Petrov's Defense 2…Nf6 3. Nxe5
Also known as Russian Game or Petroff Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
12,710,140 games: White 49.5% / Draw 5.1% / Black 45.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 5,048,3135M | ||
| Stafford Gambit | 4,605,5894.6M | |
| 1,288,9901.3M | ||
| Damiano Variation | 1,079,6921.1M | |
| 333,514334K | ||
| 183,638184K | ||
| 71,56972K | ||
| 45,56046K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Bd3 d5 7. O-O Nc6 8. c4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 55% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 12.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 12.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 6M | |
| 2200 and up | 779K | |
| Masters, over the board | 23K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Petrov's Defense (ECO C42, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 (3 moves).
In 12,710,140 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 45.4% and 5.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…d6, in 40% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Petrov's Defense: Stafford Gambit and Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation. In all, 33 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 3. Nxe5
3…Nc6 (Stafford Gambit) scores best for Black: 50.8%, with Black winning 48.9% and White 47.3% of 4.6M games. The most played, 3…d6, scores 47.7% in 5M games, and 3…Nxe4 scores lowest: 43.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…d6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line peaked in 2021 at 0.64% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.4% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.38% | 135,202 |
| 2017 | 0.36% | 199,747 |
| 2018 | 0.42% | 328,240 |
| 2019 | 0.42% | 518,913 |
| 2020 | 0.5% | 1,471,077 |
| 2021 | 0.64% | 2,494,123 |
| 2022 | 0.56% | 2,096,573 |
| 2023 | 0.5% | 1,896,603 |
| 2024 | 0.44% | 1,590,765 |
| 2025 | 0.4% | 1,387,823 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.39% | 429,501 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (3)
All 33 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C42 Petrov's Defense 3 moves
- C42 Damiano Variation 3 moves
- C42 Stafford Gambit 3 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense 4 moves
- C42 Cochrane Gambit 4 moves
- C42 Kholmov Gambit 4 moves
- C42 Karklins-Martinovsky Variation 4 moves
- C42 Paulsen Attack 4 moves
- C42 Stafford Gambit 4 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense 4 moves
- C42 Bishop Check Line 5 moves
- C42 Center Variation 5 moves
- C42 Classical Attack 5 moves
- C42 Cozio Attack 5 moves
- C42 French Attack 5 moves
- C42 Kaufmann Attack 5 moves
- C42 Millennium Attack 5 moves
- C42 Nimzowitsch Attack 5 moves
- C42 Chigorin Variation 8 moves
- C42 Closed Variation 5 moves
- C42 Marshall Variation 6 moves
- C42 Mason Variation 7 moves
- C42 Mason-Showalter Variation 6 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Berger Variation 10 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Jaenisch Variation 8 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause Variation 10 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Maróczy Variation 10 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation 8 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation 8 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Browne Attack 9 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Main Line 9 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap 10 moves
- C42 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit 9 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense (C42)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-2