Beginner Openings: Caro-Kann Defense

Hello! Today we have a great opening for black, The Caro-Kann Defense! The opening starts with e4 from black, then you play c6? That's weird... not taking control of the center the usual way you would. That's the point though! You want to play c6 so on the next move, you can push your queens pawn to d5, with double protection from your c6 pawn and your queen. It should look like this:

Now that you have this position, you can play the developing game, which is to try to develop your pieces as fast as you can. The c6 pawn will strengthen your center as well as the other pieces you developed. Well, that's pretty much it! Just a quick little discussion about the Caro-Kann. In the next post, I will talk about endgame tips and tricks so you can win the endgame! Have fun!