Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Petursson Variation
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Re8
The Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Petursson Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D34, reached after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Re8. It is a line of the Tarrasch Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1 times by this move order. White won 0%, 100% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 11. Rc1 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.53 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 11. Rc1 h6 12. Be3 Bb4 13. Ncb5 Bd7)
- ECO
- D34
- Moves
- 20 plies
- FEN
r1bqr1k1/pp2bppp/2n2n2/3p2B1/3N4/2N3P1/PP2PPBP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 1 11- PGN
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Re8
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 1 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11. Rc1 | 1 (100%) |
Master games
6 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 50%, Black 17%). The strongest:
- GM Rafael A Vaganian (2546) – Leito, P. (2333) 1/2-1/2 · 19th Puhajarve Rapid · 2018-11-24
- GM Aleksandr Volodin (2502) – Leito, P. (2333) 1/2-1/2 · 12th Puhajarve Rapid 2012 · 2012-11-24
- GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (2571) – Lennart Wahlstrom (2215) 1-0 · Paskturneringen Open 2019 · 2019-04-19
- GM Schmidt, Wl. (2289) – IM Zolnierowicz, K. (2037) 1/2-1/2 · 6th Dziedzica Mem 2016 · 2016-09-18
- Matej Sosovicka (2040) – Stefan Tomici (2177) 0-1 · EY Boys U16 2012 · 2012-08-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GA_Mitthrawnuruodo (2472) – Krosis666 (2292) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 3s
Comes from
Tarrasch Defense: Classical Variation, Carlsbad Variation 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5
More Tarrasch Defense lines (all)
- Tarrasch Defense D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Grünfeld Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Marshall Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Schara Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (5. Nf3 Nc6) D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation (6. cxd5 exd5) D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Tarrasch Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation D32
- Tarrasch Defense: von Hennig Gambit D32
- Tarrasch Defense: Dubov Tarrasch D33
- Tarrasch Defense: Prague Variation D33
- Tarrasch Defense: Rubinstein System D33
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.