C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Browne Attack
17/17
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5d64.Nf3Nxe45.d4d56.Bd3Nc67.O-OBe78.c4Nb49.cxd5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Browne Attack6.0k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
93%5.6k47%
5.6%33644%
0.8%4652%
0.2%1030%
0.1%633%
0%10%
0%10%
0%10%
Famous games in this line269 master games
Anand, Viswanathan (2781) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2751)Anand, Viswanathan (2781) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2751)Anand, Viswanathan (2769) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2758)Radjabov, Teimour (2761) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2759)Anand, Viswanathan (2781) – Karpov, Anatoly (2710)Naiditsch, Arkadij (2678) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2772)Wei Yi (2709) – Wang Yue (2737)Grischuk, Alexander (2726) – Polgar, Judit (2707)Heroes of this opening Anand, Viswanathan · Karpov, Anatoly
- 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 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. cxd5
SolidAggressiveClassical
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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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