Caro-Kann Defense (1. e4 c6)
1. e4 c6
The Caro-Kann Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B10, reached after 1. e4 c6. White is to move. 10 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 675,625 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (45% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.31 (Stockfish, depth 58; best line 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 cxd4)
- ECO
- B10
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 c6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 235,879 | |
| 1500-1999 | 349,009 | |
| 2000+ | 90,737 | |
| All | 675,625 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. d4 Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. d4) | 304,696 (45%) | |
| 2. Nf3 | 184,156 (27%) | |
| 2. Bc4 Hillbilly Attack | 49,209 (7%) | |
| 2. Nc3 Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. Nc3) | 48,662 (7%) | |
| 2. f4 | 25,400 (4%) | |
| 2. d3 Breyer Variation | 16,724 (2%) | |
| 2. c4 Accelerated Panov Attack (1… c6 2. c4) | 14,706 (2%) | |
| 2. e5 | 7,463 (1%) |
Master games
13,500 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 19%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) – LCZero 0.33-dev-f6ec55c-BT4-6147500-it332 (3749) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-22
- LCZero 0.33-dev-f6ec55c-BT4-6147500-it332 (3749) – Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-19
- Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) – Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-11
- Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) – Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-08
- Integral 7.0.0-dev-453c1dc4 (3735) – Obsidian dev-16.15 (3714) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-16
Search all games of the Caro-Kann Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2896) – GM gmbrewchess (2968) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2850) – GM gmbrewchess (2991) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2904) – IM Kostik_Mostik (2896) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Pawn Game (1. e4) 1. e4
Continuations
- Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. Nc3) B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3
- Caro-Kann Defense (1… c6 2. d4) B12 · 1. e4 c6 2. d4
- Caro-Kann Defense: Accelerated Panov Attack (1… c6 2. c4) B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. c4
- Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. d3
- Caro-Kann Defense: Euwe Attack B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. b3
- Caro-Kann Defense: Hillbilly Attack B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. Bc4
- Caro-Kann Defense: Labahn Attack B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. b4
- Caro-Kann Defense: Spike Variation B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. g4
- Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Offer B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3
- Caro-Kann Defense: Apocalypse Attack B10 · 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5
More Caro-Kann Defense lines (all)
- Caro-Kann Defense (2. Nc3 d5) 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: Breyer Variation, Stein Attack B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Dinic Gambit B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Goldman Variation B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Hector Gambit B10
- Caro-Kann Defense: Hillbilly Attack, Schaeffer 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.