How To Respond To 2. Bc4 in Carro-Kann

As this post will demonstrate, I am a not very talented beginner player.  I also have a job, 2 kids, volunteer activies, and view chess as the time when I can clear my mind.  I don't study openings per se, but I have adopted a repotoire of sorts to simplify matters which is: London system as white, Slav against 1d4, Caro-Kann against 1e4, and reversed London System as black when white plays something oddball (which is fairly common at my level).

When I play the Caro-Kann against 1e4 (which is probably 70% of my games as black), hardly anybody has a real repetoire and I get random responses.  The most common response is the Advance Variation.

However, probably the second most common response to the Caro-Kann is this: 1 e4 c6, 2 Bc4? . . . .  That biship move cannot possibly be any good.  I assume this is played by players who are trying to hit f7 out of sheer habit. 

I always respond 2 . . . d5, which seems obvious.  That invariably leads to white taking with the e pawn. I  take back with my c pawn.  Then, the white bishop is under attack by a black pawn that is protected by the queen.  The white bishop retreats someplace, wasting a critical move in the opening and giving me more control of the center to boot.

For some reason, I can't formulate a good plan at this point and seem to squander a situation where I ought to be able to claim an outright and lasting advantage as black.  I suspect I lose more games from this position than I win, which is silly.  

Can anybody give me suggestions here on how to punish white for playing 2 Bc4?

Thanks

Also, I do know how to spell "Caro-Kann."  (Unfortunately, I cannot edit the title.)

Just play normally! Develop your pieces. e4-c6 Bc4-d5 takes-takes Bb3 (maybe) and then e6, Nf6 Bd6 o-o and you have no problems at all..

Hey, just like in this game: http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=728961963 you had just fine position out ofthe opening! Just blundered bishop for nothing! Also, you are just about 1100 player so you don't need to wurry alot about openings

Develop your pieces, castle, then put your rooks on the queen side and push your a and b pawn.

Troll.

Turned off tracking so other people won't be making random posts about what I just said.

There is no way to punish white here. 2 Bc4 is maybe not the best move, but it's not terrible.

Usually in the CK/slav/reversed-London that you're playing, you want to get your c8 bishop outside of the pawn chain (ex. Bf5 before e6), but when the c-pawn gets removed, I have found it easier to keep the c8 bishop at home to play defense. For example:

Then in no particular order, Nf6, Be7 or Bf6, O-O, Nd7 or Nc6, and b6-Bb7, Qe7 or Qc7, Rc8, and you're fine.

If someone plays a move which is bad even if it blunders a whole queen

it is still possible for that side which made the blunder to have a better position.

For example if you are already ahead five queens and you blunder one of them the resulting position will still be good.

2.Bc4 might not be a good move but it doesn`t mean that black has an advantage.

I just reply with 2...d5. Here's a game I won after White played 2.Bc4

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-showcase/the-most-awkward-defense-ever

RTR, I think you have pointed out where I go wrong.  I am so used to wanting to get the queen's bishop outside the pawns that I assume that piece needs to go there and get myself confused.  One question: Is Bf6 a typo --did you mean Bd6?

I will also look at 2 . . . d5.  Had not thought of that, as it seemed better to end up effectively swapping a c pawn for an e pawn.  My e-pawn invariably goes to e6, blunting a white attack down the e file.

I appreciate all these ideas in response to my first post.

Yes, Bf6 is a typo, should be Bd6. GM Soltis has a book that suggests a Caro/Slav system, "Black Defensive System For The Rest Of Your Career".

I agree with the posters who suggest I don't need to study openings much at my level of play.  I've learned that trying to have a specific opening plan does not work because my opponents don't have any idea what the "book" lines are.  It does no good to learn a book line that hardly ever gets played on the board.

That being said, it has helped me a great deal to have some basic opening plans for white and black even though I don't really know the book lines.  I also am pretty happy with the general plans I've used (London, C-K, and Slav) because they involve similar plans and I can understand what I'm trying to do most of time.  Also, the opening lines I play largely avoid traps, usually get me a decent pawn structure, and get my pieces to useful squares. 

I posted this specific question because I keep seeing this 2Bc4 move in actual play and could not locate anything about this line on the internet.  

As bishop retards to b3 after c x d5..put knight on c3..Light bishop on g4 or f5,Then play e3,Dark bishop on d3,knight ge2,0-0, Qc2..This position is similar to that of queens gambit declined exchange variation with colours reversed,

U can either play minority attack with b5,,or agrresive f3-e4 to sieze the center..

How is that not punishing white? Black has solved all his notorious developmental problems and is better. Are you guys really looking for a Qh4+ style attack to punish the second move? 

This is different from 2. Bc4 in the Sicilian, where black has to play a small bit accurately to make sure the bishop isn't unleashed and well placed after all.