Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Symmetrical Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 d5
The Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Symmetrical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C43, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 d5. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 765 times by this move order. White won 55%, 4% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 4. dxe5 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.52 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4. exd5 exd4 5. Bb5+ c6 6. dxc6 bxc6)
- ECO
- C43
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/5n2/3pp3/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 413 | |
| 1500-1999 | 256 | |
| 2000+ | 96 | |
| All | 765 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. dxe5 | 446 (58%) | |
| 4. exd5 | 127 (17%) | |
| 4. Nxe5 | 98 (13%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 25 (3%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 20 (3%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 13 (2%) | |
| 4. Bb5+ | 11 (1%) | |
| 4. c3 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
61 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 14%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Aryan Tari (2650) – GM Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian (2569) 0-1 · Chess.com Rapid W10 Swiss · 2022-04-16
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Ediz Gurel (2636) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Jun Early · 2025-06-03
- GM Eltaj Safarli (2600) – GM Baadur Jobava (2600) 1/2-1/2 · GM Grandiscacchi GM Mix · 2022-05-17
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – FM Julian Antonio Rojas Alarcon (2357) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 9th Apr Late · 2024-04-09
- IM Thomas Beerdsen (2514) – IM Deniz Ozen (2397) 1-0 · Titled Tue 6th Sep Early · 2022-09-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Chessbasse16 (2501) – FM alumno (2577) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- heyjana (2471) – Nimrod66 (2466) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- SugarMagnolia (2467) – variastrix93 (2392) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack (2… Nf6 3. d4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4
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.