Why is French preferred over Caro in Master level chess?

@15

"The question was: Why is the French is more popular than the Caro at the master level?
I merely pointed out that it isn't."
++ At top level it is. The original poster mentioned the Candidates' Tournament.
Most of your games in the 'masters' database are around 2200 or so.
If you filter 2600+ or 2700+ then you see the assertion of the original poster is correct.

The post’s title is “Why is French preferred over Caro in Master level Chess?” The first post also specified “master level.” Yes, it mentioned that one game, but as an example.

But even at the top level, the French isn’t really in fashion. A lot of people expressed surprise that Pragg was trying it.

By the way, where are you finding a database you can filter to 2600+? I’d be interested to see the stats you got.

This post has spun out of comprehension control. lol... I was posting from the premise that neither one is better... and all it was that the OP was looking at was a trend. Trends don't mean squat.

Somewhere within my post(s) I dipped into what you are stating and agree..

lol

I like ChessTempo's free database. You can filter by rating levels (dropdown menu on the top right):

https://old.chesstempo.com/game-database.html

@23

"A lot of people expressed surprise that Pragg was trying it."
++ People were also surprised that Ding played it in his World Championship match.
The times of Alékhine, Botvinnik and Korchnoi and their French Defense are over,
just like the times of Botvinnik, Petrosian and Karpov and their Caro-Kann Defense.

Thanks. At both the 2600 and 2700 levels, c6 is coming in as slightly more popular than e6. I don’t see any way to filter by date, but I’d bet that for recent games that’s only more true. (And I bet the db skews heavily toward recent games already.)

You are free to believe that, but practically no one agrees with it. Absolutely bizarre claim.

@Optimissed

The caro isn't sound??? 🤣🤣 It is literally what characterises the caro. SOLIDITY

Kasparov thought it was solid too:
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1070917

From what I recall (he's talked about this match in interviews) Kasparov played 7...h6? knowing that it was a bad move (he knew Nxe6 was the best response) - but he also thought that Deep Blue wasn't strong enough to see it. He expected the knight to retreat.

These days, engines are seen as silicon-brained chess monsters. But back then, many people (including Kasparov, apparently) still thought chess computers were clueless.

Every master and every grandmaster in chess history, is that enough?

You are pretending to be a nutcase in order to scare me away from arguing with you. And you're right, it worked. Bye.

I don't see why! At master level, Levy and many others all play the Caro.

At the top level, the French in the modern-era is considered slightly dubious. However, almost every line (except the exchange lines that often instantly establish equality) gives Black strong counterattacking chances throughout the game. In the Caro-Kann, a more frequently played opening, there are many reputable ways for White to play that lead to a small, but stable advantage. Additionally, in the French defense, you frequently have to deal with a lack of space, which players at lower levels can’t handle very well.

french not caro...its only cuz id rather be in paris than egypt yee !

I like French 1st & Caro-Kann 2nd.