Caro-Kann Defense

The Caro-Kann, 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5, is the solid defence against 1.e4. Black supports d5 with the c-pawn, develops the light-squared bishop to f5 or g4 before playing ...e6, and accepts a slightly passive but very sound position. White chooses between the Advance with 3.e5, the Classical with 3.Nc3 and dxe4, the Exchange and Panov with exd5, and sharp sidelines like the Two Knights and the Dinic Gambit.

Because Black's plan revolves around the light-squared bishop, so do the mistakes. The most frequent one in our data is a pin that is not a pin. After 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Ne5 Nf6 5.d4, Black plays 5...Bg4??, and 6.Nxg4 takes the bishop: the knight has already left f3. In the Panov, after 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.h3, the same 6...Bg4?? loses the bishop to 7.hxg4.

The Advance Variation has its famous bishop trap. After 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4, Black must stop the h-pawn before playing ...e6; after 4...Qb6 5.h5 e6?? White plays 6.g4 Be4 7.f3 and the bishop has nowhere to go. The Caro-Kann Advance Bishop Trap page has the main version with 4...e6.

White falls into traps too. In the Dinic Gambit, 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.Ng5 exd3 5.Bxd3, the sacrifice 6.Nxf7 is the whole point of the opening, but only after a black mistake. After the correct 5...Qc7, which moves the queen off the d-file, 6.Nxf7? Kxf7 just loses a knight, because Bg6+ no longer uncovers anything.

The rule for both sides: in the Caro-Kann the d-file and the h-pawn matter more than they seem. The Caro-Kann Defense study covers the main lines; the puzzles below come from these real mistakes.