What do you think of the Caro-Kann?

Hello.

I wanted to know your opinion of the Caro-Kann defense.

...Okay...

I think that it's incredibly solid, if slightly passive. It is not what you want to play if you want some acute tactical struggle (except, maybe, Bronstein-Larsen), but I believe it leads to a comfortable game for Black.

Hopefully, this will get as many posts as the Sicilian thread 

The Caro-Kann is wonderful for people who play 1. d4. Usually gets into positions with similar ideas as the QGD or some IQP stuff from multiple openings. Simple ideas and a straightforward central situation usually, unless we look at high-tension nonsense like the Twisted Fantasy variation.

I've been playing chess off and on for 20 years and only in the last two have I felt I've had a defense to 1. e4 that I can play for the rest of my life, and that's the Caro. The theory isn't as expansive as 1. ... e5, the Sicilian or the French, but you get more varied pawn structures with the Caro than the French.  I think playing the Bf5 advance lines from black's side are the most difficult variations to play over the board.  (If you don't like these lines you can always try the early c5, which seems to be holding up well.) I win plenty of such games as black (early Bf5) but at first these positions can seem quite cramped.  The exchange Caro gives both sides more of an imbalance to work with than the exchange French, which is one of the reasons I gave up the French.  The two knights isn't much to worry about. Finally, any aspiring Caro player must put some time into the Panov and pseudo-panov, neither of which are super dangerous unless black isn't well prepared, in which case, white can blow you off the board.  Luckily there are three or more reasonable lines against the Panov, and an evening's study should have you up and running against the pseudo.  Titled players often say that anyone under master level doesn't have style, they only have holes in their game.  That may be true, but I do have preferences, positions I like.  If you're a swashbuckling attacker or counter attacker, while you'll have that opportunity from time to time, the Caro's probably not for you. I'm the opposite of a chaos pilot.  I like positions with relative simplicity and solidity, then I can outplay my opponents after they overstretch.  If that sounds like you too, the Caro might be a good choice.

probably one of the most boring openings ever...fits perfectly to people who get excited with the QGD exchange variation...

Well, I guess it depends on one's viewpoint. I, for one, find the struggles fascinating! :)

I think i transpose into a few caro-kann varations.  I think it is ok, i prefer alekhine's defense

The caro is solid. It isn't the most ambitious though.

Unless you can play positionally and have the patience for slow plodding chess, I wouldn't bother...

boring? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=906tAksui10

No prob...its only my personal point of view...

There are people out there, who find it fascinating to collect stamps...

I will stay at my crappy openings like the Latvian or the Englund

I've found when people, with the exception of titled players, say an opening is boring or unsound, that usually translates to I don't like playing against that opening or I don't know how to play against it.  I know two talented juniors in my club who complain about the Caro, but I think they say these things because they often lose against it.

Karpov, Topalov, Anand, Botvinnik, Dreev, Ivanchuk, Andreikin, Smyslov, Capablanca, Larsen, Petrosian, Seirawan and Bareev have all used the Caro a fair bit during their careers; this includes six or seven world champions.  I'm happy to travel with such boring company.

Purely tactical players bemoan the lack of recognition of their quick shot combinational brilliance, in being consistently and to their surprise getting bogged down in the swamp of the Caro-Kann defense. 

Caro-Kann is an excellent passport for a positional player to get safely into the middle game, and press for equal chances into the endgame, against thrill seeking (bully) tactical players. 

I haven't look into it deeply. But I think it's one of the best openings vs 1.e4. Sicilian, French, Ruy, Alekhine, etc are playable vs 1.e4.

I stick with my 2 openings Sicilian and French for now. If one can master them, Caro can be mastered. They are almost similar. Neither is boring. Good fight vs 1. e4.

To those of you that say the Caro-Kann is boring, here's a game with the most boring variation of the Caro-Kann, the Exchange Variation (NOT Panov), and even it wasn't boring, and Black wins yet again:

http://www.charlottechess.com/games2/1211.htm

Then, there's also the one I posted 3 weeks ago.  Second game in the following post:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-showcase/a-perfect-day-3-at-the-us-open

I love playing dubious/aggressively against "boring" Caro Kann players. They can't handle imbalances [/generalisation]. 

Then again some "attacking" players are simply clueless as to what to do when none of their sacrifices seem to work.

I usually follow this flowchart:

Castle kingside, sac a knight on f7.

Does the enemy crumble? -> yes, good.

no -> 

push the f-pawn

Does the enemy crumble?  -> yes, good

no ->

push the g-pawn

Does the enemy crumble?  -> yes, good

no ->

push the h-pawn

Are you mate yet? -> yes, too bad

no ->

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