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
The Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky 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. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 126 times by this move order. White won 52%, 7% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 8… Bh7 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 8… Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Ne4)
- ECO
- B19
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
r2qkbnr/pp1nppp1/2p3bp/7P/3P4/5NN1/PPP2PP1/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 8- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 25 | |
| 2000+ | 101 | |
| All | 126 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Bh7 | 126 (100%) |
Master games
684 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 35%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Anish Giri (2732) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2785) 1/2-1/2 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-16
- GM Michael Adams (2722) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2783) 1-0 · 1st FIDE GP London 2012 · 2012-10-01
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2674) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 4th Apr Late · 2023-04-04
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2621) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2746) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss · 2019-10-20
- GM Peter Svidler (2723) – GM Baadur Jobava (2603) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 29th Dec · 2020-12-29
Highest-rated Lichess games
- malaida-annamalai (2575) – GM Fabsid (2795) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- IM nooartur (2595) – Knuspermeister2 (2713) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- FM k_zhitnik (2673) – koonta (2563) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation (7. Nf3 Nd7) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7
Continuations
- Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Lobron System B19 · 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 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7
- Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Seirawan Variation B19 · 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
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.