B12

Caro-Kann Defense 1…c6 2. d4

Chess diagram: Caro-Kann Defense after 2. d4

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Statistics from Lichess

68,609,180 games: White 48.4% / Draw 5.3% / Black 46.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	63,455,04663.5M
	2,544,3772.5M
	1,053,4711.1M
	589,243589K
	141,523142K
Masi Variation	138,489138K
	101,393101K
	98,52099K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.34 White is slightly better

Best play: 2... d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 51% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	15.5M
1400–1799	35.8M
1800–2199	40.4M
2200 and up	7.4M
Masters, over the board	86K

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026

Overview

Caro-Kann Defense (ECO B12, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Caro-Kann Defense, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 (2 moves).

In 68,609,180 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.4%, Black 46.2% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…d5, in 92% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Caro-Kann Defense: Masi Variation and Caro-Kann Defense: De Bruycker Defense. In all, 74 named lines continue from it.

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Description

Popularity by year

This line has gained ground since 2016: 3.1% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 1.9%.

1.9%3.1%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	1.9%	679,219
2017	2.3%	1,239,825
2018	2.5%	1,934,037
2019	2.3%	2,918,872
2020	2.2%	6,514,244
2021	2.3%	9,128,764
2022	2.6%	9,748,898
2023	2.8%	10,503,232
2024	3.0%	10,609,467
2025	3.1%	10,653,203
2026 (Jan–Apr)	3.2%	3,461,273

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (4)

All 74 named lines that continue from here

Loading sub-variations…

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Caro-Kann Defense (B12)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/caro-kann-defense-3