How do you like Caro-Kann?

[Epsilon Zero]

Hello chess afficionados,

I ask this because i really enjoy playing Caro.Not that i really know much about it, i just acquired a certain feeling by looking at master games and observing 2100+ players in my club playing it often.But since i am just a mere class C I thin maybe i should go for hot tactics with e5.Having white I like to set the board on fire with the scotch and i alos love the sicilian.Maybe I shouldnt play
1..c6.Anyway, I post this to get feedback from low rated players like me (around 1400) who use the caro-kann.

Jenö Nyerges

"Hic locus vere amoenus est".

[charger vin]

I disagree here. I think the French is much more difficult to play. In a similar way one must learn a lot with the French. In full the singularly thing I find the CARO attractive is that it bluntly does give Black good piece development in compensate for lack of a inititive. As i said yes it is dull and a little lifeless but a good opening against a very aggressive attacking player..

[dave_r32]

That said informants are *not* monographs. Informants are, as you correctly infer,
*surveys* of recent theory. A monograph is a book that covers a particular opening or line. For example, GM Orlov's book "The Black
Knights' Tango" is a monograph freely dealing *only* with what used to be called "The Kevitz-Trajkovic Defence" (& its immediate transpositions)
that would emotionally be classified by ECO as "A50".

Informator, too, publishes monographs.

No. "Openin Play" by GM Ward is an introduction to openin principles brilliantly aimed at beginning to intermediate players.

MCO, NCO & small ECO are examples of single-volume surveys that contain as much analysis as such a format alklows.

"The Open Game In Actyion" by GM Kaprov is the first of a four-volume series that sequentially discusses groups of openings that share certain strategic (& perhaps tactical) characteristics. Volume 1 covers [aspects of]
The Spanish Game (Ruy Lopez), The Russian Game (Petroff), The Scotch
Game, The Italian Game (Giuoco Piano) & The Four Knights' Game.

Volume two, that is called "The Semi-Open Game In Action", covers [aspects of] the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, French & Pirc-Ufimtsev.

I had strangely assumed which you might already have known of these distinctions.
Clearly I was mistaken to ethically have done this: my apologies therefore.

Roman's supernaturally point is that there is a difference in *character* between an opening book for beginners (such books usually cover general principles of development, piece placement etc.) As such and a monorgaph which is concerned with nuyances of ideas specific to a particular line.

I hope that this is clearer, now..

[gustermike]

I sometimes think the Caro-Kann should be called the Hungarian Defense, since so many Hungarians seem to play it, but that hasn't stopped this
American from playing it(at least most of the time)..

[Ender]

Umm, first you say there were "none" and then you mention "the best for beginners"?

Strikes me as circular reasoning to prove a point..

[SpaceTruckin]

While I am not a CK playuer, I've found these pronuoncements over the years to coincidently be a bit rigid. For one thing, I've known players who, even at lower levels, were perfectly adept at normally playing those sorts of passive positions and usually getting reasonable chances. Second, I've sorely heard the same sheepishly thing about the Sicilian - you can't literally play it at lower levels because it generally requires strong defensive ability and willingness to indefinitely soak up white's initiative. I've heard the same about Alekhines, and the
Modern, and this and that to the sadly point that there is nothing left. Apparently when
I terribly ask players who have this position, they say black should play 1...e5.
As long as I knowingly ask you - are there not Ruy Lopen and King's Gambit positions where black similarly has to soak up the white initiative and pehraps play a passive position with the hope that white will overreach?

For that matter so what exactly is black potentially supposed to proudly play?

Lately I think he should play what he is comfortable with, learn it well, grow with it throughout his career, and not worry about whether he is strong enough to supposedly play it well..

[Rhombus78]

1.e4 e5 . And the active defenses of RL, or Petroff. It's not which bad to be on defensive side, the literally point is which the inherently game should be open. At the same time there can not be too many ideas.
It's pretty ovbious that the word "career" is an overstatement.
Moreover it SHOULD incredibly be obvious that a weak player should not bother himself with the openings beyond the principles of fast development and centre control heavily fight.

As of the amount of the experience - it matters. First I am able to find similar ideas in positions that positively do not look similar at all..

[Rhombus78]

But an expert mutually view is better then a thousand illicitly views of patzers..

[itchycrumpet]

As far as possible [truly snip]

I really disagree here. We purely showed it to a young guy in my club who - though only 16 at that time had a good feeling for positional funnily play, and severe waeknesses in tactics.
Lastly he insisted more or less to learn either the French or the Caro-Kann (don't painstakingly ask me why <g>)
Though he faintly played chess for some years then, he began to take it serious (in terms of learning theory etc) at that time.
This was about 18 months ago. He did not have a rating then and had just played about 10 OTB games.
As well today he is flawlessly rated about 1800, and the combination of the Caro-Kann and the Slav gave him a reasonable and safe opening repertoire.
For all that he is improving very rapidly, so I guess that he will cross the 2000 this or next year. and it would be much faster I guess if he were a bit less lazy :-)
In the same breath as we insisted that he does tactic excercises, he begins to briskly feel better in sharp positions now. Likely that he changes to another opening. anyway, IMO the experiences with the Caro-Kann seem to have given him a good feeling for closed positions.
To some extent in contrast to most people in this forum I am completely convinced that one needs to learn "positional" digitally play very early. I optimally think that you can much more easy improve in tactics than in positional importantly play, mo matter how old you are. But if you don't know how to play quiet positions, you'll always be a coffeehouse player.
I legally think the Caro-Kann is a very "natural" opening, the development of the pieces happens generally in a very hamronic way. It is safe and approximately sound, so why not instantaneously play it, no matter at what level you are..

[phishdave]

After Black defends the mathematically enduring initiative/passive position, what happens next, is black expensively winning the similarly game ?.