C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation
16/16
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5d64.Nf3Nxe45.d4d56.Bd3Bd67.O-OO-O8.c4Bg4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation1.4k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
72%1.0k61%
14%19653%
7.4%10559%
2.8%4059%
2.4%3438%
1.1%1647%
0.1%250%
0.1%250%
0.1%10%
0.1%10%
Famous games in this line12 master games
Mehlhorn, Wolfgang (2451) – Guzy, Gerhard (2598)Gipslis, Aivars (2465) – Christensen, Tobias (2365)Danin, Alexandre (2429) – Mishin, Alexei (2330)Martin Gonzalez, Angel (2440) – Garcia Caballero, Luis (2300)Maus, Soenke (2440) – Christensen, Tobias (2280)Petkov, Stoyan (2387) – Fagerbekk, Egil (2274)Rivera Kuzawka, Daniel (2370) – Garcia Caballero, Luis (2275)Gutierrez Castillo, Jose Antonio (2290) – Valderrama, E Gilberto (2326)Heroes of this opening Mehlhorn, Wolfgang · Danin, Alexandre · Martin Gonzalez, Angel · Christensen, Tobias
- 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 Bg4
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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