Petrov's Defense (3… d6 4. Nf3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3
The Petrov's Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C42, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11,450 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nxe4 (92% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.31 (Stockfish, depth 57; best line 4… Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O)
- ECO
- C42
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/8/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3,175 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,729 | |
| 2000+ | 2,546 | |
| All | 11,450 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nxe4 Petrov's Defense (4. Nf3 Nxe4) | 10,566 (92%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 303 (3%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 216 (2%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 128 (1%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 73 (1%) | |
| 4… d5 | 52 (0%) | |
| 4… Be6 | 32 (0%) | |
| 4… c5 | 17 (0%) |
Master games
30 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 73%, draw 17%, Black 10%). The strongest:
- IM Richard Jr. Biolek (2409) – GM Igor Stohl (2422) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CZE 1 Liga Vychod · 2024-01-21
- IM Florian Schwabeneder (2405) – FM Herbert Wohlfahrt (2328) 1/2-1/2 · ch-AUT Rapid 2024 · 2024-05-30
- IM Pablo Glavina (2410) – FM Jesper Morch Lauridsen (2215) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 9th Feb · 2021-02-09
- IM Richard Jr. Biolek (2384) – CM Pawel Brzezina (2210) 1/2-1/2 · 27th Olomouc B2 IM 2026 · 2026-08-18
- Marlon Jodar Arias (2195) – CM Viktor N. Parfenov (2193) 1-0 · Titled Tue 22nd Apr Early · 2025-04-22
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 (3. Nxe5 d6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6
Continuations
- Petrov's Defense (4. Nf3 Nxe4) C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4
More Petrov's Defense lines (all)
- Petrov's Defense (2. Nf3 Nf6) C42
- Petrov's Defense (2… Nf6 3. Nxe5) 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.