C42

Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit

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Statistics from Lichess

378,679 games: White 50.0% / Draw 4.0% / Black 45.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	370,939371K
	6,3746,374
	622622
	338338
	147147
	8888
	6868
	2222

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

Engine evaluation

−1.07 Black is better

Best play: 4... Kxf7 5. Nc3 Be6 6. d4 Kg8 7. Bd3 Bf7 8. e5 dxe5 9. dxe5

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 53% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	156K
1400–1799	232K
1800–2199	220K
2200 and up	36K
Masters, over the board	178

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Yu Yangyi 0–1, 2019
Ivanchuk, V. – Li Chao2 0–1, 2016
Topalov, V. – Kramnik, V. ½–½, 1999
Short, N. D. – Shirov, A. 0–1, 2002
Shanava, K. – Mchedlishvili, M. 1–0, 2008

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: Cochrane Gambit (ECO C42, Open Games) is a gambit in Petrov's Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nxf7 (4 moves).

In 378,679 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.0%, Black 45.9% and 4.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Kxf7, in 98% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Bishop Check Line and Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Center Variation.

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Description

Popularity by year

Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit has lost ground since 2016: 0.012% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.016% (its peak: 0.022% in 2018).

0.016%0.012%0.022%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.016%	5,731
2017	0.018%	10,142
2018	0.022%	17,006
2019	0.021%	26,380
2020	0.017%	50,417
2021	0.014%	55,461
2022	0.014%	54,147
2023	0.014%	53,807
2024	0.013%	46,262
2025	0.012%	40,812
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.011%	12,512

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 (2)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit (C42)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-cochrane-gambit