Chessstack

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack

ECO code
C42
Moves
Add to my repertoire

Create a free account to add the Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack to a repertoire and start drilling it. Already have one? Sign in.

About this variation

After 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4, White builds a small central edge and Black keeps the knight on e4 for as long as possible.

The Classical Attack is 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4. White has a pawn on d4 against Black's pawn on d6, which gives White slightly more space, and Black's knight on e4 is active but can become a target. After 5...d5 6. Bd3, both sides develop quickly and castle, and the game often reaches positions that have been tested in many world championship matches.

Black's main set-ups are 6...Nc6, attacking d4 and keeping the knight on e4 supported, and 6...Bd6, a solid alternative. A common continuation is 6...Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4, when White attacks the d5 pawn that supports the knight, and Black must decide whether to keep the tension or simplify.

White's plans include c4 to undermine d5, Re1 to pressure the e-file, and Nc3 to challenge the knight on e4. White aims to show that Black's knight is overextended or that the d5 pawn is weak. If Black's pieces stay active, the position is roughly equal.

Black's ideas include ...Bg4 or ...Bf5 to support the knight on e4, ...Nb4 to trade White's light-squared bishop, and ...f5 in some lines to reinforce e4. Black's main goal is to keep the position balanced and to avoid weaknesses that White could use in an endgame.

A common mistake for Black is to retreat the knight from e4 too early, giving White free central control. A common mistake for White is to chase the knight without developing, letting Black equalize easily. Both sides should complete development before starting active operations.

The Classical Attack suits White players who want to play for a small edge in a principled way. Black players who choose the Petrov need to know this line well, since it is the most common test of the opening at a high level.

It is one of the main lines of the Petrov's Defense.

Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack statistics

The Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack was reached in 34,174 master games (0.2% of all master games), and White scored 56% from there. On Lichess it comes up in <0.1% of games, most often among players rated 2201–2400 (<0.1%).

Master games

34,174

0.2% of games between players rated 2500+

Club games on Lichess

61,021

<0.1% of games between players rated up to 2400

White wins Draws Black wins

How often it comes up, by rating

  • 0–1000 <0.1%
  • 1001–1200 <0.1%
  • 1201–1400 <0.1%
  • 1401–1600 <0.1%
  • 1601–1800 <0.1%
  • 1801–2000 <0.1%
  • 2001–2200 <0.1%
  • 2201–2400 <0.1%

Most common next moves in master games

MoveGamesPlayedResults
5... d530,92590%
5... Be72,6997.9%
5... Nf62700.8%
5... Bf51090.3%
5... Bg4760.2%

Famous players with the most games here

  • Fabiano Caruana 59 games
  • Anatoly Karpov 56 games
  • Eric Rosen 50 games
  • Wesley So 50 games
  • Anish Giri 46 games
  • Frank Marshall 35 games

Master games from the Chessmont database (CC BY-SA 4.0). Club games from the Lichess open database.

Other Petrov's Defense variations