C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation
5/5
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Bc4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation9.7M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
25%2.4M53%
21%2.1M46%
7.5%731k44%
4.3%422k45%
2.4%235k46%
2.2%214k36%
1.8%173k45%
1.6%151k45%
0.2%19k43%
Famous games in this line177 master games
Short, N. (2655) – Anton Guijarro, D. (2616)Williamson, Harvey D (2508) – Hall, Richard V. M (2640)Novikov, Maxim (2519) – Afromeev, Vladimir (2628)Berchtenbreiter, Maximilian (2488) – Bareev, Evgeny (2638)Pessoa, Francisco Azevedo (2512) – Badolati, Sérgio (2568)Gunina, V. (2506) – Kosteniuk, A. (2546)Gunina, V. (2506) – Kosteniuk, A. (2546)Rizouk, Aimen (2470) – Mirzoev, Azer (2545)Heroes of this opening Short, N. · Hall, Richard V. M · Afromeev, Vladimir · Berchtenbreiter, Maximilian
- Family
- Petrov's Defense
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C42
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4
SolidClassical
Explore all 50 Petrov's Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky GambitC27 3…Nxe4 4.Nc3 · 1 deeper lineBishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit, Lichtenhein DefenseC27 3…Nxe4 4.Nc3 d5
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.
Study this opening