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Karpov Can?

Karpov Can?

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ergodicbreak
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In my endless quest to avoid 1. e4 e5 I've been playing the Caro-Kann, and for whatever reason I enjoy the positions that result, despite the fact that I lose in most of those positions. But since losing is fun (tm) I've started to explore the Caro-Kann some more, reading about its history  and how perhaps it's misunderstood  by some (incidentally I think I have a philosophical inclination toward misunderstandings).

A fellow Armory meetup player suggested I look at Karpov's games, and as I was browsing them I came upon a couple between Karpov and Alexei Shirov. So, take Karpov, known for his solid positional play, Shirov, by contrast a noted attacking player, and the Caro-Kann, a solid positional opening -- or is it a deceptively tactical defense? -- and the delightful complications of it all were right in my wheelhouse, or at least in an alley in the vicinity. 

Taking some inspiration from a favorite chess blog, I've begun to annotate master games. The two games here are both in the advance variation but couldn't be more different. 

I did get a chance to deploy the Caro-Kann for the first time in the recent President's Cup. Spoiler: it didn't end well (a topic for a future post). It raises the point, just because Karpov can, doesn't mean I can.  But as they say, sometimes it's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.