# Horatio Caro > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Horatio_Caro > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Horatio_Caro.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Caro > Source revision: 1319822312 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British chess player}} right|thumb|Horatio Caro (1862–1920)|200px ''' Horatio Caro ''' (5 July 1862 – 15 December 1920) was an English-German [chess](/source/chess) player, of world-class Master strength for about a decade, from the late 1880s to the late 1890s, a frequent winner of significant German events. He was a regular competitor for 30 years in Master events. Caro is principally known as the co-inventor of the [Caro–Kann Defence](/source/Caro%E2%80%93Kann_Defence), a heretofore virtually unknown opening variation, which he analyzed, published, and played from the mid 1880s. Caro was born in [Newcastle upon Tyne](/source/Newcastle_upon_Tyne), [England](/source/England),{{Cite book | last=Gaige | first=Jeremy | author-link=Jeremy Gaige | year=1987 | title=Chess Personalia, A Biobibliography | publisher=McFarland | isbn=0-7864-2353-6 | page=64 }} but spent most of his chess career in [Berlin](/source/Berlin), Germany, having moved there when he was two years old.{{cite web|url=http://britishchessnews.com/2020/12/15/remembering-horatio-caro-05-vii-1862-15-xii-1920/|title=REMEMBERING HORATIO CARO (05-VII-1862 15-XII-1920)|date=15 December 2020|last=Upham|first=John|website=British Chess News|accessdate=4 April 2021}} ==Matches== He played several matches. In 1892, he drew with [Curt von Bardeleben](/source/Curt_von_Bardeleben) (+2 –2 =0) and lost to [Szymon Winawer](/source/Szymon_Winawer) (+2 –3 =1). In 1897, he was defeated by [Jacques Mieses](/source/Jacques_Mieses) (+3 –4 =3). In 1903, he drew with Bardeleben (+4 –4 =0). In 1905, he won against [Moritz Lewitt](/source/Moritz_Lewitt) (+4 –3 =5). ==Tournaments== In tournaments, he won in Berlin in 1888, 1891, 1894, 1898 (jointly), and 1903. He also took 10th at Berlin 1883, took 4th at Berlin 1887, tied for 2nd-3rd at [Nuremberg](/source/Nuremberg) 1888, took 3rd at Berlin 1889, took 2nd at Berlin 1890. He took 3rd at Berlin 1894, took 9th at Berlin 1897, took 17th at [Vienna 1898 chess tournament](/source/Vienna_1898_chess_tournament), took 4th at Berlin 1899, tied for 6-7th at Berlin 1902, tied for 11-12th at Coburg 1904, tied for 7-8th at Barmen 1905, took 9th at Berlin 1907, tied for 3-5th at Berlin 1908, and took 4th at Berlin 1911. He won the 1904 Berlin City Championship, half a point ahead of [Ossip Bernstein](/source/Ossip_Bernstein) and [Rudolf Spielmann](/source/Rudolf_Spielmann).chessgames.com, the Horatio Caro player file ==Main achievements== He is known for the [Caro–Kann Defence](/source/Caro%E2%80%93Kann_Defence) {ECO ([Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings](/source/Encyclopaedia_of_Chess_Openings)) codes B10-19}, an opening variation which he analysed along with [Marcus Kann](/source/Marcus_Kann), and jointly published in the German journal ''Brüderschaft'' in 1886.{{cite book |author1=Litmanowicz, Władysław |author2=Giżycki, Jerzy| title=Szachy od A do Z | publisher=Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka Warszawa | year=1986–1987 |language=pl| isbn=83-217-2481-7 |id=(1. A-M), (2. N-Z)}} The variation would be developed into a major system through frequent Master play in the 20th century. It gradually became a favorite choice of many world-class players, including four World Champions: [Jose Raul Capablanca](/source/Jose_Raul_Capablanca), [Mikhail Botvinnik](/source/Mikhail_Botvinnik), [Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian](/source/Tigran_Vartanovich_Petrosian), and [Anatoly Karpov](/source/Anatoly_Karpov). Caro is also known for beating future [World Champion](/source/World_Chess_Championships) [Emanuel Lasker](/source/Emanuel_Lasker) at Berlin 1890 in 14 moves only, his shortest-ever tournament game loss. Caro appeared in the 1898 [Anglo-American cable chess match](/source/Anglo-American_cable_chess_matches). ==World-class retrospective playing strength== Ratings for chess were not developed until well into the 20th century, many decades after Caro's peak playing years. American statistician [Jeff Sonas](/source/Jeff_Sonas), with work presented on his website chessmetrics.com, applied modern rating algorithms to results data from many hundreds of historical events, to produce a retrospective analysis for the playing strength of Masters from earlier eras. Caro's peak event performance was from Berlin 1890, where he scored 5.5/7, good for a 2700 performance rating. Caro's peak rating list standing occurred for six different months, between May 1893 and October 1893, where he ranked #7 in the world, with a 2676 rating.chessmetrics.com, the Horatio Caro data file This places him in the world-class category. ==Death== Caro died in [London](/source/London) age 58. He was discharged from a [workhouse](/source/workhouse) in Whitechapel citing his death as the reason. ==References== ==External links== * {{chessgames player|id=10560}} * [https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/carokann.html "The Caro-Kann Defence" by Edward Winter] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Caro, Horatio}} Category:1862 births Category:1920 deaths Category:English chess players Category:Chess theoreticians Category:19th-century German chess players Category:German chess writers Category:German male non-fiction writers Category:19th-century British chess players Category:19th-century English sportsmen Category:20th-century British chess players Category:Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Sportspeople from Berlin Category:20th-century German chess players --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Horatio Caro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Caro) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Caro?action=history)). 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