Caissa Codex
C42

Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Bishop Check Line

Chess diagram: Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Bishop Check Line after 5. Bc4+

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Statistics from Lichess

153,599 games: White 46.8% / Draw 4.0% / Black 49.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
85,71686K
42,93543K
23,37823K
1,1541,154
400400
1616

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

Engine evaluation

−2.34 Black is clearly better

Even so, White scores 48.8% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 5... d5 6. exd5 Bd6 7. O-O Rf8 8. d4 Kg8 9. Nc3 Bf5 10. Nb5

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

Overview

Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Bishop Check Line (ECO C42, Open Games) is a gambit in Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nxf7 Kxf7 5. Bc4+ (5 moves).

In 153,599 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.8%, Black 49.2% and 4.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Be6, in 56% of those games.

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How to play against Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Bishop Check Line

5…d5 scores best for Black: 54.9%, with Black winning 53.0% and White 43.2% of 43K games. The most played, 5…Be6, scores 51.3% in 86K games, and 5…Ke8 scores lowest: 44.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…d5.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Kxf7 5. Bc4+, the position after Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit also goes on to:

Cite this page

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

https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-cochrane-gambit-bishop-check-line