What's trendy in Opening Theory #12 What is the safest and most...
Nikos Ntirlis@NikolaosNtirlis
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Apr 18, 2026
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What's trendy in Opening Theory #12
What is the safest and most practical opening against 1.e4?
The Petroff! In this 🧵I'll present to you a simple repertoire, which I tested in high-level corr games, and you can start playing today!
No kidding! Let's see...👇
What is the safest and most practical opening against 1.e4?
The Petroff! In this 🧵I'll present to you a simple repertoire, which I tested in high-level corr games, and you can start playing today!
No kidding! Let's see...👇
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After
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 a move that we need to take seriously is 3. d4!?
After 3... Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 the main line has always been 5...Nbd7. I believe that 5...Bd6!? is at least as good and more interesting!
The key idea comes after 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 c5!
After
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 a move that we need to take seriously is 3. d4!?
After 3... Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 the main line has always been 5...Nbd7. I believe that 5...Bd6!? is at least as good and more interesting!
The key idea comes after 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 c5!
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And the main line runs:
8. Nc3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Bxe5 11. Qh5
(11. dxe5 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Nc6 = Dunlop -Klügel, ICCF 2021)
11... g6 12. Qxe5 Nc6 13.Qxd5 Nb4 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Be2 Nc2 16. Bg5 Re8 17. Bf3 Nxd4 18. Bd5 Be6 = Bakulin-Ntirlis, ICCF 2021
And the main line runs:
8. Nc3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Bxe5 11. Qh5
(11. dxe5 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Nc6 = Dunlop -Klügel, ICCF 2021)
11... g6 12. Qxe5 Nc6 13.Qxd5 Nb4 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Be2 Nc2 16. Bg5 Re8 17. Bf3 Nxd4 18. Bd5 Be6 = Bakulin-Ntirlis, ICCF 2021
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The next line we need to know is a Carlsen favorite:
3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3!? Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nf4 (D)
Black needs to be a bit careful here, so we need to know the antidote: 6...Nc6! 7. Nd5 Nd4 8. Nxe7 Nxe2 9. Nd5 Nd4 10. Na3 Ne6 11. f3 N4c5 12. d4 and now:
12...Nd7! 13.c3 c6=
The next line we need to know is a Carlsen favorite:
3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3!? Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nf4 (D)
Black needs to be a bit careful here, so we need to know the antidote: 6...Nc6! 7. Nd5 Nd4 8. Nxe7 Nxe2 9. Nd5 Nd4 10. Na3 Ne6 11. f3 N4c5 12. d4 and now:
12...Nd7! 13.c3 c6=
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Let's move on to the main line with 4.Nf3! After 4... Nxe4 5. Nc3 is an important line, but I found a practical and sound way to meet this in my corr games:
5... Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nd7! 8. Qd2 Ne5! 9. O O-O Nxf3 10. gxf3 Be6! (D)
Let's see another game of mine:
Let's move on to the main line with 4.Nf3! After 4... Nxe4 5. Nc3 is an important line, but I found a practical and sound way to meet this in my corr games:
5... Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nd7! 8. Qd2 Ne5! 9. O O-O Nxf3 10. gxf3 Be6! (D)
Let's see another game of mine:
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11. Qd4
(If 11. Rg1 g6 12. Qd4 Kd7! 13. Bc4 Kc8!)
11... Bf6 12. Qb4 b6 13. Rg1 O-O 14. h4 c5 15. Qe4 d5 16. Qf4 Qe7 17. h5 Rad8 18. Bd3 Kh8 19. h6 g6 20. Kb1 Bc8, Castro-Ntirlis, ICCF 2021
White risks becoming worse in these line due to their bad structure.
11. Qd4
(If 11. Rg1 g6 12. Qd4 Kd7! 13. Bc4 Kc8!)
11... Bf6 12. Qb4 b6 13. Rg1 O-O 14. h4 c5 15. Qe4 d5 16. Qf4 Qe7 17. h5 Rad8 18. Bd3 Kh8 19. h6 g6 20. Kb1 Bc8, Castro-Ntirlis, ICCF 2021
White risks becoming worse in these line due to their bad structure.
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Now, we move on to the absolute main line!
4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7!
Why this move order? After the old 6... Nc6 7. O-O
Be7 White has the annoying 8. Nbd2
but after 6...Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Nbd2 Black can play 8...O-O 9. Re1 Nd6 = is fine for Black!
Now, we move on to the absolute main line!
4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7!
Why this move order? After the old 6... Nc6 7. O-O
Be7 White has the annoying 8. Nbd2
but after 6...Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Nbd2 Black can play 8...O-O 9. Re1 Nd6 = is fine for Black!
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One of my corr games followed the main line:
6...Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Re1 O-O 9. c4 Nc6 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Rae8! (D)
14.Rb1 Bd6 15. Be3 b6 16. c4 Qe4 = Pheby - Ntirlis, ICCF 2021
Black has good pieces and better pawn structure!
One of my corr games followed the main line:
6...Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Re1 O-O 9. c4 Nc6 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Rae8! (D)
14.Rb1 Bd6 15. Be3 b6 16. c4 Qe4 = Pheby - Ntirlis, ICCF 2021
Black has good pieces and better pawn structure!
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The Petroff is the opening with the worst winning percentage of White's wins in the Lichess database.
As you saw from my own games, it leads to positions where Black enjoys the better structure.
On top of that, there are no Italian or Scotch to worry about! Less theory!
The Petroff is the opening with the worst winning percentage of White's wins in the Lichess database.
As you saw from my own games, it leads to positions where Black enjoys the better structure.
On top of that, there are no Italian or Scotch to worry about! Less theory!
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You just got a full repertoire to work with for your Black pieces, which worked against high-level corr players.
I publish this kind of material weekly. Follow me not to miss the next chess opening thread 😁
And admit it, you thought that the Petroff is boring, right?
You just got a full repertoire to work with for your Black pieces, which worked against high-level corr players.
I publish this kind of material weekly. Follow me not to miss the next chess opening thread 😁
And admit it, you thought that the Petroff is boring, right?