Piece Pattern Atlas
Caro-Kann Defense
Where each piece lives in the middlegame that follows, drawn from 42,066 real games.
Its usual journeys
- c8–g4–f38,153 games
- c8 · stays home4,861 games
- c8–f53,559 games
- c8–d73,149 games
When it leaves the board
Usually traded around move 10.
Survives past move 30 in 25% of games.
Most common end: f3, move 8 (1,656 games).
What its fate costs
Traded early (by move 8): Black wins 49%. Kept: 50%. (n=10,556 / 31,510)
When it reaches g4: Black wins 51%. When it never does: 49%. (n=17,696 / 24,370)
The choice
Move 2: d4 or Nf3?
Same opening, two futures for the c8-bishop. Real games, side by side.
d4
After d4, the c8-bishop spends 28% of the middlegame on c8; after Nf3, 20%. Black scores 48% here (n=16,836).
Nf3
After Nf3, the c8-bishop spends 16% of the middlegame on g4; after d4, 9%. Black scores 51% here (n=12,540).