The Petroff Defence is universally recognized as one of Black’s soundest responses to 1.e4, having been tried and tested by a host of World Champions and other elite players.This book shows how you too can harness the power of this top-class opening. Playing the Petroff offers an ideal solution for practical players.GM Swapnil Dhopade presents a compact yet bulletproof repertoire for Black, drawing on the games of leading Petroff specialists such as Gelfand, Caruana and Kramnik.This book also provides guidance on how to deal with 1.e4 e5 games where White avoids 2.Nf3, with particular focus on ‘Anti-Petroff ’ lines such as 2.Bc4. If you want a world-class repertoire but lack a world-class memory, this is the book for you.