The Petroff Defence is an exceptionally reliable and almost indestructible opening, and a hard nut to crack, even for the strongest and most meticulously prepared grandmasters theoretically. It is no accident that the Petroff Defence, named after its inventor and also know as the Russian Game, has for many years been the main opening weapon of Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand and has also been played regularly by Vishy Anand and Alexey Shirov. Nowadays there are also several very young and talented grandmasters who play it, such as Wesley So and Anish Giri. Anatoly Karpov and Artur Yusupov have been using it as a part of their opening armoury throughout their chess careers...

The list could go on and on.

The Petroff Defence is characterised by the fact that on his second move Black does not protect his e5-pawn, but instead counter attacks with 2...Nf6, proposing to the opponent the immediate exchange of a pair of pawns, thus slightly simplifying the position and quickly defining the future pawn-structure.

What are the pluses and minuses of an opening repertoire based on the Petroff Defence, such as we are recommending in this book? I think I can see only one drawback. If White is an experienced player with a good grasp of theory, and he is in the mood to draw, then he should be able to share the point without too much problem. Still, the same can also be said about almost every other opening, because in contemporary chess it is tremendously difficult to win with Black unless White makes a serious mistake. On the other hand, there is a great advantage to consider: you will not obtain bad positions from the opening. The Petroff Defence is particularly suitable for players with a positional style, since in a calm, quiet contest you can easily win the game if the opponent takes too many risks. You can see this illustrated in the Complete Games section.

I have endeavoured to present and explain to you all the finer points of this opening, as I understand them. In general, the critical positions have been treated thoroughly and I have also suggested and analyzed a great many new ideas in this book. Some variations which have amassed considerable tournament practice, but which, in my view, are less principled, have been covered only briefly. Otherwise, the book would have become too big, losing its essential purpose. Unfortunately, too many authors write chess books in that way; they offer no original analysis and often quote outdated games, some of which are very weakly played and almost useless.

I hope that you, the reader, will enjoy studying this book, and I wish you wonderful tournament results with this opening!

Konstantin Sakaev,

Saint Petersburg 2011

Content:
007 Preface

Part 1. All White Replies without 2.Nf3

010 1. Seldom Played Moves

018 2. Vienna Game 2.Nc3 Nf6

026 3. King's Gambit 2.f4 exf4

036 4. Bishop's Opening 2.Bc4 Nf6

Part 2. All White Replies without 3.d4 and 3.Nxe5

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6

052 5. Three Knights Game 3.Nc3 Bb4

056 6. Belgrade Gambit, Scotch Four Knights 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 ed

058 7. Glek Variation 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3

062 8. Four Knights Game 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4

Part 3. Petroff Defence 3.d4

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4

074 9. 4.dxe5 d5

081 10. 4.Bd3 d5 5.dxe5 Be7

092 11. 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nc3

096 12. 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.0-0 Nxe5

101 13. 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Qh5 Qf6

105 14. 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Nc3 Nxc3

108 15. 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.0-0 Bd6 8.c4 c6

Part 4. Petroff Defence 3.Nxe5

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

116 16. 4.Nxf7 Kxf7

120 17. 4.Nc4 Nxe4

129 18. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4; 5.Qe2; 5.Bd3

136 19. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c3 f5

145 20. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c4 Nf6

157 21. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Nc3 Nxc3

168 22. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.cxd5; 9.Re1

176 23. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.a3 Nc6

180 24. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.Bf4 dc

185 25. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.Qa4; 16.g3; 16.Bd3

198 26. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4

206 27. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 h6

216 28. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4

229 29. 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3

246 Complete Games