Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Seirawan Variation
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ngf6 11. Bd2 e6 12. O-O-O Bd6
The Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Seirawan Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B19, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ngf6 11. Bd2 e6 12. O-O-O Bd6. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 5 times by this move order. White won 60%, 0% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 13. Ne4 (80% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.43 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 13. Rde1 Qc7 14. Nf5 Bf8 15. Rh4 O-O-O)
- ECO
- B19
- Moves
- 24 plies
- FEN
r2qk2r/pp1n1pp1/2pbpn1p/7P/3P4/3Q1NN1/PPPB1PP1/2KR3R w kq - 2 13- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ngf6 11. Bd2 e6 12. O-O-O Bd6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 13. Ne4 | 4 (80%) | |
| 13. Kb1 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
16 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 69%, draw 12%, Black 19%). The strongest:
- GM Mathias Womacka (2341) – WFM Lisa Sickmann (2251) 1-0 · Titled Tue 17th Dec Early · 2024-12-17
- FM Borivoje Vujacic (2254) – Marko Zivkovic (2132) 1-0 · 29th Belgrade Trophy 2015 · 2015-11-29
- Madalin Andronescu (2006) – IM Predrag Bodiroga (2303) 1/2-1/2 · 35th Pula Open 2023 · 2023-06-18
- FM Thomas, Dr. Wessendorf (2263) – WCM Veronika Shubenkova (2002) 0-1 · Titled Tue 1st Nov Early · 2022-11-01
- Martin Sekac (2090) – FM Vit Vaclav Valenta (2148) 0-1 · 13th IPCA World Championship · 2013-06-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- variastrix (2228) – Rashaddd88 (2274) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- fastblitzer_cgn (2172) – Hans_Knappertsbusch (2132) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Gpermin (2161) – BullyBrother (2044) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 3s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky Variation 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5
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.