Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation
The Italian Variation of the Petrov's Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
10,079,562 games: White 50.3% / Draw 3.8% / Black 45.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense | 3,342,4963.3M | |
| 2,568,2842.6M | ||
| 2,111,6102.1M | ||
| 747,848748K | ||
| 438,084438K | ||
| 240,410240K | ||
| 222,081222K | ||
| 178,790179K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.40 Black is slightly better
Best play: 3... Nxe4 4. Nxe5 d5 5. Be2 Bd6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. d3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 54% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 13.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 12.8M | |
| 1800–2199 | 4.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 142K | |
| Masters, over the board | 177 |
Master games
- Short, N. – Anton Guijarro, D.
- Williamson, H. D. – Hall, R. V. M.
- Novikov, M. – Afromeev, V.
- Berchtenbreiter, M. – Bareev, E.
- Pessoa, F. A. – Badolati, S.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Italian Variation of the Petrov's Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4. White leaves the e4-pawn undefended and develops the bishop, often intending to meet 3...Nxe4 with 4.Nc3, the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit. It is an occasionally seen alternative to the main lines 3.Nxe5 and 3.d4.
Black's third move
- 3...Nxe4 takes the pawn and allows the gambit.
- 3...Nc6 transposes to the Two Knights Defense.
- 3...d5 is the aggressive alternative.
The Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit
After 3...Nxe4 4.Nc3 the gambit is not considered wholly sound, since Black has several viable options. Black can accept with 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3 f6, but must play carefully after 6.O-O: 6...Bc5? 7.Nxe5 is disastrous, while 6...d6 and 6...Nc6 are good. Returning the pawn with 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 equalises. Black can also transpose to the Italian Four Knights Game with 4...Nc6, meeting 5.Nxe4 with 5...d5; after 5.O-O Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qe7, Bobby Fischer wrote that "White has no compensation for the Pawn".
Other fourth moves
After 3...Nxe4 White can also play 4.d3, for example 4...Nf6 5.Nxe5 d5 6.Bb3 Bd6 7.d4 O-O 8.O-O c5, or 4.Nxe5, which after 4...d5 5.Be2 usually leads to positions like the main line of the Petrov but with White a tempo down.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 50.3% of the 10.1 million games and Black 45.9%. White's lead shrinks as ratings rise, and from 2200 up Black is ahead, 48.1% against 45.4%. In 177 master games over the board Black won 37.3%, White 27.1%, and 35.6% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation
3…Nxe4 scores best for Black: 52.7%, with Black winning 50.7% and White 45.3% of 2.6M games. The most played, 3…Nc6, scores 47.7% in 3.3M games, and 3…d6 scores lowest: 43.8%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…Nxe4.
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
Popularity by year
Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation peaked in 2021 at 0.51% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.32% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.37% | 132,540 |
| 2017 | 0.32% | 174,559 |
| 2018 | 0.3% | 235,584 |
| 2019 | 0.32% | 393,773 |
| 2020 | 0.4% | 1,168,885 |
| 2021 | 0.51% | 1,985,919 |
| 2022 | 0.44% | 1,668,212 |
| 2023 | 0.4% | 1,509,813 |
| 2024 | 0.35% | 1,259,921 |
| 2025 | 0.32% | 1,096,553 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.3% | 324,512 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
All 2 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Petrov's Defence, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation (C42)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-italian-variation