Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4
The Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B12, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 7,613 times by this move order. White won 54%, 5% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 4… h5 (52% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… h5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 e6 7. Nf3)
- ECO
- B12
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rn1qkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3pPb2/3P3P/8/PPP2PP1/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 761 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,825 | |
| 2000+ | 3,027 | |
| All | 7,613 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… h5 | 3,961 (52%) | |
| 4… h6 | 2,185 (29%) | |
| 4… e6 | 924 (12%) | |
| 4… Qb6 | 136 (2%) | |
| 4… a6 | 100 (1%) | |
| 4… c5 | 99 (1%) | |
| 4… Bd7 | 45 (1%) | |
| 4… f6 | 25 (0%) |
Master games
12,231 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 21%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) – ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-30
- ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-27
- LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) – Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-30
- Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) – LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-30
- Stockfish 20210113 (3601) – LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-23
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM AngelitoRT (2880) – IM Kostik_Mostik (2896) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- InvisibleGuest2023 (2838) – IM Kostik_Mostik (2881) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- InvisibleGuest2023 (2842) – IM Kostik_Mostik (2877) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
More Caro-Kann Defense lines (all)
- Caro-Kann Defense (1. e4 c6) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. Nc3) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense (2. Nc3 d5) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack (1… c6 2. c4) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack (2. c4 d5) B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Modern Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Open Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Pseudo-Scandinavian B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack, Van Weersel Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Apocalypse Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation, Stein Attack B10
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.