C42

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack

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Statistics from Lichess

1,384,809 games: White 50.2% / Draw 6.7% / Black 43.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	1,064,5181.1M
	157,361157K
	61,77462K
Closed Variation	33,34733K
	32,16532K
	11,62512K
	10,70711K
	3,8513,851

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.32 White is slightly better

Best play: 5... d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nbd2 Nxd2 9. Bxd2 Bg4 10. h3

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 57% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	105K
1400–1799	498K
1800–2199	871K
2200 and up	184K
Masters, over the board	12K

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I. ½–½, 2021
Anand, V. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2013
Kasparov, G. – Anand, V. ½–½, 2000
Carlsen, M. – Duda, J. ½–½, 2022
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Caruana, F. 1–0, 2021

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 27, 2026

Overview

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack (ECO C42, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 (5 moves).

In 1,384,809 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.2%, Black 43.1% and 6.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…d5, in 77% of those games.

It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation and Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Mason-Showalter Variation. In all, 15 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack

The most played answer, 5…d5, also scores best for Black: 47.7%, with Black winning 44.1% and White 48.8% of 1.1M games. Of the main answers, 5…Be7 scores lowest: 45.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…d5.

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

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack peaked in 2018 at 0.076% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.047% in 2025.

0.051%0.047%0.076%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.051%	18,056
2017	0.063%	34,623
2018	0.076%	59,782
2019	0.067%	84,015
2020	0.06%	174,435
2021	0.048%	187,389
2022	0.055%	204,755
2023	0.054%	202,240
2024	0.051%	181,059
2025	0.047%	164,348
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.048%	52,767

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 (5)

All 15 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack (C42)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-classical-attack