Petroff an Overview

Hi guys! I heard many times that the Petroff Defense is dull and drawish but even if this is true for Grandmasters, I don't know any opening that is a draw at club level. In fact I see a contradiction here, because I have played a lot of French Defense on chess.com and the majority of players answer with the Exchange! This is also considered by some a draw but most of the games here are decisive! 

Okay let's do an overview of the Petroff with 3 variations.

1) MAIN LINE

The Black counterattack on e4 is the idea of this smart defense but the second player should know that the d6 move is important to kick the Knight first before Black takes the pawn. White has tried different Knight moves, Nf3 is the standard response but Magnus has even played Nd3 (and then Nf4) at World Championship vs Caruana. Well these positions are almost symmetrical but not as much of a draw as a French Exchange  ( I started to play the Caro-Kan because of this).

2) FASHIONABLE LINE

Well now we have a modern and exciting game! Opposite side castling and march the h-pawn down the board. White has doubled pawns but this strengthens his or her castling position. Both players will have chances here. Black may also try to castle long in this variation but I think it will need some untangling of the pieces while 0-0 is more natural.

3) GRINDER'S CHOICE

This is similar to the first but with the Queens off the board. Well this does not mean that the game is simple, even a pure pawn endgame can be difficult to solve! Here also White is some tempi up and ready to castle.

That's all for now and never play for the draw even if you play the Petroff!

Best wishes!