Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap
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Statistics from Lichess
892 games: White 19.4% / Draw 4.4% / Black 76.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 764764 | ||
| 109109 | ||
| 1212 | ||
| 77 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.61 Black is slightly better
Best play: 11. Kf1 Qe8 12. Nc3 Qh5 13. Nxe4 fxe4 14. Rxe4 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Nd7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap (ECO C42, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 Bg4 9. cxd5 f5 10. Re1 Bxh2+ (10 moves).
In 892 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 19.4%, Black 76.2% and 4.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 11. Kxh2, in 86% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap
11. Kf1 scores best for White: 47.2%, with White winning 44.0% and Black 49.5% of 109 games. The most played answer, 11. Kxh2, scores lowest: 18.3% in 764 games. Stockfish's first choice is also 11. Kf1.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap (C42)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-classical-attack-marshall-trap