Caro-Kann-Defence

Wish some one can help me here, I am lost???   In the opening moves,

1.e4   c6

2.d4   d5

3.Nc3  and if blacks plays 3.Bf5 which is a move in that opening.

And all the best responses for whites next move 4. and there are many, non addresses   4.e4xf5 pawn X Bishop???  Why is that not a good move?????When I take the pawn, Explorer has no data bank covering this move??????

I went over this on chess Explorer btw! 

The explorer isn't perfect, 3...Bf5 in the variation you gave will just lose the bishop. The reason why I think it says 4.e5 is the most popular move is because then it would transpose into the Advance Variation and the data base has no record of 4.exf5 perhaps. When in doubt check with Stockfish.

Well I thought taking the bishop is a blunder!  Hell I would take the Bishop every time because I would be up a piece!  And need all the help I can get! 4. e4xf5

The normal sequence that I think you mean is 3...dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5. Playing 3...Bf5 is a horrendous blunder.

Thanks Mike!  That is what I thought also!  It showed a variation where black moves it's bishop to f5, and there is no white's next move taking the bishop, and I was just trying to find out why?

I will go back to both explorer and also chess openings see if I miss read it! Thanks!

 Mike your dog brought tears to my eyes, I still have not gotten over her not being here next to me. Her name was Schatzi, she was a Miniature Schnauzer, Her face looked just like your dog!! She died on Jan 2015, and I always put a wreath up on the front gate for her on the month of January!!   I keep the gate partartially opened in case she comes back?  I am glad you came back to chess, it's good exercise for the brain, and you do not have to be great at it, it still works the brain!!

GhostNight, I feel for you. Schatzi looks like she was a very sweet girl. In March 2014 I had to put my mini poodle down. She was my comfort and support during some tough times. I still miss her, but this little guy is such a great dog. His mother was a Jack Russell terrier, father unknown. We got him as a 5 month old rescue in May 2014 and have guessed that he is part schnauzer. He has the Jack Russell body and attitude but his face and hair look so much like a schnauzer.

It’s great being back into chess. It would have been nice to keep at it all these years, but life has a nasty habit of making more pressing demands.

If this stupid "Explorer" even gives 3.Nc3 Bf5, it just all the more explains why you need an opening book on the Caro-Kann and not trusting the lame garbage chess.com has on opening theory.  Many of their 20-minute videos on non-opening topics are excellent, but trying to master some opening based on a couple of lame 20 minute lectures or some stupid database of garbage chess.com blitz games will lead you nowhere.

I have looked at a series of King's Indian Defense videos here, which might throw an idea or two that you might execute once or twice in an over the board game just to play something different, but I surely don't rely on those videos to master the King's Indian by any stretch, and must have at least a dozen books on my shelf on that opening!

I would never figure the King's Indian and French videos or games from the database or "Explorer" here would do me any good, and you should assume the same with the Caro-Kann!  Go get books on the Caro!  If you are using it as Black as your main defense to e4, you'll need one on the classical, one on the advance, one on the Panov, one on the Exchange, and one on the Fantasy ("The Extreme Caro-Kann" is an excellent book on this line - I play it as White the occasional times I play 1.e4).

first order of business for black is to liquidate the e pawn.

 After this the main move is Ne4 but I really don’t understand the position to be honest.

I checked "Master Games" in Explorer and there are only two games with 3...Bf5 and these were most likely notation errors. (This sometimes happens in databases.) 3...dxe4 is by far the main move as many have already pointed out. Maybe your browser is glitching and the moves are not corresponding to the position. I've had this happen before.

or you replace the classical with the karpow variation, i always felt that white gets a little bit too much in the classical

opposite castles so the plan for both side is quite clear...

White want to push g4-g5, hence Ne4...

Yes although it appears to me that its quite difficult to get g5 in and white will often sacrifice on g4 I suspect simply to open up lines.  f2 is quite sensitive for white and other moves played by masters include Qe2 as a black knight can make use of g4 in view of white having played h4-h5.  The games are pretty complicated.  I don't think this is a variation I could play, at least the exchange variation I can understand but my experience has been that black can equalise easily at least at my measly level.  But saying that if its complicated for me it might be complicated for my opponent too.

Thanks for the feed back, That game was interesting, robbie especially after move 30.Rxe6, end games I enjoy the most if I am able to reach that part against a fairly good player. not often.  

Now I wonder if there ever was a master level player that played for a draw, that is  defensive moves to blocked a position, and the game becomes blocked, draw,  but also waiting for  weak move to explore?   After all is not opening moves more like setting up a defensive perimeter, before plan of attack is conceived?  I guess I could have said all by just saying a total defensive player? I think I read about a player that did just that years ago??

White is prepared to sacrifice two pawns! At master level that’s fine as they can make something out of the activity they get in return, at my level being two pawns down is almost tantamount to a lost game.