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Horatio Caro
H Caro 
Circa 1905, Wikimedia Commons.  

Number of games in database: 143
Years covered: 1886 to 1908
Overall record: +45 -50 =48 (48.3%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Queen's Pawn Game (20) 
    D02 D05 A41 D00
 Vienna Opening (9) 
    C29 C25
 Queen's Gambit Declined (4) 
    D30 D37
 King's Indian Attack (4) 
    A07
 Reti System (4) 
    A04
 Bishop's Opening (4) 
    C23 C24
With the Black pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (16) 
    C65 C70 C67 C61 C60
 Caro-Kann (9) 
    B15 B13 B18 B10
 Petrov (7) 
    C42
 Vienna Opening (6) 
    C29 C25 C26 C28
 Four Knights (5) 
    C49
 Queen's Pawn Game (5) 
    D02 D00 D05
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   H Caro vs Lasker, 1890 1-0
   L Forgacs vs H Caro, 1904 0-1
   H Caro vs W Kunze, 1904 1-0
   H Caro vs von Scheve, 1888 1-0
   A Neumann vs H Caro, 1905 0-1
   H Caro vs Schiffers, 1897 1-0
   I Kopa vs H Caro, 1905 1/2-1/2
   B Lasker vs H Caro, 1886 0-1
   M Lewitt vs H Caro, 1905 0-1
   Blackburne vs H Caro, 1898 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Winawer - Caro (1892)
   Berlin (1890)
   Berlin Jubilee (1907)
   Barmen Meisterturnier B (1905)
   Berlin (1897)
   14th DSB Congress, Coburg (1904)
   Vienna (1898)


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HORATIO CARO
(born Jul-05-1862, died Dec-15-1920, 58 years old) United Kingdom

[what is this?]

Horatio Caro was born in England but spent most of his chess career in Berlin, Germany. He handed future world champion Emanuel Lasker the shortest loss of his career in H Caro vs Lasker, 1890. Caro won the 1904 Berlin Championship, half a point ahead of Ossip Bernstein and Rudolf Spielmann. He lost matches to Simon Winawer and Jacques Mieses, drew twice with Curt von Bardeleben, and defeated Moritz Lewitt.

He is best known for the opening that bears his name and that of Marcus Kann, the Caro-Kann Defense (B12). Caro analysed the opening in the German magazine Brüderschaft in 1886, calling it "Caro's Eröffnung." The year before, the Austrian master Marcus Kann had won a memorable game with the opening against the young Jacques Mieses, J Mieses vs M Kann, 1885. Curt von Bardeleben in the July 1890 Deutsche Schachzeitung called the opening "Zur Eröffnung Caro-Kann," and the name stuck. The Caro-Kann is today the fourth most popular response to 1.e4, after the Sicilian (1...c5), the double king pawn (1...e5), and the French (1...e6).

Wikipedia article: Horatio Caro
https://www.chesshistory.com/winter...

Last updated: 2023-03-20 06:57:05

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 143  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. B Lasker vs H Caro 0-1351886BerlinB15 Caro-Kann
2. von Bardeleben vs H Caro  0-1371886Casual gameB13 Caro-Kann, Exchange
3. Muenchoff vs H Caro  0-1181886Casual gameB10 Caro-Kann
4. G Simonson vs H Caro  1-0561887Berlin CC Jubilee tC70 Ruy Lopez
5. H Caro vs von Scheve 1-0211888BerlinC29 Vienna Gambit
6. H Caro vs M Harmonist  1-0481888BerlinC29 Vienna Gambit
7. H Caro vs C Doppler  1-0361888BerlinC25 Vienna
8. H Caro vs E Sobernheim  1-0271888HauptturnierC25 Vienna
9. H Caro vs K Hollaender ½-½421888BSG Winter Tournament 1888/89C29 Vienna Gambit
10. H Caro vs B Huelsen  0-1591889BerlinC29 Vienna Gambit
11. von der Lasa vs H Caro 1-0281890Berlin cgC29 Vienna Gambit
12. B Lasker vs H Caro 1-0381890BerlinC62 Ruy Lopez, Old Steinitz Defense
13. H Caro vs Lasker 1-0141890BerlinD02 Queen's Pawn Game
14. von Scheve vs H Caro  ½-½461890BerlinC42 Petrov Defense
15. H Caro vs von Bardeleben  ½-½191890BerlinD02 Queen's Pawn Game
16. H Caro vs M Harmonist  1-0331890BerlinD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
17. H Caro vs von Bardeleben  1-0301892Bardeleben - CaroA04 Reti Opening
18. H Caro vs von Bardeleben  ½-½411892Bardeleben - CaroA04 Reti Opening
19. H Caro vs von Bardeleben  0-1411892Bardeleben - CaroD02 Queen's Pawn Game
20. von Bardeleben vs H Caro 1-0311892Bardeleben - CaroC65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense
21. H Caro vs Winawer 1-0531892Winawer - CaroA54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3
22. Winawer vs H Caro 0-1261892Winawer - CaroC22 Center Game
23. H Caro vs Winawer ½-½561892Winawer - CaroB06 Robatsch
24. Winawer vs H Caro  ½-½681892Winawer - CaroC65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense
25. H Caro vs Winawer  0-1421892Winawer - CaroD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
 page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 143  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Caro wins | Caro loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Apr-22-04  nikolaas: Is this the Caro from the Caro-Kann?
Apr-22-04  capanegra: Yes nikolaas. The Caro-Kann Defense was named that way after the Viennese player Marcus Kann (1820-1886) and the British player Horatio Caro (1862-1920), published an article in the German chess magazine in 1886, introducing 1.e4 c6 with corresponding analysis.
Apr-23-04  nikolaas: Thanks very much. Again a bit more that I know.
Apr-23-04  rochade18: Only 62 games are shown, though he played against Schlechter, Janowski and other good players of that time.
Apr-23-04  ruylopez900: Did Mr, Caro play his opening much? I realize that this probably isn't all his games, but it just seems odd that he would have played less then 6 games with his famed defense. (Or was it all about the analyzing for him?)
Jul-05-05  Kangaroo: This is a true holiday for all Caro-Kann fans!

Very often it transfers into my favorite French and therefore Caro-Kann may be viewed as the improved French after <1.e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5> ... .

Jul-05-05  Kangaroo: Who was Kann, where and when was he born?
Jul-05-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: According to Al Horowitz, Kann was a citizen of Pesth (or Pest), now part of Budapest. The merger between Buda and Pest occurred in November 1873.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must drink a toast to the man whose defense made me a Master.

Jul-05-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: I see only two games here in which Caro played the Caro-Kann, and he didn't win either. (There may be others; I haven't looked at all of the games to see if the opening has been misidentified.)

But why doesn't the database have any games played by Kann?

Jul-05-06  EmperorAtahualpa: <But why doesn't the database have any games played by Kann?>

<al wazir> Here is a game in which Kann playes the Caro-Kann defense.

[Event "?"]
[Site "Hamburg"]
[Date "1885.??.??"]
[White "Mieses,Jacques "]
[Black "Kann,Marcus "]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[Round "?"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Bd3 Bxd3 5. Qxd3 e6 6. f4 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. Nf3 Qb6 9. O-O Nh6 10. b3 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nf5 12. Bb2 Rc8 13. a3 Ncxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc5 15. Rd1 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 17. Qxd4 Rc1 0-1

I will also submit it to the chessgames.com database.

Jul-05-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: Thanks, <EmperorAtahualpa>.

Caro Kann but Uwe Durst not. (That one's for all you punsters out there.)

Jul-05-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  mahmoudkubba: I can see that Khan have other related opening(s) to it but very few have Caro related even though many do plays it (Caro) but no mentioning is done usually to such that fact. Yet as far as I knows their are games with only Caro and only Khan that is Caro without Khan or any related way and Khan without Caro or any related way.
Jul-05-06  EmperorAtahualpa: <Yet as far as I knows their are games with only Caro and only Khan that is Caro without Khan or any related way and Khan without Caro or any related way.>

<mahmoudkubba> Caro without Kann? Kann without Caro?

So you mean a "Caro-defense" and a "Kann-defense", right? I've never heard of them.

Can you please explain further? Thanks.

Jul-05-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  mahmoudkubba: <EmperorAtahualpa>: One short way of explaining this in this quick forum is that every thing proved to be a Khan is started with the black playing c7-c6, right? well thats just one thing of the whole matter. But when applying this to a real blitz it is as far as I knows might have more than one meaning yet two players might have the same moves similar to anothe two players. Thats just the starting point. I can't say more but only said this to u and to others for the goodness, truth, validity and justified world(s) really.
Jul-06-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: <al wazir>, are you responsible for some of the Game of the Day puns? If not, why not?
Jul-06-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  al wazir: <An Englishman>: I believe that this site is for chess, and to pursue any other topic is a transgression, not to say an abomination.

That said, I admit to having transgressed a few times. But as far as I could tell, nobody took any notice.

Jul-05-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: Interesting...

The earliest game in the DB with C-K opening is W Paulsen vs Max Weiss, 1883 and I see that Caro himself have 2 games in DB with C-K as opening (Caro playing black)

There is one player and one game in DB with Marcus Kann I'm gonna guess he is the Kann in the C-K opening? The year of the game looks close enough, but Marcus Kann doesn't have any bio...

Jul-05-07  nescio: <WannaBe: The earliest game in the DB with C-K opening is W Paulsen vs Max Weiss, 1883 and I see that Caro himself have 2 games in DB with C-K as opening (Caro playing black)>

In those days 1...c6 was considered a little eccentric at best. As far as I know Caro's article in "Brüderschaft" dates from 1886 and I think Marcus Kann was co-author.

<There is one player and one game in DB with Marcus Kann I'm gonna guess he is the Kann in the C-K opening? The year of the game looks close enough, but Marcus Kann doesn't have any bio...>

Caro was a strong player, but very little is known about Kann. The game you refer to seems to be the only one that has survived.

Apr-22-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  stoy: The Caro-Kann defense helped Mikhail Botvinnik regain the title of world champion in 1958 against Smyslov and again in 1961 against Tal. Capablanca also liked it as did Petrosian & Karpov.
Jul-05-09  wordfunph: Master Horatio Caro will not be complete without his partner Kann....Caro-Kann!

Happy Birthday Master Caro..

Jul-05-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Hello, Mr. Caro, from an Englishman who's most grateful for your co-discovery!
Jul-05-09  whiteshark: <WannaBe: <...but Marcus Kann doesn't have any bio...>> Check it out again. :D
Jul-05-09  whiteshark: Player of the Day

Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horati...
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horati...

Jul-05-09  WhiteRook48: inventor of the Caro-Kann
Jul-05-09  whiteshark: About 48% right.
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