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...
I recommend 4.c4.
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...
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.
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.