Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted (4. Nxc6 dxc6)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6
The Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted is a chess opening classified as ECO C42, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 14,721 times by this move order. White won 44%, 4% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 5. d3 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.42 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 5. Nc3 Be6 6. d4 Bb4 7. Qd3 O-O)
- ECO
- C42
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppp2ppp/2p2n2/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6,154 | |
| 1500-1999 | 7,675 | |
| 2000+ | 892 | |
| All | 14,721 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. d3 | 5,790 (39%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 4,482 (30%) | |
| 5. e5 | 2,365 (16%) | |
| 5. Bc4 | 580 (4%) | |
| 5. f3 | 423 (3%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 230 (2%) | |
| 5. Qe2 | 220 (1%) | |
| 5. d4 | 212 (1%) |
Master games
77 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 4%, Black 53%). The strongest:
- GM Alan Pichot (2630) – IM Eric Rosen (2353) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 27th Apr · 2021-04-27
- FM Zachary Tanenbaum (2371) – GM Aksel Bu Kvaloy (2492) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Dec 2025 · 2025-12-09
- CM Vadym Petrovskiy (2341) – IM V Pranav (2486) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 18th Jan · 2022-01-18
- IM Vladimir Demin (2430) – IM Eric Rosen (2356) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 28th Sept · 2021-09-28
- GM Evgeny Postny (2599) – CM Matfey Rogov (2163) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Mar Early · 2024-03-05
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Artem9630 (2645) – Nana_jede_cevape (2838) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- hyo_lee (2676) – Nimrod66 (2450) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- ffl0 (2584) – Nimrod66 (2496) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6
Continuations
- Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted (5. Nc3 Bc5) C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Bc5
- Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit Accepted (5. d3 Bc5) C42 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Nxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bc5
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.