C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit
18/18
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5d64.Nf3Nxe45.d4d56.Bd3Bd67.O-OO-O8.c4c69.Re1Bg4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit1.9k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
42%77963%
23%43550%
15%27262%
14%26248%
3.1%5739%
1.1%2152%
0.9%1744%
0.5%1055%
0.3%560%
0.1%250%
Famous games in this line52 master games
Topalov, Veselin (2739) – Morozevich, Alexander (2742)Anand, V. (2743) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2723)Sutovsky, Emil (2676) – Timman, Jan H (2588)Stefansson, Hannes (2598) – Timman, Jan H (2616)Short, Nigel D (2682) – Zhu, Chen (2505)Karjakin, Sergey (2580) – Petrosian, Tigran L (2539)Ehlvest, Jaan (2589) – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2522)Dgebuadze, Alexandre (2562) – Rausis, Igors (2486)Heroes of this opening Morozevich, Alexander · Anand, V. · Sutovsky, Emil · Timman, Jan H
- 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 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bg4
GambitSolidAggressiveClassical
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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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