The 3-Hour Petroff MoveTrainer® Opening course by Nikolaos Ntirlis (2443 ICCF Online Rating) Rel 30 Jan 2025

There’s No Need to Panic With the 3-Hour Petroff in Your Pocket

“I don’t have time to study openings endlessly and just want to play!”

Sound familiar? It’s the problem correspondence IM Nikolaos Ntirlis was posed when he was working as a second. The Petroff was his answer.

This finely honed repertoire gives you an ultra-solid opening against 1.e4. It works best if you’re already familiar with 1.e4 e5 openings, so if you’re already a 1…e5 player, then this is the perfect addition to your arsenal of opening ideas.

The foundation of this opening is one key idea, where White just doesn’t have a ton of alternatives, so you’ll be able to dictate play and force the game into territory you understand.

Ntirlis takes a deeper dive into the key ideas and model games, which will give you a better understanding of the Petroff overall. But the critical lines will take you less than an hour to learn and will be easy to refresh before any game.

Almost 70% of Petroff games are in this line, limiting your workload massively

The Petroff has a well-earned reputation as a solid opening, but that doesn’t make it inherently drawish. You’ll still be able to get rich positions, often with opposite-side castling, so your chances to play for a win won’t be limited.

Black shouldn’t be afraid of counter-attacking

The main lines are covered, including the 3 Knights, 3.d4 and even the Cochrane Gambit. There’s also a bonus chapter giving you quick and easy antidotes against the 2nd move sidelines – which gives you great little surprise weapons against the King’s Gambit, the Vienna, and more!

2.Nf6!? is a rare sideline that few White players will be familiar with

Nikolaos Ntirlis is a well known author, writing regularly for Quality Chess and co-authoring several books with GM Jacob Aagaard. He works regularly for grandmasters as a second. He uses his knowledge as an engine specialist to keep on top, and even create, the most cutting- edge opening theory.