C43 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation
7/7
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.d4Nxe44.Bd3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation244k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
89%218k45%
3.5%8.6k27%
2.2%5.3k32%
1.4%3.3k30%
0.8%2.0k13%
0.3%75519%
0.1%28217%
0.1%26018%
0.1%25423%
Famous games in this line5.1k master games
Carlsen, M. (2855) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2782)So, Wesley (2770) – Caruana, Fabiano (2835)Carlsen, M. (2830) – Abdusattorov, Nodirbek (2766)So, W. (2773) – Nepomniachtchi, I. (2792)Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2760) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2799)Giri, A. (2777) – Aronian, L. (2782)Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2760) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2799)Carlsen, Magnus (2826) – Wang, Yue (2732)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · So, W. · Aronian, L.
- Family
- Petrov's Defense
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C43
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3
SolidAggressiveClassical
Explore all 50 Petrov's Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Murrey VariationC43 4…Nc6Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Trifunovic VariationC43 4…d5 5.Nxe5 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.c4 …
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