Caro-Kann Defense: Massachusetts Defense
1. e4 c6 2. d4 f5
The Caro-Kann Defense: Massachusetts Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B12, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 f5. 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 27 times by this move order. White won 44%, 4% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 3. e5 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.62 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 3. exf5 Qa5+ 4. c3 d6 5. Bc4 Qxf5)
- ECO
- B12
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1pp1pp/2p5/5p2/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 f5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 9 | |
| 1500-1999 | 15 | |
| 2000+ | 3 | |
| All | 27 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. e5 | 13 (48%) | |
| 3. exf5 | 11 (41%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 3 (11%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- robertobasile (2075) – yuras777 (2099) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 0s
- Rizvan1990rus (2107) – yuras777 (2030) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
- AL-WALEED (2059) – retake00 (2059) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. d4) 1. e4 c6 2. d4
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.