Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
2,427 games: White 52.8% / Draw 6.0% / Black 41.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 982982 | ||
| 588588 | ||
| 392392 | ||
| 321321 | ||
| 6464 | ||
| 2929 | ||
| 2525 | ||
| 1313 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.55 White is slightly better
Best play: 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bxe4 dxe4 12. Rxe4 Nd7 13. Re1 h6 14. Nc3 Re8
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 Variation, Chinese Gambit (ECO C42, Open Games) is a gambit in Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton 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 c6 9. Re1 Bg4 (9 moves).
In 2,427 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.8%, Black 41.2% and 6.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 10. Bxe4, in 40% of those games.
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How to play against Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit
The most played answer, 10. Bxe4, also scores best for White: 61.9%, with White winning 59.0% and Black 35.2% of 982 games. Of the main answers, 10. cxd5 scores lowest: 49.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 10. h3.
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 Variation, Chinese Gambit (C42)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-classical-attack-marshall-variation-chinese-gambit