Caro-Kann Defense: Hillbilly Attack
1. e4 c6 2. Bc4
The Caro-Kann Defense: Hillbilly Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B10, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. Bc4. 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 49,209 times by this move order. White won 44%, 4% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 2… d5 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.28 (Stockfish, depth 52; best line 2… d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bb3 Bf5 5. d4)
- ECO
- B10
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK1NR b KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 26,323 | |
| 1500-1999 | 21,697 | |
| 2000+ | 1,189 | |
| All | 49,209 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… d5 | 44,721 (91%) | |
| 2… e6 | 1,868 (4%) | |
| 2… d6 | 740 (2%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 500 (1%) | |
| 2… b5 | 358 (1%) | |
| 2… e5 | 226 (0%) | |
| 2… g6 | 192 (0%) | |
| 2… Qb6 | 176 (0%) |
Master games
260 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 5%, Black 63%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM So, W. (2815) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2017 · 2017-11-18
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2792) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2705) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 9th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-09
- GM Nihal Sarin (2723) – GM Grigoriy Oparin (2643) 1-0 · Titled Tue 12th May 2026 · 2026-05-12
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2607) – GM Ivan Cheparinov (2709) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz 2018 · 2018-12-30
- GM Nihal Sarin (2681) – IM Pierre Laurent-Paoli (2552) 1-0 · Titled Tue 27th Jun Late · 2023-06-27
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Hillbilly Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- CM JoeAssaad (2659) – SackOnTheKing930 (2743) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CM JoeAssaad (2661) – SackOnTheKing930 (2740) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CM JoeAssaad (2665) – Spiegelstufe (2647) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (1. e4 c6) 1. e4 c6
Continuations
- Caro-Kann Defense: Hillbilly Attack, Schaeffer Gambit B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. Bc4 d5 3. Bb3 dxe4 4. Qh5
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: Breyer Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation, Stein Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Dinic Gambit 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.