Caro-Kann Defense: Apocalypse Attack
1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5
The Caro-Kann Defense: Apocalypse Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B10, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5. 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 1,311 times by this move order. White won 52%, 5% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nc6 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… Nc6 5. d4 a6 6. c4 Nxe5 7. dxe5)
- ECO
- B10
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/8/3pN3/8/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 417 | |
| 1500-1999 | 512 | |
| 2000+ | 382 | |
| All | 1,311 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nc6 | 510 (39%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 349 (27%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 133 (10%) | |
| 4… a6 | 86 (7%) | |
| 4… e6 | 53 (4%) | |
| 4… Nd7 | 37 (3%) | |
| 4… f6 | 35 (3%) | |
| 4… Be6 | 24 (2%) |
Master games
1,740 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 21%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Sam Shankland (2705) – GM Liren Ding (2811) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2019 · 2019-09-02
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2737) – GM So, W. (2780) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2018 · 2018-11-30
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2748) – GM Yi Wei (2741) 1-0 · Armageddon: Chess for TV · 2019-06-14
- GM Peter Svidler (2723) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) 1/2-1/2 · Skilling Open Prelim · 2020-11-22
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2723) – GM Jorden Van Foreest (2679) 1/2-1/2 · 9th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2023-12-11
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Apocalypse Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kasparov_Aram (2641) – GM Fabsid (2792) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM AngelitoRT (2875) – FM leonkiller77 (2558) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- suyijia2004 (2755) – IM Romsta (2637) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (1. e4 c6) 1. e4 c6
More Caro-Kann Defense lines (all)
- 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: Breyer Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation, Stein Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Dinic Gambit B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Offer 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.