C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation
15/15
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5d64.Nf3Nxe45.d4d56.Bd3Be77.O-ONc68.Re1
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation30k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
51%15k56%
24%7.3k50%
9.8%3.0k46%
8.3%2.5k51%
5.9%1.8k44%
0.5%14044%
0.4%11839%
0.1%2063%
0%475%
0%30%
Famous games in this line988 master games
Anand, Viswanathan (2794) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2797)Anand, Viswanathan (2795) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2780)Morozevich, Alexander (2755) – Ivanchuk, Vassily (2787)Leko, Peter (2749) – Anand, Viswanathan (2786)Anand, Viswanathan (2784) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2751)Ivanchuk, Vassily (2740) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2788)Anand, Viswanathan (2794) – Leko, Peter (2730)Gashimov, Vugar (2759) – Gelfand, Boris (2761)Heroes of this opening Anand, Viswanathan · Ivanchuk, Vassily · Leko, Peter
- 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 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Re1
SolidAggressiveClassical
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Go deeper — named lines from here
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Berger VariationC42 8…Bg4 9.c3 f5 10.Nbd2Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Maróczy VariationC42 8…Bg4 9.c3 f5 10.c4 Bh4
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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