B12

Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Van der Wiel Attack

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Statistics from Lichess

1,231,780 games: White 46.2% / Draw 4.4% / Black 49.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	1,117,8361.1M
	25,21425K
	22,08322K
	16,90917K
	14,00214K
Dreyev Defense	11,81912K
	9,8629,862
	5,5795,579

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 11, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.10 The position is about equal

Best play: 4... e6 5. Bd3 Ne7 6. h4 Bxd3 7. cxd3 Nf5 8. Nf3 h5 9. Ne2

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 50% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 51% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	528K
1400–1799	1M
1800–2199	581K
2200 and up	133K
Masters, over the board	2,669

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 27, 2026

Overview

Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Van der Wiel Attack (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 Bf5 4. Nc3 (4 moves).

In 1,231,780 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.2%, Black 49.4% and 4.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…e6, in 91% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Van der Wiel Attack, Dreyev Defense.

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Description

Popularity by year

The Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Van der Wiel Attack peaked in 2018 at 0.051% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.043% in 2025.

0.047%0.043%0.051%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.047%	16,803
2017	0.05%	27,408
2018	0.051%	40,159
2019	0.048%	59,655
2020	0.048%	140,710
2021	0.05%	196,831
2022	0.05%	186,994
2023	0.048%	181,429
2024	0.046%	163,577
2025	0.043%	150,526
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.043%	47,471

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 (2)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Van der Wiel Attack (B12)”. Lichess data as of 11 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/caro-kann-defense-advance-variation-van-der-wiel-attack