The Caro-Kann exchange isn't white's best try for an advantage. It often leads to dry-ish positions. Our course however, will teach you to play for the initiative. These are some of my favorite lines in the entire course. If you want to know more about the Caro-Kann check out Caro-Kann Strategy. Let's kick it off with our standard Caro-Kann moves. 1. e4 c6 2.d4 d5. But not white captures on d5, just as white did in the Panov attack. We will capture back, of course. Unlike the Panov attack (for…

Let’s continue our Essential Strategy series on the Caro-Kann. We've covered the Advance variations. But what happens if they instead capture our pawn early? Well, we'll capture to start of course. Then we'll put our pieces on good square and play for an initiative. After we capture back, if white plays the immediate c4, we're in Panov territory. We have a fun setup to play here, and we're going to temporarily gambit a pawn. White will develop their knights, and we'll follow suit. After all four knights are in the mix, we come…

Let's continue our Essential Strategy series on the Caro-Kann. In part 1, we looked at the Caro-Kann advance with c3. But what happens if white instead takes the pawn on c5? Let's take a look. We will play e3 here to immediately attack the c5 pawn. White has many options here that we cover in the full course. Let's look at what happens if white tries to hold the pawn with the move Be3. Nd7 attacks the pawn again and threatens to capture the pawn. We'd prefer to capture back…

Let's continue our Essential Strategy Series with the Caro-Kann. This is the first in a 10-part series going over this wonderful Opening. Let's begin! The Caro-Kann is a wonderful tool for black. Our course goes over 10 lines in the advance variation. We will cover the most essential in this post. About half of all your games will start with 1.e4. After you play c6, about half of all games continue with d4. We will play d5 to fight for the center. The advance variation happens at this point. White…