C42 · Open · a defense for Black
Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game
5/5
1.e4e52.Nf3Nf63.Nc3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game14.9M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
19%2.8M48%
15%2.2M51%
9.7%1.4M46%
2.3%336k48%
0.9%137k43%
0.3%52k42%
0.3%44k44%
0.2%27k36%
0.1%18k39%
Famous games in this line4.9k master games
Carlsen, M.. (2847) – So, W.. (2770)Andreikin, D. (2720) – Carlsen, M. (2850)Nakamura, Hi (2780) – Caruana, F. (2786)Carlsen, Magnus (2813) – Gelfand, Boris (2750)Nakamura, Hi (2787) – Harikrishna, P. (2763)Anand, V. (2791) – Mamedyarov, S. (2756)Carlsen, Magnus (2826) – Gashimov, Vugar (2719)Rapport, R. (2776) – Anand, V. (2751)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · Nakamura, Hi · Anand, V. · Rapport, R.
- Family
- Petrov's Defense
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C42
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3
SolidClassical
Explore all 50 Petrov's Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Henneberger VariationC48 3…Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.O-OFour Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Gunsberg CounterattackC49 3…Nc6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.Nd5 …Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Symmetrical Variation, Tarrasch VariationC49 3…Nc6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.d3 …
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