Tree path 3 levels King's Pawn Game › Caro-Kann Defense › Caro-Kann Defense
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game B00
- Caro-Kann Defense B10
- Caro-Kann Defense B12 you are here
Caro-Kann Defense
Overview
Caro-Kann Defense is a variation within the Semi-Open Games family, indexed as ECO B12.
The Semi-Open Games group covers semi-open games — replies to 1.e4 where Black declines the symmetrical 1…e5 in favour of an asymmetric pawn structure.
Play reaches this position via 1. e4 c6 2. d4, after 3 plies of opening development.
It is a variation of Caro-Kann Defense, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
It branches into 4 notable variations — Caro-Kann Defense, De Bruycker Defense, Masi Variation, and others.
Below the direct variations, the full subtree contains 74 documented sub-variations.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- B12
- Group
- Semi-Open Games (B)
- Plies
- 3
- Parent
- Caro-Kann Defense
- Direct variations
- 4
- Total in subtree
- 74
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
68,609,180 games · White 48.4% / Draw 5.3% / Black 46.2%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| d5 | 63,455,046 | |
| d6 | 2,544,377 | |
| e6 | 1,053,471 | |
| g6 | 589,243 | |
| Qc7 | 141,523 | |
| Nf6 | 138,489 | |
| b5 | 101,393 | |
| a6 | 98,520 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 00:52:33
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Variations (4)
Show all 74 sub-variations (full subtree)
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