how bad is caro kann

Where is balck? What things did you gather? And how did you verify them?

It's krutikal that you play it right.

:thinker :thinker :thinker

For learning the Caro-Kann (CK) I recommend the following two excellent repertoire books on the opening by Sverre Johnsen & T.R. Hansen and by Lars Schandorff, primarily because (IMO) of their thorough and instructive coverage of the opening, in particular the Classical - Korchnoi (aka Tartakower) Variation, which is my favorite variation of the CK.

Both books are intended for all players who intend to learn the opening well - up to and including at the highest levels. If one seriously intends to learn this opening to the extent that it becomes a mainstay of your opening repertoire, these books and videos provide some of the better instructive content available on the subject.

My recommendations.....two books.....followed by several instructive YouTube videos...

Win With The Caro-Kann by Sverre Johnsen & T.R. Hansen. and Playing The Caro-Kann by Lars Schandorff. Both books provide a complete repertoire in the Caro-Kann defense to 1.e4.

Both books feature and recommend the sharp and aggressive Korchnoi Variation (often also referred to as the Tartakower Variation) - 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6 exf6 - which is a variation of the main-line CK Classical Defense, and which should appeal to players preferring dynamic counterplay as Black. Note that (oddly) Schandorff's book does not mention the name of the featured variation, probably due in no small part to the lack of consensus over the name of the variation - Korchnoi vs Tartakower.

IMO, both books are outstanding and should have a place in any serious Caro-Kann player's library - especially if the Korchnoi/Tartakower Variation is of primary interest. If I had to recommend one of the books over the other, the choice would be very tough but I lean toward Sverre Johnsen's book because i like the overall presentation/organization of the book as well as the instructive explanations. This is not meant to be construed as a diminution of Shandorff's great book, which is in no way inferior to Johnsen's book. It is simply a personal preference (and a slight one) on my part.

Note also that Schandorff's 2021 book Playing the Caro-Kann is an updated and revised version of his earlier, 2010 book Grandmaster Repertoire 7: The Caro-Kann which featured and recommended the Classical - Capablanca Variation (which is also treated in his 2021 book), but where the Classical - Korchnoi/Tartakower has now replaced the Classical - Capablanca as the primary/featured variation. Bottom line - there is no compelling need to have Schandorff's 2010 book if you own the 2021 book.

To be clear, both books address all of the major replies/variations (and some selected minor lines) by White in the Caro-Kann, but with the understanding that since these are repertoire books, they cover primarily lines that the authors feel are appropriate and necessary for understanding and learning their repertoire, as well as some selected lines that are not necessarily part of the repertoire, per se, but that the authors feel a player of the CK should know. That is, while repertoire books generally try to provide thorough coverage of lines and variations of the repertoire, they typically make no attempt to provide exhaustive coverage of the lines or variations that are not considered pertinent to the repertoire.

Following is some recommended YouTube content on the Korchnoi/Tartakower variation of the Caro-Kann....

'ChessGeek' - YouTube.....his videos are consistently well-presented and instructive...

Caro-Kann: Tartakower Variation (Caro-Kann Masterclass) - ChessGeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsnITf68J5w

One of my favorite chess YouTubers.....'Hanging Pawns'....here his instructional video series on the Caro-Kann and all of its variations.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiz7KLKjLas&list=PLssNbVBYrGcBZfLbeAU7d8llHf2jxBEl7

in particular, this video on the Korchnoi Variation (as he refers to it)....

Korchnoi Variation of the Caro-Kann ⎸Chess Openings - Hanging Pawns...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_6qOZIlbE0&list=PLssNbVBYrGcBZfLbeAU7d8llHf2jxBEl7&index=10

GM Daniel Naroditsky (nickname 'Danya') is one of the better chess YouTubers....he explains things extremely well...

Master Class | Caro-Kann, Tartakower | Chess Speedrun | Grandmaster Naroditsky.....here he plays an instructional game - he calls it 'Speedrun' - in the CK- Tartakower Variation.....best to take it slow through the video, there is a lot of instruction to learn from (it's a good thing!)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVp5TWZR0w

An instructive game/stream in the CK - Korchnoi Variation by another of my favorite chess YouTubers, IM Alex Astaneh (a very good chess teacher!)...

The interesting Korchnoi Variation in the Caro-Kann Defense | Lichess Livestream | IM Alex Astaneh - Chessfactor...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrEYqiMU4w

Example Games in the Caro-Kann - Korchnoi/Tartakower Variation - ChessGames.com...

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1048204

Finally, you might want to check out my chess.com blog for more interesting and helpful resources, including more chess book recommendations...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Good luck!

GM Daniel ('Danya') Naroditsky plays it right!

The Korchnoi/Tartakower Variation...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVp5TWZR0w