Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation, Modern Variation, Kasparov Attack
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3
The Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation, Modern Variation, Kasparov Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B17, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 355 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 6… e6 (65% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 6… e6 7. a4 b6 8. a5 a6 9. c4)
- ECO
- B17
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp1npppp/2p2n2/8/3P4/5NN1/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 4 6- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 11 | |
| 1500-1999 | 191 | |
| 2000+ | 153 | |
| All | 355 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… e6 | 232 (65%) | |
| 6… Nb6 | 50 (14%) | |
| 6… g6 | 33 (9%) | |
| 6… Qc7 | 15 (4%) | |
| 6… h5 | 11 (3%) | |
| 6… c5 | 7 (2%) | |
| 6… h6 | 2 (1%) | |
| 6… Qb6 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
433 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 26%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- Fire 021819 (3752) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-29
- LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) – Fire 021819 (3752) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-25
- GM Ruslan Ponomariov (2709) – GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2749) 1/2-1/2 · European Blitz 2016 · 2016-12-18
- GM Gadir Guseinov (2603) – GM Peter Leko (2732) 1/2-1/2 · 29th ECC Open 2013 · 2013-10-26
- GM Axel Bachmann (2599) – GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2719) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 9th June · 2020-06-09
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM liczner (2713) – GM Atomrod (2567) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- FM AdamCollins (2610) – GM Atomrod (2593) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Sarah_Kerrigan (2509) – BabylonSystem (2478) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (3. Nc3 dxe4) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4
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.