Problems with Caro-Kann advanced variation

SimpleJohn, pfren ozzie_c_cobblepot, zezpwn44, --a, FirebrandX, blake78613: Thank you for the input, comments and analysis. I can see this topic stirred up more discussion than I expected, which is good I guess.

Replying to each post and idea would be too much, so I'll summarize what (I think) I have learned:

Problem 1 (early Bd3): is not a problem, exchange bishops. I knew that already (my pawn chain is on light squares, hence my light square bishop is not as essential as the dark square one). My question was more regarding that my opening book(s) or databases (small free databases) does not contain Bd3. I thought there was some "obvious" way to refute it.

 Problem 2 (white plays c4): As black, this gives me the possibility to get my knight to d5 (Ne7 - Nd5).  There is also an interesting idea for white, where he plays Nge2-Nf4. Had not seen that one before.

Problem 3 ( white plays Bbd2-Nb3): Go ahead to play c5 anyway, since the push is implicitely guarded by Qa5+. I feel reluctant to trade my dark square bishop (for a knight!) when my pawn chain is on light squares. I'll try it in some blitz games and see how it really feels.

Problem 4 (white goes g4 kicking the bishop): Like pfren, my engine suggests going Bd7?! Also I've learned about black going h5 Nh6 to gain control of g4 in variants when white plays early f4 (I used to play Nh6, but did not "rub in" the g4 control with h5 first).

Problem 5 (slow kingside dev): nothing really enlightning has been said about that, more than what I already knew. That's the price to pay for the otherwise robust opening.

 I'll go through some of that material linked to now..

Indeed. The main line Caro Kann is currently the advance variation, and the two most popular variations are 4.Nd2 and 4.Be3- both are putting obstacles to Black's ...c5 break.

Carsen won recently a great game against Wang Hao in the 4.Be3 variation, but when interviewed after the game he said it was boring for him, because Black's play was not challenging, and he had a strategically won position around move twelve or so.

To the question "Is this a joke" my answer is: the only joke is chess.com's turn-based ratings.

I'm not sure this is the thread to go accusing somebody of cheating.

This is the thread to discuss certain positional and theoretical ideas about the Caro advance.

Whether those questions make sense or not coming from a certain person is irrelevant here.  One can either contribute to the discussion, or one can't.  So be it.  I don't take ratings into account before posting.  I either know something that can help answer the question, or I don't.

A lot more people will read and take interest in the discussion than just the OP.  And I think it's relevant and valuable discussion.  For all those people, let's stay on topic, and leave our feelings about the OP out of it.  Leave the sleuthing to the sleuths.

This is the advance variation, black player just played C5....any good ideas about what should be played next for white? I often play a player who keeps on doing this...and destroys me almost every time...

This means that you have more urgent things to do than studying opening theory.

After the queen swap white has absolutely no attacking potential, and he is saddled with the permanent problem of the "bad" dark-squared bishop. His space advantage is meaningless, since Black has very easy play on the queenside.

In chess, everything revolves about some typical pawn structures, and the relative pice placement around them. Exchanging white-squared bishops exposes white to the long-term problem of being stuck with a bad bishop, and exchanging queens ends any hopes of an active play against Black's king.

Actually, as a Caro-Kann player myself, for #3, the problem isn't with 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2.

The real trend to try to prevent c5 comes from the line that New In Chess Yearbook brought to the limelight about 10 years ago.  The "invention" was not a mere 10 years ago, but the high popularity of the line started about 10 years ago.

The line runs 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Be3 e6 5.Nd2.  Now 5...c5 is a gambit where White's pawns are a train wreck, but White scores really well here.  More normal is 5...Nd7.  Now White has a choice.  One option is 6.Be2, and this is probably the most popular move at the highest level.  Black can now try to play 6...c5, but there are a number of subtle issues that Black has to deal with, and those that understand the opening better tend to play 6...Ne7 here.

That said, your "amateur" is more likely to play 6.Nb3, which is also played sometimes at the GM level, and is a more direct way of preventing c5 by Black.  6...Ne7 is also fully playable here, but 6.Nb3 can also be viewed as being too one-dimensional.  White is spending all his energy directly preventing c5 that he abandons the "big picture" in the position, and Black has 6...f6 as an option that has scored quite well for Black.  White's most natural reply is 7.f4, and Black can trade on e5, but why do it?  The pawn on f4 blocks the Bishop on e3, and makes development easier for Black.  The line I personally like is 7...Nh6 8.Nf3 Be7 9.Be2 O-O and Black is fine.  This is not by any means any kind of refutation to White's play, but Black should have very few problems maintaining the balance.

As for the early g4 lines, pfren is right.  Don't look at it as an attack on the Black Kingside.  Look at it as an added weakness to White's camp.  Both 4...Bd7 and 4...Be4 5.f3 Bg6 are fine for Black.  It's mainly a matter of taste.  Do you want to prove White's g-pawn is weak and silly, or the squares around White's King?  The 4...Be4 approach is riskier, but that applies to BOTH players.  White is constantly having to watch out for intrusions by Black, which are a plenty, probably the most fatal one would be allowing the Black Queen to intrude on g3.

6.c3, 6.Nf3, and 6.f4 are also pretty common, but they don't tend to score as well as 6.Be2.

I recommend 4.c4.

After 4.c4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Nxd4 dxc4 7.Nxc6 Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1 bxc6 9.Bxc4 Bf5, Karpov says "Black may have noticeable weaknesses on the queen's flank, but once he posts his knight on d5 he will cement the position." I would take this with a grain of salt, because black is under some pressure, but it is not too bad.

It may be preferable to go with Khenkin's 4.c4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Bg4, or 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c4 Bg4, and Rybka agrees.