawish' — then Fabiano Caruana brought it to the 2018 World Championship, where it answered both of Magnus Carlsen's 1.e4 games and drew both. All twelve classical games were drawn and the title went to a rapid tiebreak. Symmetry, it turns out, is a weapon too.
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