e5 really depends on what your opponent wants to do.
With a classical e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 approach, it's easy for your opponent to go into the Italian Game with 3.Bc4. Even the relatively calm Guioco Piano (3...Bc5) can be followed up with Evan's Gambit (4.b4), a very aggressive and tactical opening. You might consider the Petrov in response to 2.Nf3 (2...Nf6), it can lead to some semi-open/closed positions.
The Caro is a lot of work, but would probably be more rewarding.
If you are prepared to spend hours learning the delightful tactics and lines of the Caro-Kann(which i was too lazy to study :D)i would defintly recommend it considering that you might catch alot of players offguard and it provides solid play for black.
It's pretty much the opposing. If you are not prepared to spend a lifetime learning the spanish, the scott, the italian, the king's gambit, you should play the Caro-Khan. You don't need to learn many lines in the CK, you only need a good understanding of the structures and plans.
If you are prepared to spend hours learning the delightful tactics and lines of the Caro-Kann(which i was too lazy to study :D)i would defintly recommend it considering that you might catch alot of players offguard and it provides solid play for black.
It's pretty much the opposing. If you are not prepared to spend a lifetime learning the spanish, the scott, the italian, the king's gambit, you should play the Caro-Khan. You don't need to learn many lines in the CK, you only need a good understanding of the structures and plans.
Id say it's the opposite of what youre saying. You have any idea how many critical lines there are to learn in the advanced variation, mainline, side variations, and the various panov lines?? It gets ridiculous, the good news is that its fun to play and theres active piece play in each of the lines, as well as having different styles of play. Some are closed, some are open, some are IQP's, some are 100% pawn chains.
If you are prepared to spend hours learning the delightful tactics and lines of the Caro-Kann(which i was too lazy to study :D)i would defintly recommend it considering that you might catch alot of players offguard and it provides solid play for black.
It's pretty much the opposing. If you are not prepared to spend a lifetime learning the spanish, the scott, the italian, the king's gambit, you should play the Caro-Khan. You don't need to learn many lines in the CK, you only need a good understanding of the structures and plans.
Id say it's the opposite of what youre saying. You have any idea how many critical lines there are to learn in the advanced variation, mainline, side variations, and the various panov lines?? It gets ridiculous, the good news is that its fun to play and theres active piece play in each of the lines, as well as having different styles of play. Some are closed, some are open, some are IQP's, some are 100% pawn chains.
Yup i totally agree with you.
With 1. ... c6 you get no surprises in the opening but you will have surprises in the middle game.
With 1. ... e5 you have surprises in the opening but it is white who will be surprised in the middle game.
a caution:
If you play the caro kann when youre young..what are you going to play when your old? GM Bent Larsen,
now that gets me thinking coz im playing the caro now...
a caution:
If you play the caro kann when youre young..what are you going to play when your old? GM Bent Larsen,
now that gets me thinking coz im playing the caro now...
Been playing the caro since i was 10, still am ;)
Which opening has more lines to memorise ??
Which opening has more lines to memorise ??
It all depends on your moves and your opponents moves,For example:By playing e5 you have to be prepared for any opening your opponent has prepared for you,such as the spanish,italian,scotch etc. However the same might happen if you play the Caro-Kann(perhaps fewer lines),such as the Panov attack,advance variaton etc.
Which opening has more lines to memorise ??
It all depends on your moves and your opponents moves,For example:By playing e5 you have to be prepared for any opening your opponent has prepared for you,such as the spanish,italian,scotch etc. However the same might happen if you play the Caro-Kann(perhaps fewer lines),such as the Panov attack,advance variaton etc.
Thank you ! Anyway, I don't mind how much lines I have to memorise.
I only care about which opening offers the most solid position !!
Can you please write me your opinion about this also ? 
Which opening has more lines to memorise ??
It all depends on your moves and your opponents moves,For example:By playing e5 you have to be prepared for any opening your opponent has prepared for you,such as the spanish,italian,scotch etc. However the same might happen if you play the Caro-Kann(perhaps fewer lines),such as the Panov attack,advance variaton etc.
Thank you ! Anyway, I don't mind how much lines I have to memorise.
I only care about which opening offers the most solid position !!
Can you please write me your opinion about this also ?
Well if you want to play solid positions then the Caro-Kann provides solid play for black and in my opinion doesn't give white any advantages early on.Hope i helped and i wish you good luck in your games ^__^.
Thank you !!
I am waiting for other opinions too ! Please post your thoughts!
The caro-kann allows you to get all your pieces developed without having any real "bad" knights or bishops. The same can't be said about most other black openings. Also the pawn structure is usually solid, except for one variation in the advance that isn't particularly worrisome. If that is what you consider solid then go for it!
Of course there are many variations you can choose to go into to get an overall sharper attacking game in the Caro-Kann. I like these kind of variations myself. Oppositely there are more drawish variations you can go into if thats what you want.
The caro-kann allows you to get all your pieces developed without having any real "bad" knights or bishops. The same can't be said about most other black openings. Also the pawn structure is usually solid, except for one variation in the advance that isn't particularly worrisome. If that is what you consider solid then go for it!
Of course there are many variations you can choose to go into to get an overall sharper attacking game in the Caro-Kann. I like these kind of variations myself. Oppositely there are more drawish variations you can go into if thats what you want.
Yes, that's what I mean solid (nice game without weaknesses) !
So, if I understood well, you say that you can choose lines which offer solid play or lines which offer attacking play !! That's great ! Thank you for your answers !
A game I won today, see how i got a solid pos and attacking chances!!!
(OTB 90/30)
The caro-kann allows you to get all your pieces developed without having any real "bad" knights or bishops. The same can't be said about most other black openings. Also the pawn structure is usually solid, except for one variation in the advance that isn't particularly worrisome. If that is what you consider solid then go for it!
Of course there are many variations you can choose to go into to get an overall sharper attacking game in the Caro-Kann. I like these kind of variations myself. Oppositely there are more drawish variations you can go into if thats what you want.
Yes, that's what I mean solid (nice game without weaknesses) !
So, if I understood well, you say that you can choose lines which offer solid play or lines which offer attacking play !! That's great ! Thank you for your answers !
Yes the challenge of the carokann is not about finding good playable lines where you can challenge white. It's about remembering the huge number of variations that are possible, and learning to play the huge variety of positions that can arise. The difference between the Panov, the advance, the mainline, the fantasy variation, the e4-d3 stuff, and various other variations is like night and day. Also there are like 20 different things white can do in the advance variation that require different plans and even types of play in each.
The good news is you never really get bored! And there are a number world championship matches that featured heavy carokann play to learn from (Tal-Botvinnik for example). But if you wan't something easy to remember that doesn't require as much work, e5 might be what you want.
I share the same sentiment with the player who started this thread. Is it Caro-kann or should I go with 1...e5?
First of all, I play both Caro-kann and 1...e5, leading to the Petroff or 2...Nc6 lines
Secondly, I love endgames.
with the Caro, I get this play all the time
I think pfren just noted in other thread that Advance Variation is the Main line now. So I guess I'll be seeing a lot oof advance variations in my games.
Petroff defence is a good solid opening. I play the petroff whenever I am facing highly rated opponents. But sometimes, it is really boring. I like it a lot because it tends to bring about an early endgame.
with 2...Nc6 lines, well, you better have something good and easy to understand against the Ruy Lopez. Since the Berlin Wall is the "current trend" today, and it leads to an early endgame. I like that line a lot. However, as an amateur, I will avoid that line (as White) because at the back of my head, a lot of people will be playing that line (or included in their repertoire), so it would be practical for me to avoid it.
Whenever I play the Lopez as black, I get the exchange variation most of my games.
So, as of my reply to this thread, I guess it really depends on your objective and comfort.
if you choose 1...e5, then you must have something good against the spanish. There are lots of variation in spanish game, I dont know which variation is the one EASY to understand. I've been looking on the Breyer Variation lately. Since I also play the petroff, I like this Lopez a lot
I like playing the advance Caro-Kann. I tend to get a lot more wins in that variation then in the 3.Nc3 dxe4 variation, which seems a lot more complicated.
If you are prepared to spend hours learning the delightful tactics and lines of the Caro-Kann(which i was too lazy to study :D)i would defintly recommend it considering that you might catch alot of players offguard and it provides solid play for black.