Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation
1. e4 c6 2. d3
The Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B10, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d3. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 16,724 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 2… d5 (92% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.03 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 2… d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. dxe4 Qxd1+ 5. Kxd1)
- ECO
- B10
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/3P4/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5,989 | |
| 1500-1999 | 8,061 | |
| 2000+ | 2,674 | |
| All | 16,724 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… d5 | 15,414 (92%) | |
| 2… d6 | 412 (2%) | |
| 2… e6 | 255 (2%) | |
| 2… e5 | 171 (1%) | |
| 2… g6 | 135 (1%) | |
| 2… b5 | 59 (0%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 49 (0%) | |
| 2… Qb6 | 47 (0%) |
Master games
3,924 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 20%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM So, W. (2815) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 5m+2spm 2017 · 2017-11-18
- GM Yangyi Yu (2752) – GM Liren Ding (2805) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2019 · 2019-08-13
- GM Anish Giri (2779) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2774) 1/2-1/2 · Levitov Chess Week Blitz · 2019-08-03
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2784) 1-0 · Speed Chess Super Swiss · 2020-10-03
- GM Yangyi Yu (2752) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2750) 0-1 · Saint Louis Blitz 2019 · 2019-08-13
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Pookinator (2773) – JeromePanoSoler (2721) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Lord_Philidor (2828) – AlwaysLookingForMore (2664) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- kasparik_garik (2629) – forgiants (2830) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (1. e4 c6) 1. e4 c6
Continuations
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation, Stein Attack B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. Ngf3 Bg7 5. g3 e5 6. Bg2 Ne7 7. O-O O-O 8. b4
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: Apocalypse Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Dinic Gambit B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Offer B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Variation 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.