The Petroff Defence

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.