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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nf6/3. Nxe5/3...Nxe4

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Petrov's Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 white knightf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black knightf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/8/4N3/4n3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4

Black has entered an inferior variation of Petrov's Defence. This position is usually only seen among beginners. White's response is 4. Qe2, which threatens the black knight on e4.

If black decides to move the knight away, perhaps with Nf6, white will respond with Nc6+! which threatens black's queen and gives discovered check from the white queen down the e-file. As black must move their king or block the check, the queen will be lost on the next turn with Nxd8 or Nxe7 if black moved Qe7 to block the check.

Thus, black's best move is not to move the knight. Attempting to protect it with d5 or f5 usually ends poorly, as the knight is pinned and white can pile on attackers with f3 and d3.

However, after the planned Qe2-Qxe4, white's queen will be undefended, which black can exploit via the sequence 4.Qe2 Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6, winning the piece back at the cost of the d-pawn.

Ultimately this line is a pawn sacrifice for which black obtains some compensation. It is unclear whether the compensation is objectively sufficient, but it offers decent practical chances, especially at faster time controls.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4

4
Qe2
-		 +/=

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References

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Wikipedia has related information at Petrovs Defence

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