Petrov DefenceC42 – C43
Black does not defend the e5-pawn at all. After 2…Nf6 White can take it, and Black takes the e4-pawn straight back, so the material is level and the game is about the knight that has landed on e4. In the main lines White plays d4 and Bd3 to chase it, Black holds it there with …d5 and develops around it, and the resulting positions are symmetrical pawn structures where the side that finds the first useful break — c4 for White, …c5 or …f5 for Black — gets the initiative. Nothing here depends on memory beyond move eight: the plans are …Nc6 or …Bd6, …Bf5 or …Bg4, castle, and meet c4 with either …Nb4 or a calm …c6. What goes wrong is the move order at the start. 3…Nxe4 straight away loses to 4.Qe2, since the pinned knight cannot retreat without exposing the king; 3…d6 first, sending White's knight home, is the whole trick. After that the only genuine danger is White's 4.Nxf7 sacrifice, and Black wins it by keeping the king calm and giving one pawn back to finish development.
Played by
- Fabiano Caruana — built his 2018 title challenge on it — twelve games as Black against Carlsen and not one loss
- Vladimir Kramnik — the defence he trusted whenever a draw with Black was worth more than a fight
- Anatoly Karpov — played it for decades as the most reliable way to neutralise 1.e4
Model game
Leko – Kramnik, World Championship, Brissago 2004
Next: e4
