lmMagik wrote:
i noticed that i can play both c6 and e6 against both 1.e4 and 1.d4 as black.
after 1..e6, white almost always will play e4 or d4...same thing happens with 1...c6.
c6 leads to the Caro kann / slav defense, e6 leads to French defense/QGA.
i play 1.d4 so i already should know the QGD and the slavdefense....at this point my question is:
which is harder to learn, the Caro kann or the french ?
The French is much more difficult.
you want unbalanced with swinging counterplay and winning is often either a centre-breakthough, or surviving a seemingly lethal attack and just having a won endgame after the dust clears? play French.
You want to play in a way that lets you play for a superior endgame and a certain solid cozyness? do you like letting opponents run of out patience and self-destruct? play caro-kahn
truth is though, these are family of defenses.the advanced caro is very different from the traditional lines, French exchanges are nothing like crazy winawer lines or super closed early nc6 french. At the end of the day, both defenses still allow white to choose whether to to a closed game or a more piece play kind of game.
One last consideration. If you dont mind sometimes playing positions where you have no idea or care what the hell is going on eval wise, and always play for the win, french is better. If you are ok with draws and always want to be in control Caro is better.