Caissa Codex
C42

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation

Chess diagram: Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation after 8…Bg4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

1,947 games: White 54.8% / Draw 6.9% / Black 38.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,3651,365
277277
167167
5353
5353
1818
66
33

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 9, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.83 White is better

Best play: 9. cxd5 Nf6 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Bg5 Re8 12. Bc2 Bh5 13. Qd3 Bg6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation (ECO C42, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall 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 (8 moves).

In 1,947 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.8%, Black 38.4% and 6.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. cxd5, in 70% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Trap.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation

The most played answer, 9. cxd5, also scores best for White: 60.7%, with White winning 57.4% and Black 36.0% of 1,365 games. Of the main answers, 9. Nc3 scores lowest: 53.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 9. cxd5.

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

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 Bg4, the position after Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Marshall Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Tarrasch Variation (C42)”. Lichess data as of 9 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-classical-attack-tarrasch-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-classical-attack-tarrasch-variation