There's also this, it looks fun:
1. e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qf3!?
Learning Caro-Kann, looking for book
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the book by Houska has gotten great reviews but its detailed
My recommendation is to get Lakawala book and learn it through that first then support it with more detailed knowledge from the Houska book.
As Alexlaw pointed out there is no free lunch. The only plus is that the caro is closely related to the scandinavian in many structures so your pawn breaks are similar and it should be a faster learning curve early on.
May 29, 2012
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#4
not to be completely irrelevant, BUT...
I suggest NOT buying a book but instead buying a game database (e.g. chessbase). Go through all the games of caro kanns played by the key players. (e.g. Karpov!!!)
Look online for occasional annotations - just a tip :)
Your idea is not a bad one Linlaoda but the problem with that is that there is a lot of information that can not be gleened from just looking at games. Why certain moves are played in certain orders. Somtimes certain lines are dismissed not because of the result of the game but because what the result could have been. A player could do it over time by just looking at games but the learning curve is much slower. A good book with good explainations provides years worth of experience in a few pages.
Once you have the basic plans down its a great idea to get a database of games and look through 100 or so short games in the move order your interested in to find typical plans and tactics
+1 on the schandoff book. I would still obtain the step by step book to get you up to speed though. The book is very technical though so I would get the step by step one first.
Okay, 3. Nf3 is more popular. Both look fun.
Just simple 3. d4 mainline is very solid for black. Strong drawing weapon.
The line 1. e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3. Qf3? may look fun but if you run into a good player--it will not be so fun.
May 30, 2012
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#9
I think I'll go get the Lakawala book first and then go from there. Thanks to all for your recommendations!
May 30, 2012
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#10
Karpov's 2 book series in the Caro is pretty great - but they're also quite deep.
Oct 20, 2015
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#11
I had a similar question to the original post. I'm interested in the theory of the Caro-Kann. Are there any books that provide good textual explanation of the main concepts that black is striving for in the variations of the Caro? It would be useful for me at my level to understand the concepts, as well as know the theoretical lines. I'm seeing from the discussion that the Lakdawala book is probably my best bet. I have Play the C-K by Egon Varnusz, but it's mostly lines and theory and light on textual concepts of the variations.
Starting Out: The Caro-Kann by Joe Gallagher (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062050/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen45.pdf
Grandmaster Secrets - The Caro-Kann by Peter Wells (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626234756/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen104.pdf
Grandmaster Repertoire 7: The Caro-Kann by Lars Schandorff (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627070808/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen137.pdf
The Caro-Kann: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala (2012) (advocates 3 Nc3 de 4 Nxe4 Nd7)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627015516/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen163.pdf
Opening Repertoire: The Caro-Kann by Jovanka Houska (2015) (advocates 3 e5 c5)
http://www.chessmastery.co.uk/chess-books/book-review-the-caro-kann-opening-repertoire/
Oct 20, 2015
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#13
Thanks for the informative reviews of these books ylblai2. I was unaware of the Gallagher and Wells books and that would have been a shame to miss those.
Looks like an approach would be to read them in this order:
Gallagher
Wells
Lakdawala
Houska
and Schandorff..........as your play improves and you get more comfortable with the opening. Granted the Houska and Schandorff books may offer differing opinions on the repertoire offered to the advanced player. However, the first three look like they would offer me plenty of textual concepts along with good analysis.
I'm scrapping my Scandinavian 3...Qd6 for a more serious opening, and I don't want to learn too much theory, so I've decided to start learning the Caro-Kann. I have some (limited) knowledge of the Caro-Kann, but does anyone have a Caro-Kann book that they would recommend?
Thanks!