Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3
The Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C43, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,042 times by this move order. White won 51%, 7% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4… d5 (83% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… Nc6 5. Nxe5 Nxe5 6. dxe5 Nc5 7. Bc4)
- ECO
- C43
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/3Pn3/3B1N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 87 | |
| 1500-1999 | 483 | |
| 2000+ | 472 | |
| All | 1,042 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… d5 | 869 (83%) | |
| 4… Nc6 Modern Attack, Murrey Variation | 58 (6%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 41 (4%) | |
| 4… Nxf2 | 26 (2%) | |
| 4… Nd6 | 14 (1%) | |
| 4… f5 | 13 (1%) | |
| 4… exd4 | 8 (1%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 5 (0%) |
Master games
3,056 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 36%, Black 19%). The strongest:
- Berserk 20230311 (3476) – KomodoDragon 3.2 (3569) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Premier 2023 · 2023-03-28
- KomodoDragon 3.2 (3569) – Berserk 20230311 (3476) 1-0 · TCEC 24 Premier 2023 · 2023-03-26
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2782) 1-0 · WCh 2021 · 2021-12-05
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2766) 1-0 · Superbet POL Rapid 2024 · 2024-05-09
- GM Javokhir Sindarov (2777) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2792) 1-0 · WR Rapid Miami 2026 · 2026-07-27
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- sunchess137 (2682) – SavitarTheGodOfSpeed (2782) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- FanHalen (2775) – Ante373 (2658) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- johnsam1 (2741) – velyvzer (2661) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack (2… Nf6 3. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4
Continuations
- Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Murrey Variation C43 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 Nc6
- Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Trifunovic Variation C43 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 Bxe5
More Petrov's Defense lines (all)
- Petrov's Defense (2. Nf3 Nf6) C42
- Petrov's Defense (2… Nf6 3. Nxe5) C42
- Petrov's Defense (3. Nxe5 d6) C42
- 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
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.