Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
345,260 games: White 52.9% / Draw 7.1% / Black 40.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 306,785307K | ||
| Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Murrey Variation | 16,47016K | |
| 8,9678,967 | ||
| 5,4325,432 | ||
| 3,4563,456 | ||
| 2,0512,051 | ||
| 796796 | ||
| 333333 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.25 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nc3 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Bc5 9. Qh5
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 61% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 28K | |
| 1400–1799 | 70K | |
| 1800–2199 | 201K | |
| 2200 and up | 97K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,055 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- So, W. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Abdusattorov, N.
- So, W. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Giri, A. – Aronian, L.
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, Center Variation (ECO C43, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 (4 moves).
In 345,260 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.9%, Black 40.0% and 7.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…d5, in 89% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Murrey Variation and Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Trifunovic Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
Petrov's Defense: Modern Attack, Center Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0093%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0093% | 3,329 |
| 2017 | 0.011% | 5,781 |
| 2018 | 0.011% | 8,667 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 13,860 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 32,518 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 47,236 |
| 2022 | 0.014% | 51,252 |
| 2023 | 0.014% | 52,598 |
| 2024 | 0.015% | 52,535 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 53,114 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,169 |
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: Modern Attack, Center Variation (C43)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-modern-attack-center-variation