B12

Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Botvinnik-Carls Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

5,785,212 games: White 45.0% / Draw 4.9% / Black 50.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	3,232,8153.2M
	1,132,8551.1M
	761,966762K
	163,328163K
	138,341138K
	135,493135K
	83,07583K
	38,21838K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.37 White is slightly better

Best play: 4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qf4 e6 7. Bd3 Nb4 8. Nc3 Nxd3+

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

By rating

The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 52% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	1.9M
1400–1799	3.9M
1800–2199	3.1M
2200 and up	639K
Masters, over the board	7,015

Master games

So, W. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2020
Anand, V. – Mamedyarov, S. 1–0, 2019
Vachier Lagrave, M. – Anand, V. ½–½, 2017
So, W. – Ding Liren ½–½, 2023
Vachier Lagrave, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I. 0–1, 2019

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: Advance Variation, Botvinnik-Carls Defense (ECO B12, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, reached after 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 (3 moves).

In 5,785,212 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.0%, Black 50.1% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. c3, in 56% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Botvinnik-Carls Defense

4. dxc5 scores best for White: 51.7%, with White winning 49.1% and Black 45.7% of 1.1M games. The most played answer, 4. c3, scores lowest: 46.2% in 3.2M games. Stockfish's first choice is 4. Nf3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Botvinnik-Carls Defense is played more than four times as often as in 2016: 0.31% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.074%.

0.074%0.31%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.074%	26,416
2017	0.11%	58,967
2018	0.14%	107,894
2019	0.14%	172,261
2020	0.13%	374,490
2021	0.17%	661,089
2022	0.22%	820,629
2023	0.25%	953,718
2024	0.29%	1,046,102
2025	0.31%	1,091,279
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.33%	363,835

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Botvinnik-Carls Defense (B12)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/caro-kann-defense-advance-variation-botvinnik-carls-defense