Complete guide

Petrov's Defense: Complete Guide

Black's most rock-solid reply to 2.Nf3 — instead of defending e5, Black counterattacks e4 immediately, trading into symmetrical positions that are famously hard to lose, Stafford Gambit traps aside. Drill every main line against an adaptive engine, backed by real Lichess win rates and Stockfish evaluations.

40 variations 164,255,204 total games Avg Stockfish +0.48

Play the main line: Petrov's Defense

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All 40 variations of the Petrov's Defense

Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense ECO C42 56M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game ECO C42 24M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation ECO C42 18M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game: Nc6 ECO C42 9M games Gambits Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit ECO C42 7M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: c3 ECO C42 5M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: d3 ECO C42 5M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Nxe5 ECO C42 4M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Bc4 ECO C42 3M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation: Nc6 ECO C42 3M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Nc3 ECO C42 3M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack ECO C43 3M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation ECO C42 2M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation: Bc5 ECO C42 1M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game: d6 ECO C42 1M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation: d6 ECO C42 1M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game: Bc5 ECO C42 1M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation: d5 ECO C42 1M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack: Nc6 ECO C43 1M games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation: Bc4 ECO C42 859K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: d4 ECO C42 737K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack: d6 ECO C43 727K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation: Qe2 ECO C42 670K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game: d5 ECO C42 669K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack: exd4 ECO C43 621K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation: h6 ECO C42 544K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation: Nxe4 ECO C42 536K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game: Bb4 ECO C42 462K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack: Nxe4 ECO C43 427K games Gambits Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit: Nf3 ECO C42 296K games Gambits Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit: Nxf7 ECO C42 168K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game: c6 ECO C42 128K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Symmetrical Variation ECO C43 120K games Gambits Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit: Nxc6 ECO C42 62K games Gambits Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit: d4 ECO C42 39K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation: Qf3 ECO C42 33K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack: d5 ECO C43 26K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation: d3 ECO C42 17K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation: Nxf7 ECO C42 7K games Openings & Plans Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation: d4 ECO C42 6K games

Frequently asked questions about the Petrov's Defense

What is the petrov's in chess?

The Petrov's is a chess opening family with 40 variations covered on Chessy. Over 164 million Lichess games have reached these positions across all rating levels.

Other opening families