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Petroff Defence: Classical Attack — Part 1 of 2

Caruana–Giri, Reggio Emilia 2011 · Grischuk–Gelfand, FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss 2019 · 5:38 · ECO C42

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In this video

Game 1: Fabiano Caruana (2727) vs Anish Giri (2714)

Reggio Emilia 2011, 31 December 2011 · Black won (0-1) · 33 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 6...Be7The first move after the opening line0:30
  2. 23.h3The evaluation moves from −0.62 to −1.751:44
  3. 24.Kf1Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here1:49
  4. 25.Qc2The evaluation moves from −2.77 to −6.621:54
  5. 33...Qg3The evaluation moves from −8.59 to −10.002:36
  6. 33...Qg3Black wins after 33 moves2:36

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Alexander Grischuk (2759) vs Boris Gelfand (2686)

FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss 2019, 21 October 2019 · White won (1-0) · 36 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 6...Be7The first move after the opening line3:06
  2. 27...Rf8White stays more than two pawns ahead from here4:42
  3. 28...Qxa4The evaluation moves from +2.62 to +4.504:48
  4. 32...Rxc7The evaluation moves from +7.21 to +9.725:08
  5. 34.Rc8+The evaluation moves from +7.22 to +9.835:15
  6. 36.Qxf5+White wins after 36 moves5:25

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 the position is symmetrical in pawns, but Black's knight sits actively on e4 while White develops with tempo against it. White usually aims to undermine that knight with c4 or Re1 and to make use of a small lead in development. Black relies on the outpost, quick castling and piece activity to keep the balance.

Caruana–Giri, Reggio Emilia 2011, went 6...Be7 7.c4 Bb4+ 8.Nbd2, and Black gave up the centre with 10...dxc4 while keeping the knight on e4. After 14...f5 and 16...Qf6 Black's pieces gathered on the kingside, and 17.Nc5 Bxc5 18.dxc5 left White with doubled c-pawns. The game was level until 23.h3, which took the score from −0.62 to −1.75. After 25.Qc2 it fell from −2.77 to −6.62, because 25...Nxf2 26.Kxf2 Bxf3 27.gxf3 Qh4+ broke open White's king (−7.43 after 26.Kxf2). Black won with 33...Qg3.

Grischuk–Gelfand, Grand Swiss 2019, took a slower course: 7.O-O Bf5 8.Ne5 led to exchanges on c3, d3 and e5. White kept a pawn on e5, followed with f4 and d4, and doubled rooks on the c-file, edging up from +0.75 at 16.d4 to +1.68 at 26.Qe2. The break 28.c4 opened the queenside, 28...Qxa4 lifted the score to +4.50, and 31.Qg5 reached +7.35. White won after 36.Qxf5+. Where Game 1 turned on a direct attack on the king, this game was decided by structural pressure.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Caruana vs Giri, Reggio Emilia 2011
  3. 2:45Game 2: Grischuk vs Gelfand, FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss 2019

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3

See every video from this position →