Caro-Kann Defense: De Bruycker Defense (3. Nc3 Nc7)
1. e4 c6 2. d4 Na6 3. Nc3 Nc7
The Caro-Kann Defense: De Bruycker Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B12, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 Na6 3. Nc3 Nc7. 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 25 times by this move order. White won 68%, 0% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 4. f4 (24% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.77 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Bd3 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. e5 d6)
- ECO
- B12
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppnppppp/2p5/8/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 Na6 3. Nc3 Nc7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 20 | |
| All | 25 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. f4 | 6 (24%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 6 (24%) | |
| 4. Be3 | 4 (16%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 3 (12%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 3 (12%) | |
| 4. d5 | 2 (8%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
94 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 16%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Gadir Guseinov (2645) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2017 · 2017-10-04
- GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan (2640) – GM Tigran L. Petrosian (2601) 1/2-1/2 · 81st ch-ARM Highest 2021 · 2021-02-20
- GM Onischuk, V. (2619) – GM Bardiya Daneshvar (2597) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
- GM Jiner Zhu (2467) – GM Bardiya Daneshvar (2597) 0-1 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Early · 2024-01-09
- GM Dusan Popovic (2531) – GM Miroslav Markovic (2459) 1-0 · TCh-SRB Premier 2016 · 2016-09-26
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: De Bruycker Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- atsaynm (2662) – SexDrugsRnR (2590) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- FNENAD (2559) – SexDrugsRnR (2540) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Pushka_strashnaya (2502) – Shefer_Aleksandr (2345) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense: De Bruycker Defense (2. d4 Na6) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 Na6
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.