Petrov's Defense: Paulsen Attack
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Statistics from Lichess
194,101 games: White 47.4% / Draw 5.6% / Black 47.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 183,043183K | ||
| 2,7252,725 | ||
| 2,3382,338 | ||
| 2,0542,054 | ||
| 1,9001,900 | ||
| 716716 | ||
| 640640 | ||
| 345345 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Sep 26, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.01 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Qxe7+ Bxe7 8. Ne3 Be6 9. Ne2
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 better this line does for White: White scores 48% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 159K | |
| 1400–1799 | 141K | |
| 1800–2199 | 104K | |
| 2200 and up | 20K | |
| Masters, over the board | 526 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Gukesh, D. – Erigaisi, A.
- Nakamura, H. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Morozevich, A. – Topalov, V.
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: Paulsen Attack (ECO C42, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nc4 (4 moves).
In 194,101 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.4%, Black 47.0% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nxe4, in 94% of those games.
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Popularity by year
Petrov's Defense: Paulsen Attack peaked in 2019 at 0.0093% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0071% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0084% | 2,999 |
| 2017 | 0.0081% | 4,459 |
| 2018 | 0.0092% | 7,193 |
| 2019 | 0.0093% | 11,606 |
| 2020 | 0.0077% | 22,674 |
| 2021 | 0.0071% | 27,736 |
| 2022 | 0.0073% | 27,597 |
| 2023 | 0.0073% | 27,568 |
| 2024 | 0.0072% | 25,755 |
| 2025 | 0.0071% | 24,570 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0077% | 8,443 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Petrov's Defense: Paulsen Attack (C42)”. Lichess data as of 26 Sep 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/petrovs-defense-paulsen-attack