Caro-Kann Defense: Ulysses Gambit
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5
The Caro-Kann Defense: Ulysses Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B12, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5. 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 442 times by this move order. White won 45%, 5% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (46% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.77 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4… Bf5 5. g4 Bg6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bg2)
- ECO
- B12
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/6N1/3Pp3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Ng5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 235 | |
| 1500-1999 | 173 | |
| 2000+ | 34 | |
| All | 442 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 204 (46%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 116 (26%) | |
| 4… h6 | 27 (6%) | |
| 4… e6 | 21 (5%) | |
| 4… f5 | 17 (4%) | |
| 4… e5 | 11 (2%) | |
| 4… Nh6 | 10 (2%) | |
| 4… Qd5 | 9 (2%) |
Master games
5 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 20%, draw 0%, Black 80%). The strongest:
- WFM Maria Larina (1948) – FM Viktor Romanchuk (2266) 0-1 · Titled Tue 23rd Jan Early · 2024-01-23
- Loftur Baldvinsson (2007) – Elsa Maria Kristinardottir (1822) 0-1 · N1 Reykjavik Open 2014 · 2014-03-12
- Carlos Ernesto G. Friedrich (1786) – Sidnei Silvestre da Silva (1571) 1-0 · 2nd Floripa Open 2016 · 2016-01-19
- Darima Sargaeva (1498) – Marieta Khachatryan (1761) 0-1 · 16th Moscow Open Women · 2020-01-26
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense: Ulysses Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- REANIMATOR333 (2393) – elitewarriorscoach (2284) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
- ritzbert (2261) – Samurai_73 (2257) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- zonetripper (2211) – baer09 (2288) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Caro-Kann Defense (2. d4 d5) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5
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.