The Petroff Defence is considered as one of Black's most reliable methods of meeting the king's pawn opening. By counterattacking as early as move two, Black avoid the hazards of having to face lines such as the Scotch Opening, the Italian Game and the 'Spanish torture' of the Ruy Lopez. An early breach of a central file together with active piece play for both sides characterises the Petroff as a typical king's pawn opening.

Until some years ago, the Petroff opening was favoured only by a few top Grandmasters, including Anatoly Karpov and Artur Yusupov. However, the last few years have seen a dramatic rise in its popularity, and it now provides battlefield; for many clashes of the modem elite players, including Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Leko, Topalov and England's Michael Adams. This is bound to have a positive effect on its popularity at club level.

In this book, openings experts Alexander Raetsky and Maxir Chetverik study the typical plans and tactics for both White and Black in this complex opening. Using illustrative games, the authors provide up-to-date coverage of a line that has experienced a major overhaul in the last decade.

• Written by renowned opening theoreticians Ideal for club and tournament players

• AII main lines are covered

• Provides everything you need to know to play the opening with confidence

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  List of Content

  004 Bibliography

  005 Introduction

  1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6

  007 1 3 Nxe5: The Main line with 8 c4

  034 2 3 Nxe5: The Main Line with 8 Re1

  047 3 3 Nxe5: Black Plays 6..Bd6

  069 4 3 Nxe5: Deviations from the Main line

  080 5 3 Nxe5: Fourth and Fifth Move Alternatives for White

  104 6 3 d4: The Main line

  143 7 3 d4: 5...Bd6 and 5th Move Alternatives for Black

  158 8 3 d4: Fourth Move Alternatives

  168 9 3 d4: Black Plays 3...exd4

  178 10 Third Move Alternatives for White

  189 Index of Complete Games