Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation (4. Nf3 Nc6)
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6
The Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B13, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6. 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 9,093 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bb5 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.13 (Stockfish, depth 52; best line 5. c3 a6 6. Nbd2 Qc7 7. Bd3 Bg4)
- ECO
- B13
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp2pppp/2n5/3p4/3P4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,886 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,601 | |
| 2000+ | 1,606 | |
| All | 9,093 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bb5 | 2,602 (29%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 1,735 (19%) | |
| 5. c3 | 1,115 (12%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 1,101 (12%) | |
| 5. c4 | 786 (9%) | |
| 5. Be2 | 708 (8%) | |
| 5. h3 | 389 (4%) | |
| 5. Be3 | 207 (2%) |
Master games
1,605 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 20%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2768) 1-0 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-28
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2753) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2817) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz 2018 · 2018-12-29
- GM So, W. (2753) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-13
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) – GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2689) 1-0 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-28
- GM Awonder Liang (2719) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2795) 1/2-1/2 · American Cup Champ · 2026-03-06
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM gmbrewchess (2992) – FM juancruzariasTDF (2751) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Normal_one (2654) – FleakyGorgoz (2865) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Johnizard (2733) – Nut5105 (2721) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation (3. exd5 cxd5) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5
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.