Does anyone know how to put life into the petroff

Sacrificing a piece in the opening? no thanks!

I like the 5.Nc3 line. The point is to castle queenside so that

1) I have pressure on the semiopen d file, that makes it harder for black to advance his c pawn

2) my doubled pawns are actually good in fending off a pawnstorm, while I can advance my kingside pawns at will

3) better development: note that black's Q-knight was not ideal on c6 because of my c pawn, so he had to spend 2 moves to develop it to c5.

But most of all, black played the Petroff to have a boring and drawish position...and we answer with opposite-side castling! eheh, serves him right.

Thanks , a safer option there but it seems to me that the Nxf7 is sharper and I have it on good authority that a beginner such as myself should play the sharpest lines so as to familiarize myself with various tactics :)

I don't know whether I necessarily buy the advice of your "good authority"...

Or it can lead straight into Yawn City with the Four Knights.

You could always try the Cochrane gambit with Nxf7

What, and give away a piece in the opening?  No way!

The yawn variation (a.k.a. 4-Knights) is a deadly weapon. Once your opponent starts yawning, he's through!

OK. Let's liven up the Petroff.

Petroff was a monk in the Klavidian Sect in the Siberian wilderness. He studied the Qabbalah, the runes and herbal medicine. One day he did his horoscope. Since Saturn was square Neptune Petroff decided that it was a time for a long journey. So he went north. The runes told him to go north. Then he fell over a cliff and perished. But he became a mighty spirit called Petroffovska. This is the story of the life of Petroff.

A way to avoid the Petroff (and some other systems) is to play 1.e4, e5; 2.d4, ed4;, 3.Nf3 and transpose into the Scotch.

dashkee except if Black plays something other than 3...Nc6 ;)

Well, 3....Bc5 is OK, but 3....Nc6 is the most natural, transposing.  In blitz games, I get a lot of 3....c5, but those pawns blocking the a7-g1 diagonal can't be good.  And if, after 3....Nc6; 4.Bc4 is a good line.

From the Petroff, with the move order 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nc3 Nc6 4 d4, can White force play towards the Scotch Game?

Sure, it's a Scotch Four Knights, which has been employed successfully by many top players in recent years. That's one of the lines I had in mind when I suggested 3.Nc3.

jempty's pet line against the Scotch Gambit is OK but simply 4.Bc4 Nf6 leaves White with no way to fight for an opening advantage.

Petroff Theory is huge.  Many gambits to choose from on the white side.

Try buying a good book first.  Reading comes second.  Posting Last. 

And it's only "drawish" at the GM level.  The tactics remain wild and crazy in most lines.

All the great WCCs played it.  What's not to like?

Yep, the Petroff needs a hug.

I also don't like to face the Petroff.

What is the main recommendation to liven things up without sacrificing a knight at move 4?

Andy, what would you play?

yes Andyclifton i am Instant Messenger with one Grand Instant Messenger norm :) ... the line with 5. Nc3 playing with the doubled pawns and oposite wings castle is also very interesting and without any doubt gives white more chances of obtain opening advantage than the sacrifice 4. Nxf7!? the only advantage of the sacrifice is that is less known. There is a lot of options 3.d4 is one of my favorites. And also playing with 3.Nxe5,d6 4. Nf3, Nxe4 5. d4 gives white reasonable winning chances. The Petrov is drawish just if white wants with a line like 5. Qe2 =. This is the problem of the Petrov with black. But with white there is a lot of ways to sharp the position...

3...Bb4+ is most likely what Petroff players will play and is probably better than transposing into the Scotch.

How many FIDE ratings do you not know here? But i agree about 4.Nxf7.

Nxf7 is actually by far the highest scoring move for white at that point.