Petrov's Defense (2… Nf6 3. Nxe5)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5
The Petrov's Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C42, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 58,711 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nc6 (31% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3… d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3)
- ECO
- C42
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4N3/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 30,822 | |
| 1500-1999 | 22,925 | |
| 2000+ | 4,964 | |
| All | 58,711 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nc6 Stafford Gambit | 18,434 (31%) | |
| 3… d6 Petrov's Defense (3. Nxe5 d6) | 14,171 (24%) | |
| 3… Nxe4 Damiano Variation | 13,277 (23%) | |
| 3… Qe7 | 7,186 (12%) | |
| 3… Bc5 | 3,013 (5%) | |
| 3… d5 | 992 (2%) | |
| 3… Bd6 | 796 (1%) | |
| 3… c6 | 294 (1%) |
Master games
457 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 13%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2796) – GM Baadur Jobava (2707) 1-0 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2017-07-01
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2785) – GM Baadur Jobava (2702) 1-0 · World Blitz 2016 · 2016-12-30
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2739) – GM Baadur Jobava (2702) 0-1 · World Blitz 2016 · 2016-12-30
- GM Etienne Bacrot (2658) – GM Nihal Sarin (2668) 0-1 · Titled Tue 15th Oct Early · 2024-10-15
- GM Benjamin Bok (2598) – GM Baadur Jobava (2702) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-28
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM gmbrewchess (2962) – Nana_jede_cevape (2901) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM gmbrewchess (2964) – Nana_jede_cevape (2872) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- BoneCrusher2020 (2750) – GM Pon4ik2006 (2990) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense (2. Nf3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6
Continuations
- Petrov's Defense (3. Nxe5 d6) C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6
- Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4
- Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6
More Petrov's Defense lines (all)
- Petrov's Defense (3… d6 4. Nf3) C42
- Petrov's Defense (4. Nf3 Nxe4) C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Berger Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Browne Attack C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Main Line C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Closed Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Jaenisch Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation C42
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.