A couple of years ago, I switched from 1. e4 e5 to 1.e4 c6, the Caro-Kann Defence. It took a long time to take that step. I have tried the French several times in the past, but I never felt comfortable with it. I thought that the Caro-Kann would be similar, but I was wrong. Unlike in the French, I find the ideas and plans behind the Caro-Kann easy to understand, and the lead to middle game positions that I'm comfortable with.
I started out by watching some videos, then studied the main lines from books, and tried it out in blitz games online. Nothing new there, that's how we all take on a new opening.
The next step is to dive deeper into the main lines, and also investigate some side lines. This is what stronger players do, but for club players, it's a waste of time. The reason is that those lines, frequently occurring in games at higher levels, rarely happens at the club level. Your opponents will usually deviate before move five, so we need to study openings in a different way than stronger players do.
The method I use when learning a new opening is to study every possible deviation from the main lines, starting with the earliest possible opportunity. After getting a general grasp of the mail lines, I jump to the last chapter in the book (usually titled "Other Lines" or "Odds and Ends". After studying those lines, I proceed to study the moves that aren't even mentioned. Some of those moves are just bad, some out of fashion, and others are not in the sprit of the opening, or an attempt to transpose into another opening. In either case, we need to find out what they are, and decide what to do about them.
The Caro-Kann Defence
The standard continuation, almost exclusively played at the higher levels, is 2.d4 d5. However, White has several other moves to choose from, and those other moves occur quite often at the club level. There are 29 other moves, here in order of popularity:
- 2.Nc3 d5 Now 3.d4 or 3.Nf3 transposes into a regular line, 3.Qf3 e5 is a good gambit.
- 2.Nf3 d5 Usually transposes after 3.Nc3 or 3.exd5.
- 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.cxd5 Nf6 is equal.
- 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 e5 is equal.
- 2.f4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 is good for Black.
- 2.Ne2 d5 3.e5 d4 is good for Black.
- 2.Bc4 d5 3.Bb3 dxe4 4.Qh5 g6 Black is better.
- 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2 dxe4 is good for Black.
- 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 exd4 is good for Black.
- 2.c3 d5 Will most likely transpose into the Exchange or Advance Variations.
- 2.e5 d5 3.d4 is the Advance Variation, but be prepared for 3.exd6 exd6.
- 2.Qf3 d5 3.exd5 cx5 is good for Black.
- 2.Qe2 d5 is often met with 3.d3, which shouldn't cause any trouble
- 2.Be2 d5 is equal.
- 2.a3 d5 is equal.
- 2.f3 d5 3.d4 is the Fantasy Variation.
- 2.b4 d5 is the standard move, but e5 or Nf6 are worth looking into.
- 2.h3 Prevents a future Bg4. Play d5 and proceed normally.
- 2.Bd3 Blocking the d pawn can't be good. d5.
- 2.h4 d5 3.e5 Now 3...Bc5 d4 transposes into the Tal Variation, but that can be avoided with 3...c5.
- 2.Qh5 Best met by Nf6 followed by e5. Also good is d5.
- 2.a4 With the idea of a4-a5-a6. d5 is best.
- 2.Ke2 Just nonsense. Play d5.
- 2.Nh3 A mistake. d5 is a strong double threat.
- 2.Qg4 You can chase the Queen with d5.
- 2.Na3 Looks pointless. d5 is good.
- 2.g4 The standard d5 gives Black the upper hand.
- 2.Bb5 Giving up a Bishop for no apparent reason. Take it with cxb5.
- 2.Ba6 This is the only move that I couldn't find a real game example of. Just play Nxa6.
That's a long list, but you will encounter most of them sooner or later. The good news is that 2...d5 is a universal response in all lines (except 2.Ba6), so that's all we need to know. There are good alternatives in some lines, but you can't go wrong with d5.
Back to the main line: 1.e4 c6 2.d5 d5
From here, theory branches out in five popular lines:
- 3.e5, the Advance Variation
- 3.Nc3, the Classical Variation
- 3.exd5, the Exchange Variation
- 3.Nd2, the Modern Variation
- 3.f3, the Fantasy Variation
When you have decided how to play those five lines, it's time to look at the the 3rd move deviations. Make a list of all other legal moves (there are 33 of them), and study them all like we did for the 2nd move deviations.
It's a lot of work, but I think it's worth it. After this exercise, you are prepared for anything in the Caro-Kann whatever your opponent throws at you.
You can take it one step further if you're really ambitious. In each of the five lines above, after studying the book continuations, make a list of all 4th move deviations, and decide how you're going yo play. This sums up to more than a hundred moves, so it might prove a bit to much for the regular club player.
Takeaway
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