The Petroff Defence
1.e2-e4 e7-e5 2.Ng1-f3 Ng8-f6In the 80s the Petroff had the image in top chess of a boring drawing opening. The top grandmasters of the day developed it into a perfect way to neutralise White’s advantage of the first move but from the start they were satisfied with a draw. The popularity of the Petroff in top level chess led to many variations being analysed to death.
That is unimportant for club and amateur players. There the Petroff is a solid and active opening for Black. Often what arises is a black knight anchored on e4, which even offers chances for an attack on the king.
Gegen Russisch spielen
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Petroff - Main variation with 3.Nxe5
Petroff Main variation: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3
In the main variation of the Petroff White wants to undermine the knight on e4 and make his advantage in development count.
Petroff with 5.Nc3: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3
This is another way to solve the problem of the knight on e4: White accepts after 5.Nc3 doubled pawns. In return he develops the queenside quickly and castles long.