Caissa Codex
C42

Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Center Variation

Chess diagram: Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Center Variation after 5. d4

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.

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Statistics from Lichess

151,312 games: White 52.4% / Draw 4.2% / Black 43.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
41,89342K
25,03825K
22,81223K
12,31112K
9,2089,208
8,2008,200
6,7366,736
6,6566,656

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

Engine evaluation

−1.60 Black is clearly better

Even so, White scores 54.5% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 5... c5 6. Bc4+ d5 7. exd5 Bd6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Nc3 a6 10. Bg5

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

Overview

Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Center Variation (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. d4 (5 moves).

In 151,312 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.4%, Black 43.4% and 4.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Be7, in 28% of those games.

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How to play against Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit, Center Variation

5…c5 scores best for Black: 51.3%, with Black winning 48.9% and White 46.2% of 25K games. The most played, 5…Be7, scores 47.3% in 42K games, and 5…Nxe4 scores lowest: 33.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…c5.

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. d4, the position after Petrov's Defense: Cochrane Gambit also goes on to:

Cite this page

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

https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-cochrane-gambit-center-variation