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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 a few years ago, the Petroff was opening that was favoured 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 battlefields for many top clashes of the modern 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 Maxim 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
• All main lines are covered
• Provides everything you need to know to play the opening with confidence

004 Bibliography
005 Introduction
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6
007 3.Nxe5: The Main line with 8 c4
034 3.Nxe5: The Main Line with 8 Re1
047 3.Nxe5: Black Plays 6..Bd6
069 3.Nxe5: Deviations from the Main line
080 3.Nxe5: Fourth and Fifth Move Alternatives for White
104 3.d4: The Main line
143 3.d4: 5...Bd6 and 5th Move Alternatives for Black
158 3.d4: Fourth Move Alternatives
168 3.d4: Black Plays 3...exd4
178 Third Move Alternatives for White
189 Index of Complete Games