Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...d6

Petrov Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black kinge7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black pawne6 black kingf6 black knightg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 white knightf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6

Petrov Defence

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White's choice is limited. The main line suggests to retreat knight by playing 4. Nf3. However, 4. Nd3!? has been tried, though it is not as promising because it blocks the d pawn. 4. Nc4 may look like another unique idea, but according to computers it is only as effective as 4. Nd3 or even, worse than Nd3. It is been marked as ineffective by certain people,[citation needed] but it is another idea that is worth trying.[citation needed] On the positive side, no pawn is blocked, unlike in Nd3. The main issue with 4. Nc4 is that the knight is in the center of the board in an odd position and can't return to a natural development square, like f3 or c3. It will be chased around quite a bit. White can also try the Cochrane Gambit 4. Nxf7, a dangerous line for both players.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6

4 5
Main line Nf3
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Nxe4
=
Cochrane Gambit Nxf7
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Kxf7
=
Karklin-Marklovsky Variation Nd3!?
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Nxe4
=
Paulsen Attack Nc4!?
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Nxe4
=

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References

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