Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7
The Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B17, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7. It is a line of the Caro-Kann Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 896 times by this move order. White won 48%, 7% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nf3 (49% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. c3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Nf3 Bg4)
- ECO
- B17
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1npppp/2p5/8/3PN3/8/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 37 | |
| 1500-1999 | 404 | |
| 2000+ | 455 | |
| All | 896 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nf3 | 439 (49%) | |
| 5. Ng5 Karpov Variation, Modern Variation | 138 (15%) | |
| 5. Bc4 | 104 (12%) | |
| 5. Qe2 | 67 (7%) | |
| 5. Bd3 | 62 (7%) | |
| 5. c3 | 28 (3%) | |
| 5. Ng3 | 25 (3%) | |
| 5. c4 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
668 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 29%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Peter Svidler (2765) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2782) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2017 · 2017-12-28
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – GM Leon Luke Mendonca (2628) 1-0 · Titled Tue 29th Aug Early · 2023-08-29
- GM Yangyi Yu (2664) – GM Liren Ding (2717) 1/2-1/2 · ch-CHN 2014 · 2014-03-11
- GM Gadir Guseinov (2631) – GM Gata Kamsky (2741) 1-0 · FIDE World Rapid 2013 · 2013-06-08
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) – GM Axel Bachmann (2604) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th May Early · 2023-05-30
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- puziko52 (2832) – Pyama_Ninja (2820) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM SpeedMonkey (2638) – GM Sigma_Tauri (2830) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- IM SpeedMonkey (2640) – Nut5105 (2693) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense: Main Line 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4
Continuations
- Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation, Modern Variation B17 · 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5
- Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation, Tiviakov-Fischer Attack B17 · 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6
- Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation, Smyslov Variation B17 · 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6 7. Qe2 Nb6
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.