English Opening: Caro-Kann Defensive System
Chess opening · ECO A11 · 2 half-moves
1. c4 c6
The English Opening: Caro-Kann Defensive System is reached after 1. c4 c6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the English Opening with 1… c6.
How often it is played
The English Opening: Caro-Kann Defensive System and its variations appeared in 0.18% of games — 5,408 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 197 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 48%, 4.7% were drawn and Black won 47%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.33 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| English Opening: King's English Variation | 1. c4 e5 | 0.87% |
| English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense | 1. c4 Nf6 | 0.46% |
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense | 1. c4 e6 | 0.38% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, Gurevich System | 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 | 0.02% |
| Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, with g3 | 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 | 0.02% |
Check your own games
Paste a game, or share one straight from lichess or chess.com, and Chess Analyzer names the opening, marks where the game left known theory and grades every move after it.
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