4...Nd7? 4...h6 or ...h5 is standard.
25.Qxh8+ is even more devastating.
The Caveman Caro-Kann!
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bAdSPaSskY wrote:
4...Nd7? 4...h6 or ...h5 is standard.
25.Qxh8+ is even more devastating.
h5 is best. h6 is what I normally see - Nd7 isn't really good but then you see what I mean when I say people handle it badly.
25.Qxh8+ I saw straight after I moved, it is indeed devastating!
Here is another game making the case for the Caveman/Tal Varation: A 2100-ish player resigns in 16 moves?!
More Caveman madness:
Interesting variation. I play the Caro Kann; maybe I should be ready for this.
I believe the flavour of the line is not something most Caro-Kann players enjoy though; it can get very sharp! FirebrandX, I'd be interested to know if you've had it played much, and how you've fared, OTB.
Here's another game where Black gets into a middlegame, but falls to a kingside attack:
5.Bg5 is one of those remarkable ideas which work great when Black is strategically clueless, but when he knows what, when and why he's moving his men, he can just smile and squeeze White. After Anand's cool and extremely rational 5...Qb6 6.Bd3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 Qa6! against Shirov at their rapid match in Leon last year, the whole idea went for a sleep. Most probably for good.
5.c4! is the one and only active, and positionally consistent follow-up for White. Just like in the Morozevich variation, but White hopes to put at some time the hole on g5 to good effect. But no, not immediately- 5.Bg5 is just too naive to cause Black problems.
It's true that 7...Qa6! removes the sharpness somewhat, and gives Black easy equality. I've faced it once (and didn't manage to win). However, it's a difficult idea to find if you don't know it I think. I've had excellent results with the 5.Bg5 idea (although it would probably be for the best if I gradually came round to playing 5.c4 instead, which I intend to). Still, I think the idea is unusual, and deadly in a lot of lines.
I looked up the Anand game (amazing recollection for that one, even if it was just last year) and yeah, Shirov doesn't do too well. But I still think there could be ideas there. Chesstempo database extended to all games only gives 3 games in the Qa6 line, 2 draws and Shirov's loss.
Well, I play 4.h4 myself, and I would love making 5.Bg5 work. I have analysed this stupid position a lot, but found nothing.Factly, I believe Black is at least comfortably equal.
There is also the stupid 4...h6 5.g4 Bd7! variation, where I wonder if I can hold all that huge space I have gained on the kingside by just moving pawns, and no pieces... There I have made more progress, but I cannot be sure, as the resulting positions are razor sharp: one small inaccuracy and bang! you are dead.
Yeah that Bd7 variation is weird, but strong. I never worked out why 4...h6 is played there? Since the bishop has to come back to d7 and not h7. It's interesting to know you play 4.h4, have you made any brilliancies with it? 
A nice correspondence game. My opponent actually complimented me after the game, for the move 21.e6!
I happen to run into a caro-kann today after reading this post, so i gave the caveman a spin... not sure i executed this correctly, but it worked out to give me a crushing mating net, take a look:
Awesome one crookedknight, nice game!
The Caveman Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4) is a great offbeat way to spice up what could be a boring game following 1.e4 c6. Many players don't seem to know how to handle it - I haven;t had the same response twice yet from Black!
Here's an interesting 4|0 game where a 1700 blitz player is overrun by pawns.
Tell me what ya think ;-)