Editing Petrov's Defence (section)

{{Short description|Chess opening}}
{{Redirect|Russian Game|the film|The Russian Game}}
{{Infobox chess opening
|openingname = Petrov's Defence
|image = {{Chess diagram
| 
|
|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|  |rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|  |pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |nd|  |  
|  |  |  |  |pd|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |pl|  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |nl|  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|  |pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|  |rl
|
}}
|moves=1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6
|ECO=C42–C43
|birth= 
|nameorigin=[[Alexander Petrov (chess player)|Alexander Petrov]]
|parentopening=[[King's Knight Opening]]
|AKA={{ubl|Petroff Defence|Petrov's Game|Russian Defence|Russian Game}} 
|chessgid=node=24467&move=3&moves=e4.e5.Nf3.Nf6
}}
'''Petrov's Defence''' or the '''Petrov Defence''' (also called '''Petroff Defence''', '''Petrov's Game''', '''Russian Defence''', or  '''Russian Game''' <nowiki>[</nowiki>{{langx|ru|Русская партия}}]) is a [[chess opening]] characterised by the following moves:
:1. [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4|e4]] [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5|e5]]
:2. [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3|Nf3]] [[b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6|Nf6]]

Though this {{chessgloss|symmetrical}} response has a long history, it was first popularised by [[Alexander Petrov (chess player)|Alexander Petrov]], a [[Russia]]n [[chess]] player in the mid-19th century. In recognition of the early investigations by the Russian masters Petrov and [[Carl Jaenisch]], this opening is called the Russian Game in some countries.

The Petrov has a drawish reputation; however, it offers attacking opportunities for both sides, and a few lines are quite {{chessgloss|sharp}}. Often a trade occurs and Black, after gaining a [[tempo (chess)|tempo]], has a well-placed [[knight (chess)|knight]]. [[Harry Nelson Pillsbury|Pillsbury]]'s game in 1895<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1109091 |title=Lasker vs. Pillsbury, 1895 |website=[[Chessgames.com]] }}</ref> against [[Emanuel Lasker]] testifies to this. The Black counterattack in the {{chessgloss|centre}} also avoids the [[Ruy Lopez]], [[Giuoco Piano]] (and other lines of the [[Italian Game]]), and the [[Scotch Game]]. The Petrov has been adopted by many of the world's leading players, including world champions [[Vasily Smyslov]], [[Tigran Petrosian]], [[Anatoly Karpov]], and [[Vladimir Kramnik]], along with [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmaster]] [[Fabiano Caruana]] and others.

The ''[[Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings]]'' codes for Petrov's Defence are C43 (for 3.d4) and C42 (for all other lines).<ref>*{{cite web |url=http://www.chessinformant.rs/content/eco/index.html |title=ECO Code by Chess Informant |website=www.chessinformant.rs |publisher=Chess Informant |access-date=29 January 2015}}</ref>
{{AN chess|pos=toc}}