C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted
8/8
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nxe5Nc64.Nxc6dxc6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted3.7M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
48%1.8M49%
27%980k45%
14%509k52%
2.7%100k55%
2.6%95k42%
1.4%52k52%
1.1%41k50%
0.9%32k51%
0.9%32k33%
0.7%26k48%
Famous games in this line10 master games
Zarubitski, Viachaslau (2441) – Van Foreest, Lucas (2531)Nestorovic, Nikola (2393) – Nikolic, Momcilo (2280)Suta, Andraz (2251) – Srebrnic, M.. (2400)Hinks Edwards, Thomas RJ (2393) – Pletanek, Jan (2242)Van Dael, Siem (2341) – Radeva, Viktoria (2274)Blomqvist, Erik (2334) – Holving, Rasmus (2210)Dimitrijevic, Milorad (2284) – Avramovic, Z. (2236)Czernek, Tymon (2224) – Kuegel, T. (2280)Heroes of this opening Nestorovic, Nikola · Hinks Edwards, Thomas RJ · Radeva, Viktoria · Blomqvist, Erik
- Family
- Petrov's Defense
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C42
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6
GambitSolidClassicalTrappy
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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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