hello every one!

good day can you help please explain the caro kann defense. what the principles behind the opening, its major strength and weak points.

It is being use by my 14 year old kid in his games in tournaments. He has not been doing well so i hope you could share to me the rationale behind such opening especially so if it is your pet line of defense.

i will be very grateful.

It's my fave too. I understood the CaroKanns principle in Erik Schillers book "complete Defense to e4". Based on my understanding of the opening, its major strength are the Knights, and basically the carokann user must be ready for an endgame.The weakness of this opening is the dilemma of being in a cramped position and the possibility of cramping the QB and secondly, your son must be comfortable in a cramped-tight positional tossle.If your son is good at endgames and prefers closed quarter battles then this is his opening.If you could buy books pertaining to the opening it would be great help.Or if you want you may search for  players who use it Adams, Petrosian,Botvinnik, Schiller, Hort,Karpov, Suetin and Sillman.

Actually certain areas needs to be understood in a players approach. Try posting some of your sons games with the opening.The Caro-kann is a closed game.It may not suit your sons style if he prefers wild open games.Or probably the problem is not in the opening but in some other areas we can't really tell.

Caro-Kann is the reason I've improved as Black. It also helped me understand some opening theory and the importance of central pawns (D & E). I found this tutorial on the Advance Variation (by Lenderman, an IM) very useful.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=TJK3-Mz11Q0

thank you for the a very fine advise il try to do it thanks

HIS IS ME FERNANDO TAMAYO FROM LAOAG CITY. I HEARD YOUR KID WON AGAINST TIRZO BUMANGLAG IN BAGUIO.HEHEHE

CARO KANN DEFENSE

This unpretentious defense has gained greater favor in recent years, placing it among the most respected defenses to 1.e4. The plan of 1. . . c6 and 2. . . . d5 seems strange at first. Black advances only slowly in the center, often lags in development and makes no aggressive movements. It is no wonder that the defense, known since the sixteenth century, was little understood until 1890’s when H. Caro of Berlin and m. M. Kann of Vienna first analyzed it seriously. Many famous players have been three World Champions of the 20^th century: Capablanca, at the beginning of the century, Botvinnik in the middle years and Karpov at the end.

The positive attributes of the Caro-Kann are that black succeeds in developing all his pieces without creating weaknesses or making other positional concessions (such as the locked-in queens bishop the French defense accepts). On the minus side, white is granted more freedom of move. Whites challenge is to make use of his extra mobility before black completely frees his position.

The Main Line  Bf5

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qc7 11. Bd2 e6 12. O-O-O Ngf6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qe2 Bd6 16. c4 c5 17. Bc3 cxd4 18. Nxd4 a6   13. Kb1 O-O-O 14. c4 c5 15. Bc3 cxd4 16. Nxd4 a6 17. Nf3 Bd6

10. ….. e6 11. Bf4 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Ne5 O-O 14. Qe2 Qa5 15. Kb1 Rad8 16. Bd2 Qc7 17. Ng6 Rfe8 

        6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Bd3 e6 8. O-O Ngf6 9. c4 Bd6 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 c5 12. Bxg6 hxg6 13. Re1 Qc7 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Qc2 Rfd8 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Nf6 

The Main Line  Nd7

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6 7. N1f3 Bd6 8. Qe2 h6 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Nf6 11. Qe2 Qc7 12. Bd2 b6 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. Ne5 

        5. Ng5 Ndf6 6. N1f3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Nxf3 e6 9. g3 Bd6 10. Bg2 Ne7 11. O-O O-O 12. Qe2 Qc7 13. c4 b6

        5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3 e6 7. Bd3 c5 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. c3 O-O 11. Bc2 Re8 12. Bg5 a6 13. Qf3 Bxd4 14. cxd4 Qa5 15. Be3 

6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Ne5 Be6 8. Be2 g6 9. O-O Bg7 10. c4 O-O 11. Be3 Ne4 12. Qc2 Nd6 13. b3 c5 

        5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6 7. Qe2 Nb6 8. Bb3 h6 9. N5f3 a5 10. c3 c5 11. a3 Qc7 12. Nh3 Bd7 13. O-O cxd4 14. Bf4 Bd6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Rad1 O-O 17. Rxd4 Qc5 

 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. c3 Bf5 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. g3 Nd7 9. Bg2 O-O-O 10. O-O e6 11. Re1 Bg4 12. b4 h5  *

       5.Nxf6. exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 g6 10. h4 Be6 11. h5 f5 12. hxg6 fxg6 13. Bh6 Nd7

The Advance Variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O Nd7 7. Nh4 Bg6 8. Nd2 c5 9. c3 Nc6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Nf3 Be7 12. g3 Qb6 13. h4 Rc8

4. Nc3 e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. Nge2 c5 7. h4 h6 8. Be3 Qb6 9. f4 Nc6 10. f5 Bh7 11. Qd2 O-O-O 12. O-O-O

3. e5 c5  4. dxc5 Nc6 5. Bb5 e6 6. Be3 Ne7 7. c3 Bd7 8. Bxc6 Nxc6 9. f4 g5 10. fxg5 Nxe5 11. Nf3 Nxf3+ 12. Qxf3 Bg7  13. 0-0 0-0 14. Nd2 Bb5

       5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bb5 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 e6 8. Be3 Ne7 9. Bd2 Qc7 10. Be2 a6

4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Nd7 6. Bb5 Qc7 7. Nf3 Bxc5 8. Bxc5 Qxc5 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1

The Two Knights Variation

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nf6 6. d3 e6 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. g4 Bb4 9. g5 Ng8 10. h4 d4 11. Nb1 Qb6 12. b3 Qa5 13. a3 Bxd2+ 14. Nxd2 Qc3 15. Ra2

  3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Ne4 5. Ne2 Bg4 6. Nfg1 Bxe2 7. Bxe2 e6 8. d3 Nc5 9. Nf3 Ncd7 10. O-O c5 11. c3 Nc6 

  3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Neg5 e6 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. d4 h6 9. Ne4 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. a4 a5 

Fantasy Variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Be6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. Bc4 Nd7 10. d5 Ngf6 

3. f3 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. Qd3 b6 7. Ne2 Ba6 8. Qe3 O-O 9. O-O-O Be7 10. g4 b5 

Gurgenidze system

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 g6 4. e5 Bg7 5. f4 h5 6. Be3 Nh6 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nf5 10. Bf2 h4 11. Bd3 e6 12. Ne2 Nd7 13. Bxf5 exf5 14. g4 hxg3 ep. 15. Nxg3 Bf8 16. h4 

The Exchange

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qd7 8. Nd2 e6 9. Ngf3 Bxf3 10. Nxf3 Bd6  Bd6 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. O-O O-O 13. Rae1 Rab8 14. Ne5 b5 15. a3 a5 16. Bxb5 Ne4 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. a4 Nd6

    5. c3 Qc7 6. Ne2 Bg4 7. f3 Bd7 8. Na3 a6 9. Nc2 e6 10. Bf4 Bd6

The Panov Botvinnik

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Be6 7. a3 Qd7 8. b4 dxc4 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. d5 O-O-O 11. Bxc4 Ne5 12. Bb5 Qc7 13. Nge2 Kb8 

6. Bg5 Qa5 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 e6 9. Nf3 Qd8 10. Bg5 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. a3 a6 

6. Bg5 e6 7. c5 Be7 8. Bb5 O-O 9. Nf3 Ne4 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Qc2 Ng5 12. Nxg5 Qxg5 13. Bxc6 bxc6 

6. Nf3 Bg4 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qb3 Bxf3 9. gxf3 e6 10. Qxb7 Nxd4 11. Bb5+ Nxb5 12. Qc6+ Ke7 

6. Nf3 e6 7. c5 Ne4 8. Qc2 f5 9. Bb5 Bd7 10. O-O Be7 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Bf4 

6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bc4 Nb6 8. Bb5 a6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Nf3 e6 11. O-O c5 12. Be3 

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. c5 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. Na4 Nfd7 11. b5 bxc5 12. dxc5 e5 13. c6 e4 14. cxd7 Nxd7 15. O-O exf3 16. Qxf3 Ne5 17. Qg3 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 d4 

7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 10. Qb3 Nb6 11. O-O O-O 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 Rc8 14. Rfe1 Rc6 15. Re2 g5 16. Bg3 Nh5 17. Rae1 

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Qb3 Bg7 7. cxd5 O-O 8. Be2 Nbd7 9. Bf3 Nb6 10. Nge2 Bg4 11. Bxg4 Nxg4 12. a4 Nf6 13. Nf4 a5

       8. Nge2 Nbd7 9. g3 Nb6 10. Bg2 Bf5 11. Nf4 h6 12. a4 a5 13. O-O g5 

          6. cxd5 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Nge2 Nbd7 9. Nf4 Nb6 10. Bb3 Bf5 11. O-O Qd7 12. a4 a5 13. h3 h5 14. Qe2 Ne8 

Unusual Caro-Kann

1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Bb5+ Nbd7 6. Nc3 a6 7. Qa4 Rb8 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. Qxd7+ Bxd7 10. Nge2 Rd8 11. d4 Bf5 12. Nf4 g5 13. Nfe2 Rg8 14. Be3 Nxd5 

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 e5 4. Ngf3 Bd6 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. Re1 Nbd7 9. c3 a5 10. a4 Nc5 

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. Ngf3 Bg7 5. Be2 e5 6. O-O Ne7 7. b4 O-O 8. Bb2 Nd7 9. Re1 a5 10. a3 Qc7 

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. d4 Ndf6 6. c3 Nxe4 7. Qxe4 Nf6 8. Qc2 Bg4 9. Ne2 e6 10. Ng3 Qd5 

i dont like the caro kann... there is not enough attacking play

i was using caro-kann and it did improved my games as black. But is it useful also in tournament or for quick games only? Also, I found trouble which is the best side to castle or better not to castle at all. Thanks. Your help is very much appreciated.

black has a better pawn structure, so he should look to trade off minor pieces. He should also beware as white can attack on the kingside with considerable force.

I recommend the manuever Na6-c7.

well that's dumb to have a line that ends abruptly 

indeed. What's weird in Your Line is 8. Bb2?? How is that possible may I ask?🤔

however, if you Actually Meant: 8. Bd2, then 8. ... Nc6 9. Bd3 0•0 10. 0•0 Be7 11. Qe2 Nf6 12. Ne5 Qb6! (from NCO 1999) is the "End" of This Particular Line✌🏽

oops edit: 12. Ne5 [instead of 12. Ne5] sorry

12. Ne4

#1

"what the principles behind the opening, its major strength and weak points."
++ The idea is to attack pawn e4.

"It is being use by my 14 year old kid in his games in tournaments. He has not been doing well so i hope you could share to me the rationale behind such opening especially so if it is your pet line of defense."
++ Your kid not doing well is unrelated to using the Caro-Kann, it is because of blunders and tactics.