One of the most important openings in chess is the Caro-Kann opening. Caro-Kann defense is played for more than a century and it is named after the great players Horatio Caro and Marcus Kann. Despite the fact that this opening is old, many great players are still using this strategy. So, it’s obvious that this opening is very effective and every player who is trying to improve his skills in chess should study it.
The starting moves of this opening are 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5. Caro-Kann defense is very similar to French defense, a subject that I recently wrote about it. The main difference between the two of them is that the black Bishop at c8 can be advanced in Caro-Kann defense and can be moved to f5 square which is not possible in French defense.
Objectives for each player
Caro-Kann defense is a strategy for Black because there are some major benefits. This opening is a great response to 1.e4 because it adds pressure to the pawn at e4 square. So, Caro-Kann helps Black to effectively win the battle for the center of the chessboard.
White has three options to respond:
- He can advance his pawn to square (3.e5).
- He can advance the Knight to c3 square (3.Nc3)
- He can play more aggressively and play the following moves.
A typical game is the following one.
Illustrative games
Keep in mind that each occasion requires a different response but that’s the main picture in Caro-Kann defense. Therefore, I have prepared a couple of games that I think will teach you valuable lessons about Caro-Kann defense. Try not to memorize the moves and focus in the way of thinking. The following games are played by Grandmasters and world champions and you should study them in great detail.
Modern Variation
Exchange Variation
Modern Variation
Advance Variation
Panov–Botvinnik Attack
Gurgenidze Variation
Recommended Books and Courses
In this article, I have tried to point out many facts about this opening. However, Caro-Kann like any other opening is a subject that you can write an entire book about it. It’s an opening that is worth mastering because many great players use Caro-Kann. The benefit of using a book is that it offers a great amount of knowledge about almost any moves that you might consider or encounter. So, for those who want to make that extra step in mastering this notorious opening I recommend the following books. All of these books are cheap, similar between them and most importantly well-written.
- Opening Repertoire: …c6: Playing the Caro-Kann and Slav as Black
- Grandmaster Repertoire 7: The Caro-Kann
- Opening Repertoire: The Caro-Kann (Everyman Chess: Opening Repertoire)
- Caro-Kann: Move by Move
Final Thoughts
Caro-Kann opening is considered to be one of the basics of chess and the player should know some important principles. My goal is to help you learn a way of thinking in chess and I hope this article helped you to do this. You can learn more about other chess strategies like Queen’s Gambit Accepted on this website. I think you should practice this opening when you are playing with black because it’s an important one. Please comment and share the article if it is helpful. Have fun with chess!
Hi,
in the last time there´s a new line in the Caro-Kann-Nimzowitsch-Variation:
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.Qc2 Re8+ 9.Ne2 the move 9…h5 was played.
What do you think about this line?
The older line are 9…g6, 9…h6 or 9…Kh8.
What´s the plan? Why GMs Play 9…h5?
Maybe because of the white attack h2-h4-h5?
Hi, in this Variation, Black is trying to achieve some objectives. He protects his pawn at h7 and he is planning to create a threat to White’s Knight by playing Bg4. He can also protect his King by playing g6. At the same time, White is attacking with his Queen and Bishop. So, it makes sense to play 9…h5.