Petrov's Defense: Moody Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Qe2 Nc6 4. d4
The Petrov's Defense: Moody Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C42, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Qe2 Nc6 4. d4. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 31 times by this move order. White won 65%, 3% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 4… exd4 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.51 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 4… Nxd4 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. e5 Nd5 7. Qe4)
- ECO
- C42
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP1QPPP/RNB1KB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Qe2 Nc6 4. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 27 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 31 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… exd4 | 15 (48%) | |
| 4… d6 | 6 (19%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 3 (10%) | |
| 4… Nxd4 | 3 (10%) | |
| 4… d5 | 2 (6%) | |
| 4… b6 | 1 (3%) | |
| 4… a6 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 100%, draw 0%, Black 0%). The strongest:
- GM Alexandr Predke (2684) – GM Leandro Krysa (2538) 1-0 · Titled Tue 31st Jan Late · 2023-01-31
- GM Alexandr Predke (2684) – FM Anthony Atanasov (2361) 1-0 · Titled Tue 31st Jan Late · 2023-01-31
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense: Moody Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- zoolsudany (2039) – Hector610 (2029) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
- zoolsudany (1909) – mockmock1990 (1900) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Ka-Sceng (1731) – skaeric (1732) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense (2. Nf3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6
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.