C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause Variation
19/19
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5d64.Nf3Nxe45.d4d56.Bd3Nc67.O-OBe78.Re1Bg49.c3f510.c4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause Variation69 games · Black to move
Only 69 games reach this position at this level — read it loosely.
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
38%2650%
28%1929%
19%1335%
7.2%520%
5.8%40%
1.4%10%
Famous games in this line3 master games
Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter (2675) – Gelfand, Boris (2733)Smirin, Ilia (2657) – Chadaev, Nikolay (2574)Kholmov, Ratmir D (2440) – Mikhalchishin, Adrian (2505)- 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. Re1 Bg4 9. c3 f5 10. c4
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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