The Petroff Defense for Black – Part 2 + PGN June 18, 2026

The Petroff Defense for Black – Part 2: Closing Every Gap After 1.e4 e5

The lines nobody studies

Ask a Petroff player where they actually lose games, and the answer is rarely the heavily studied main line. It is the 3.d4 they never looked at, the quiet knight retreat that turns into a slow squeeze, the offbeat third move that drags them somewhere unfamiliar before the position even settles. Those losses come from the lines filed under “sidelines” — which is precisely the word this volume sets out to retire.

Part 2 completes the repertoire begun in Part 1. Where the first volume settled the absolute main line with 3.Nxe5, this one covers every other White attempt after 2.Nf3 Nf6 — and the largest of them is anything but a sideline.

Where the real fight is

The centerpiece is the Steinitz Petroff with 3.d4, a genuinely dangerous and increasingly fashionable try seen at the top in classical, rapid and blitz alike. Five full chapters are devoted to it, met head-on with 3…Nxe4 and a complete answer built on engine analysis and modern praxis.

The headline recommendation is the revival of 7…Qh4 in the 5.Nxe5 lines — an old, almost forgotten idea brought back to create immediate imbalance and attacking chances against the white king. It is the clearest expression of the series’ argument: the Petroff is a fighting opening, not a peace treaty.

Around these come the surprise weapons club players love to spring — the Cochrane Gambit, the knight retreats 4.Nd3 and 4.Nc4, the Three Knights with 3.Nc3, and the quiet 3.d3 — each neutralized with a clear, practical plan.

Map of variations

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 — White’s 3rd move

• 3.d4 Nxe4 (Steinitz Petroff)
  • 4.dxe5 d5 → Chapter 1
  • 4.Bd3 d5
    • 5.dxe5 → Chapter 2
    • 5.Nxe5 Nd7
      • 6.O-O → Chapter 3
      • 6.Nc3 → Chapter 4
      • 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.O-O Qh4 (main recommendation) → Chapter 5
• 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7 Kxf7 (Cochrane Gambit) → Chapter 6
• 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nd3 → Chapter 7
• 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nc4 → Chapter 8
• 3.Nc3 Bb4 (Three Knights) → Chapter 9
• 3.d3 (KIA / reversed Philidor) → Chapter 10

What’s included

• 10 chapters of theory
• 20 test positions
• Memory Booster
• To Go version of every chapter
• Video instruction
• Multilingual PGN (English, German, French, Spanish)

Completing the repertoire

This volume is the second half of a two-part series. Together with The Petroff Defense for Black – Part 1, it covers every White move after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 — the main line and every sideline — leaving no gap for an opponent to exploit.