Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack (2… Nf6 3. d4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4
The Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C43, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. 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 15,258 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… exd4 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.30 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3… Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7)
- ECO
- C43
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6,927 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,640 | |
| 2000+ | 1,691 | |
| All | 15,258 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… exd4 Modern Attack (3. d4 exd4) | 6,502 (43%) | |
| 3… Nxe4 | 5,224 (34%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 1,112 (7%) | |
| 3… d6 | 991 (6%) | |
| 3… d5 Modern Attack, Symmetrical Variation | 765 (5%) | |
| 3… Bb4+ | 177 (1%) | |
| 3… Bd6 | 105 (1%) | |
| 3… Bc5 | 96 (1%) |
Master games
1,140 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 26%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2738) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Classic Div 1 W · 2024-05-15
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Levon Aronian (2781) 1/2-1/2 · Skilling Open KO 2020 · 2020-11-26
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2751) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2809) 1/2-1/2 · 11th Tal Mem Rapid 2018 · 2018-03-04
- GM Yi Wei (2748) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2807) 1/2-1/2 · Esports World Cup C 2025 · 2025-07-30
- GM Yi Wei (2748) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2807) 0-1 · Esports World Cup C 2025 · 2025-07-30
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack 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 (2. Nf3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6
Continuations
- Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack (3. d4 exd4) C43 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 exd4
- Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Symmetrical Variation C43 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 d5
- Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation C43 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3
More Petrov's Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause 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.