Destruction of the Caro-Kann in 6 moves

There is great trap against the Caro-Kann that doesn't even have a name, but it works really well.

The idea is know from another opening: The Tennison Gambit:

1. e4 d5 2. Nf3 dxe4 3. Ng5 Nf6 4. d3 exd3 5. Bxd3 h6 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Bg6+ Kxg6 8. Qxd8

But the Tennison Gambit has small problem: Instead of 5...h6 ...Sc6 can be played what protects the queen. 5....e6 is also often played what opens the path for the king to protect the queen later again.

But what if there was a pawn already on c6 and what if the other knight would still be on g8, so the failing move Nf6 could also be played? Well this is the case if you apply the idea to the Caro-Kann:

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 dxe4 4. Ng5 exd3 5. Bxd3 Nf6 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Bg6+ hxg6 8. Qxd8

So you win the queen for two minor pieces. You have the advantage but you still have to be careful, because the opponent has more pieces and can gain the initiative. But many black players already resign in this position.

The trap works against 5...Nf6, 5... h6, 5...g6 and against e6 a more complicated attack starting with 6. Nxh7 is likely to work.

If 3...Bg4 is played another attempt is promising. First the position doesn't look good for white. But with the help of Lc0 I figured out a good idea: Trade the pawn. 4. exd6 cxd6. Then play 5. c3 to be able to activate the queen. If 5...e6 is played you can win the Bishop with the double attack 6. Qa4! If black plays 5...Nf6 attack the knight with 6. Bg5. If black defends the knight with the queen via e6 because he doesn't want to double the pawns, trade the pieces: 7. Bxc6 Qxc6. Now you can again win the Bishop with 8. Qa4.

Overall a lot of free elo can be gained with this opening.

This is easily refuted because the examples you are giving rely on black making multiple blunders in succession. A 1400 player who has played the Caro-Kann for awhile will not make these mistakes.

The "free elo" you're speaking about will go directly to your opponent. This opening is garbage and easily refuted. 

Tennison Gambit is hot garbage!

1.e4 d5 2.Nf3?? dxe4 3.Ng5 e5!! 4.Nxe4 f5 5.Ng3 Bc5 and Black has a clear advantage!

Lichess statistics show that blacks d5, dxe4, exd3 and Sf6 are the most played moves even for 2500 players. If you don't include bullet games exd3 isn't the most played move for 2500, but for 2200 and below it all works really well there even for longer time controls. I play it in the range of 1400-2000 on other sides like Lichess with positive win rate.

The good things about it is really that it is so subtle. It looks like white plays just bad moves:

- Sf3? like black played e5 or c5 and white doesn't know the Caro-Kann. 

- d3? to protect the e4 pawn??

- Ng5 to don't loose castle rights after a queen trade??

So it looks really like white has absolute no plan and just looses a pawn.

I am aware that you can find a lot of better moves for black, but in practical games you face a lot opponents who aren't theoreticians like you guys in this forum. 

I think it is better than the Tennison gambit. Black has more natural moves in the Tennison Gambit which don't allow white to win the queen.

@W90

There are ppl over 3000 on this site that play the bongcloud. Does that make it a good opening? I dont think so. Objectively neither is this opening.

I'm not claiming that it is objectively good (although better than nonsense like Bongcloud). 

So better don't play this against Stockfish or Magnus Carlson. But why not against average players? You only play objectively good openings? Isn't that boring?

The openings I play are objectively good yes. However I still have lots of fun with them because they suit my style. As you go higher up in rating you cant rely on tricks and traps anymore. This is because eventually your opponents will be good enough not to fall for them.

losing vs playing an interesting game vs playing a boring game

objectively good openings can be the second type

I always play the two knights vs Carol Kann

Jonathan Schrantz made a video about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhjSpXORK0E&ab_channel=JonathanSchrantz

That's a fun trap.

For any Caro-Kann players who may be wondering how to dodge this, the easiest way is to take the first pawn, but don't take the second pawn.

White's d3 pawn gets in the way of white's king bishop, so white will have to use a tempo to remedy this, by moving the pawn again at some point. Or by developing his bishop elsewhere.

Black, meanwhile, can use the time to kick the g5 knight away, and/or continue his natural development.

For example. With an interesting game to follow.

5. Nc3 by white still hopes for suboptimal play by black (like taking the d3 pawn one move later). But it can be punished by black with 5...Bg4 what is just very annoying for white. It depends a bit on the assessment of the opponent but 5.Nxe4 is safer. After the Knight and Queen trades the game is just completely even. But for an opening with high trap potential this is a good worst case outcome for white.

That's not the Caro anyway.

Caro-Kann is 1. e4 c6. And it is white who deviates from the main line, so black can not enforce a more mainline variation of the Caro-Kann if white plays like this.

That is also an advantage of this variation for white: White does not have to learn lots of difficult variations of the Caro-Kann, where advantages are usually difficult to achieve.

This is a very awesome-sauce gambit

the tennison is garbage. i quit that too. the book sucks and traps only work as surprise weapons. i adopted it myself after falling for the Ng5 variation a couple times, but, like the latvian gambit, once the novelty wore off, so did the winning streak.

1. e4 d5 2. Nf3 dxe4 3. Ng5

3...Nf6 4. d3 exd3 5. Bxd3 h6?? 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Bg6+ Kxg6 8. Qxd8

3...e5!  

    4.d3 Be7 5.Nxe4 Nc6 -0.9

        6.Nbc3 f5!? -1.4

        6.Be2 f5!? -1.1

    4.Nxe4 f5!?  -1.0