Caissa Codex
C43

Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack 3. d4 exd4

Chess diagram: Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack after 3…exd4

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Statistics from Lichess

1,460,841 games: White 53.3% / Draw 4.1% / Black 42.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
761,006761K
249,811250K
246,929247K
Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit 114,738115K
36,01136K
20,67821K
18,46018K
5,7655,765

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.50 White is slightly better

Best play: 4. e5 Ne4 5. Qxd4 d5 6. exd6 Nxd6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Qf4 Bf5

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 49% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 34% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 1.1M
1400–1799 1.5M
1800–2199 658K
2200 and up 40K
Masters, over the board 466

Master games

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: Modern Attack (ECO C43, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 (3 moves).

In 1,460,841 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.3%, Black 42.6% and 4.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. e5, in 52% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Attack and Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Steinitz Variation. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 3…exd4

The most played answer, 4. e5, also scores best for White: 59.1%, with White winning 57.0% and Black 38.9% of 761K games. Of the main answers, 4. Nxd4 scores lowest: 50.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. e5.

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

Popularity by year

This line peaked in 2021 at 0.07% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.05% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.047%16,788
20170.043%23,537
20180.045%35,349
20190.047%59,186
20200.058%169,332
20210.07%273,549
20220.063%236,480
20230.056%212,272
20240.052%187,859
20250.05%173,107
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.049%53,296

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 (3)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…exd4, the position after Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 4 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack (C43)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-modern-attack-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-modern-attack-2