Tree path 11 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Petrov's Defense › Petrov's Defense › Petrov's Defense › Petrov's Defense › Petrov's Defense › Classical Attack › Marshall Variation › Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation › Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Petrov's Defense C42
- Petrov's Defense C42
- Petrov's Defense C42
- Petrov's Defense C42
- Petrov's Defense C42
- Classical Attack C42
- Marshall Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit C42 you are here
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit
Overview
Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation, Chinese Gambit belongs to the gambit family of chess openings (ECO C42, Open Games). It trades material for attacking chances — a classic trade-off that has fascinated players from the Romantic era to modern correspondence chess.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It is reached after 18 plies of play, with the move sequence 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.
The line refines Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation, which traces back to the root opening King's Pawn Game.
Explore the position on the interactive board, study its real-world results from Lichess, and challenge the engine when you are ready.
- ECO code
- C42
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 18
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
2,427 games · White 52.8% / Draw 6.0% / Black 41.2%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bxe4 | 982 | |
| Nc3 | 588 | |
| h3 | 392 | |
| cxd5 | 321 | |
| Nbd2 | 64 | |
| c5 | 29 | |
| Qb3 | 25 | |
| Qc2 | 13 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:19:45
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