Destroy White's center in the popular Advance (3. e5) variation

Seize the initiative against the tame Exchange (3. exd5) variation

Demolish White's king in the Tartakower and Fantasy variations

A bulletproof repertoire with the Black pieces against White's 1. e4, based on my 10+ years of playing this amazing opening.

The Caro-Kann is one of my favorite openings in chess. It’s a building block opening because you prepare a pawn push to attack White’s center: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 - where the d5-pawn challenges White’s e4-pawn.

In this first chapter, we’ll study White’s most popular third move: 3.e5, the Advance Variation. My recommendation is we counter this with 3…c5, offering up a pawn to destroy White’s center!

Video 1

Study 1: 4. c3 The Good French

Drill 1: 4. C3 and 5. Bb5

Drill 2: 4. c3 and 5. f4

Drill 3: 4. C3 Main Line

Drill 4: 4. c3 and 5. Be3

Quiz 1

Quiz 2

Quiz 3

Quiz 4

Quiz 5

Strategy Quiz 1

Strategy Quiz 2

Strategy Quiz 3

Video 2

Study 2: 4. C4 Central Aggression

Drill 5: 4. c4, 5. cxd5, 6. Nf3

Drill 6: 4. c4, 5. cxd5, 6. Nc3

Drill 7: 4. c4, 5. Nf3, 7. Nc3

Drill 8: 4. c4, 5. Nf3, 7. Nxc6

Drill 9: 4. c4, 5. dxc5

Quiz 6

Quiz 7

Quiz 8

Quiz 9

Quiz 10

Strategy Quiz 4

Strategy Quiz 5

Video 3

Study 3: 4. Nf3 Natural Development

Drill 10: 4. Nf3, 5. Nxd4 and 6. Bb5

Drill 11: 4. Nf3, 5, Nxd4 and 6. Nxc6 Main Line

Drill 12: 4. Nf3, 5, Qxd4 and 6. Bb5

Drill 13: 4. Nf3, 5, Qxd4 and 6. Qf4

Quiz 11

Quiz 12

Quiz 13

Strategy Quiz 6

Strategy Quiz 7

Chapter 1: Advance Caro (3.e5) Move 4 Sidelines

The positions from Chapter 1 will be the ones you will encounter the most under 2000 ELO. This chapter was designed to teach you how to take advantage of White’s suboptimal play in any given position, and how to approach these fun positions in the best way!

In Chapter 2, we’ll start analyzing positions after White captures on c5, which is actually the best move.

In Chapter 2, we’ll begin covering the main line for White after 3…c5, which is 4.dxc5. This move can be problematic for us if we don’t know our lines.

In this chapter, I’ll offer you one of the two weapons against this move, which is 4…Nc6, getting the knight out first. We’ll look at multiple options by White in three different studies and learn how to adjust our setups based on those.

Video 1 

Study 1: The Pinning Bb5 (5. Bb5 and 6. Bb5)

Drill 1: 5. Nf3, 6. Bb5, and 8. Be3

Drill 2: 5. Nf3, 6. Bb5, and 8. Bxc6+

Drill 3: 5. Bb5 and the Weaksauce 6. Nf3

Drill 4: 5. Bb5 and the Precise 6. Be3 & 7. c3

Drill 5: 5. Bb5, 6. Be3 & 7. Nf3

Drill 6: 5. Bb5, 6. b4

Study 2: The Main 5. Nf3

Drill 7: 5. Nf3 and 6. Bf4: Getting our Pawn Back

Drill 8: 5. Nf3 and 7. Bb5: Avoiding Qa4 Tricks

Drill 9: 5. Nf3 White Plays C3 and B4

Drill 10: 5. Nf3 White Plays C3 and Be3 (with 8. Nbd2)

Drill 11: 5. Nf3 White Plays C3 and Be3 (with 8. Bd4)

Study 3: The Gotham 5. f4

Drill 12: 5. f4 and the Popular 6. Nf3, 7. Be3

Drill 13: 5. f4, 6. Nf3 and 7. Be2

Drill 14: 5. f4, 6. Nf3 and 7. h3

Drill 15: 5. f4, 6. Nf3 and 7. Bd3

Drill 16: 5. f4 and the Gotham 6. c3, 7. Be3

Drill 17: 5. f4, 6. c3 and 7. b4

Drill 18: 5. f4, 6. Be3

Quiz 14

Strategy Quiz 8

Study 4: The Modern 5. a3

Drill 19: 5. a3 (Transposition!)

Chapter 2: Advance Caro (3. e5) Weapon 1: 4...Nc6!

Among other things, this chapter is a great lesson of how to deal with various positional nuances in the center, especially pawn play.

In many cases, White holding on to the c5-pawn allows us good development and effective counterplay.

In the last chapter of the Advance Caro, we’ll analyze the second weapon against 4.dxc5, which is the solid …e6. Although it blocks the light-squared bishop, this move is played more often among masters as it avoids the uncomfortable lines after 4…Nc6 5.f4, as we’ve already mentioned.

We’ll go over some sidelines first, and then show the two main moves for White: 5.a3 and 5.Be3, the differences between those and how to play against each one of them.

Study 1: The Move 5 Sidelines

Drill 1: The Over-Ambitious 5. b4

Drill 2: The Annoying 5. Qg4

Drill 3: 5. c4

Drill 4: 5. f4

Drill 5: 5. Bd3

Study 2: The Modern 5. a3

Drill 6: The Critical 5. a3 and the Faulty 6. b4

Drill 7: 5. a3 White's Best Setup

Drill 8: 5. a3, 6. f4

Drill 9: 5. Nf3, 6. Bd3

Drill 10: 5. Nf3, 6. Bb5+

Study 3: The Main 5. Be3

Drill 11: The Greedy 5. Be3 and 6.Bb5 (7. Nf3, 8. Bd4)

Drill 12: The Greedy 5. Be3 and 6.Bb5 (7. Nf3, 8. b4)

Drill 13: The Greedy 5. Be3 and 6.Bb5 (7. c3)

Drill 14: 5. Be3, 6. b4

Drill 15: 5. Be3, 6. Nf3

Chapter 3: Advance Caro (3. e5) Weapon 2: 4...e6!

Now you’re a certified Advance Caro master. The more you move up the rating ladder, the more you should expect White to capture that pawn on c5, making your life a bit harder.

At that point, it’s up to you to choose whether you want to play the more comfortable 4…Nc6 and run the risk of White knowing the 5.f4 lines in-depth, or stick to the solid …e6 and ensure a safe and positional game.

The second most popular third move in the Lichess database under 2000 ELO is 3.exd5, the Exchange Caro, and it is definitely logical to capture a pawn in the center in the opening.

In Chapter 4, we’ll look at the more natural Exchange Caro positions arising after 5…Nf6. You’ll learn how to develop in the best way, what side of the board to focus on (oftentimes on the queenside), and where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

Study 1: The Early Sidelines

Drill 1: Dream Set up vs Nc3

Drill 2: White Develops Naturally (4. Nf3, 5. Bd3)

Drill 3: 4. Nf3, 5. h3

Drill 4: 4. Bf4

Study 2: The Cautious 6. h3

Drill 5: 6. h3 White Pins the E-file (8. Qe2, 9. Bxe4)

Drill 6: 6. h3 White Pins the E-file (8. Qe2, 9. Bb5+)

Drill 7: 6. h3 Main Line (8. Nf3)

Drill 8: 6. h3 Main Line (8. Bb5+)

Drill 9: 6. h3 Main Line (8. Bc2)

Study 3: The Main Lines

Drill 10: 6. Bf4 Main Line, White's 10. Bxd6 and 11. Qxb7

Drill 11: 6. Bf4 Main Line Plans (10. Bxd6 and 11. 0-0)

Drill 12: 6. Bf4, 10. Ne5

Chapter 4: The Exchange Caro (3. exd5) Weapon 1: 5...Nf6

To be honest with you, you might face the Exchange Caro more often than you would like. Although some of the positions might not be as colorful as in the Advance Caro, for example, I hope this chapter taught you how you can make the most of the Exchange, while implementing some instructive and important positional motifs.

Let’s move on to “more fun” ways of playing against the Exchange Caro in Chapter 5, namely two unusual setups that could bring you a lot of success in your games.

In this chapter, we are going to go over two pretty unfamiliar setups at the lower level against the Exchange Caro, that deviate from the main lines.

In my experience, these weapons have had great success over the years, leaving most opponents completely confused and without a clue as to how they should approach the position, thus giving us an advantage immediately.

I myself have won plenty of games in less than 10 moves using the setup from the first study, for example. Concerning the …g6 and …Bf5 setup we go over in Study 2, it’s more positional but you can also get some nice attacks.

Study 1: G6 Setups With F6

Drill 1: G6 and F6 Setup (7. Nf3, 9. Nbd2)

Drill 2: G6 and F6 Part 2 (7. Nf3, 9. Re1)

Drill 3: G6 and F6 Part 2 (7. h3)

Study 2: G6 Setups with Bf5

Drill 4: G6 and Bf5 White doesn't take f5

Drill 5: G6 and Bf5 White Takes f5

Chapter 5: The Exchange Caro (3. exd5) Weapon 2: 5...g6

Now that you have learned all weapons against the Exchange Caro, it’s time for you to decide which one you want to implement.

I would suggest you definitely learn the main lines we went through in Chapter 4, as they will help you get a better understanding of the Caro in general.

Concerning this chapter, I’ve used the …f6 and the …Bf5 setups interchangeably and have had plenty of fun with both. If you find it too much to learn both, it’s completely fine to focus on just one first!

Let’s start learning about the Panov in Chapter 6.

The Panov is not the best option for White in the long run, but is certainly a colorful way to fight against the Caro-Kann, using natural and easy ideas, making it quite simple to play for White.

However, if we know our lines, we can maintain equality or even gain advantage with ease. As you’ll see, blitzing out natural developing moves that come to mind first won’t work here! I actually recommend going for the fianchetto approach with …g6 against basically anything White plays.

Study 1: The Main Line 6. Qb3

Drill 1: 6. Qb3 and 8. g3

Drill 2: 6. Qb3 Main Line (8. Be2, 9. Bf3)

Drill 3: 6. Qb3 Main Line (8. Be2, 9. Nh3)

Drill 4: 6. Qb3 ( with 8. Nf3)

Drill 5: 6. Qb3 ( with 8. Bc4)

Study 2: The Straightforward 6. Cxd5

Drill 6: 6. cxd5 and 7. Nf3

Drill 7: 6. cxd5, (7. Qb3 and 8. Nf3)

Drill 8: 6. cxd5, (7. Qb3 and 8. Bb5+)

Drill 9: 6. cxd5 and 7. Bc4 (9. Nf3)

Drill 10: 6. cxd5 and 7. Bc4 (9. d5)

Drill 11: 6. cxd5 and 7. Bb5+

Drill 12: 6. cxd5 and 7. Nxd5

Study 3: The Meek 6. Nf3 & others

Drill 13: 6. Bg5 and 8. Nxd5

Drill 14: 6. Bg5 and 8. cxd5

Drill 15: 6. c5

Drill 16: 6. Nf3 Main Line

Drill 17: 6. Bf4

Chapter 6: The Panov (3. exd5, 4. c4)

The Panov is certainly a peculiar and fun opening at any level, both for White and Black.

I hope this chapter has made it clearer for you how to neutralize White’s potential threats in the Panov.

There is another variation of the Panov, called the Pseudo-Panov, which we will learn in Chapter 13.

In Chapter 7, we’ll start looking at the Classical Caro-Kann. You could make the argument that this is the most positional variation of the Caro-Kann, but you’ll see that we are going to be able to grab many attacking opportunities here as well!

Thus far we have seen 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 and at move 3 White advances or takes on d5. In this chapter, we’ll introduce White defending the pawn with their knight: 3.Nc3, which has been played in more than 14 million games in the online players database! 

3.Nc3 gives way to the classical variation, where we take on e4 (3…dxe4), but after 4.Nxe4 we have a couple of options. We’ll begin by looking at 4…Nf6, proposing a knight trade and doubled f-pawns. This is called the Tartakower variation. But before that, we’ll study popular sidelines.

Study 1: The Oddball Move 5 Alternatives

Drill 1: 5. Ng3

Drill 2: 5. Nc3

Drill 3: 5. Ng5

Drill 4: 5. Bd3

Study 2: 5. Nxf6 without 6. c3

Drill 5: 5. Nxf6 and 6. Bf4

Drill 6: 5. Nxf6 and 6. Bc4

Drill 7: 5. Nxf6 and 6. Be3

Drill 8: 5. Nxf6 and 6. Nf3 (7. Be2)

Drill 9: 5. Nxf6 and 6. Nf3 (7. Bd3)

Drill 10: 5. Nxf6 and 6. Nf3 (7. Bc4)

Study 3: The Main Line 6. c3: White Castles Short or Long

Drill 11: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. 0-0, 11. h3 and 12. Be3)

Drill 12: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. 0-0, 11. h3 and 12. Bd2)

Drill 13: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. 0-0, 11. h3 and 12. Bf4)

Drill 14: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. 0-0, 11. Bf4)

Drill 15: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. 0-0, 11. Nf4)

Drill 16: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. Be3, 12. Kb1 and 13. Nf4)

Drill 17: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 and 0-0-0 Part 3

Drill 18: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. Be3, 12. h3)

Drill 19: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. Be3, 12. Nf4)

Drill 20: 5. Nxf6 6. C3 (10. Be3, 12. Ng3)

Chapter 7: The Classical Caro (3. Nc3/Nd2) Weapon 1: 4...Nf6!

I would say this chapter is particularly important to learn as some of these positions are found in multiple Caro-Kann chapters (as you will see in Chapter 10).

Personally, I find them really fun, so I hope you won’t have any problems learning it!

Let’s move on to another common move we can uncork after the first 3 moves of the Classical Caro in Chapter 8.

Instead of 4…Nf6 like in the previous chapter, the Classical Caro-Kann proper is 4…Bf5, getting the light-squared bishop out and attacking the knight on e4. 

As you’ll encounter in Study 1, White will have a lot of choices as to where to place the knight on move 5, and we’ll cover all of them. Keep in mind that simply playing natural and solid moves should give you a good position here.

Study 2 will show us how to deal with a particular two knights approach by White, while studies 3 and 4 will go over the old and the real main lines of the Classical Caro-Kann.

Study 1: Deviations to the Main Line Part 1: Early Sidelines

Drill 1: 5. Bd3

Drill 2: 5. Nc5

Drill 3: 5.Ng3 and 6.f4

Drill 4: 5. Ng3, 6. Nf3 and 7. Bd3

Drill 5: 5. Ng3, 6. Nf3 and 7. Bc4

Drill 6: 5. Ng3, 6. Nf3 and 7. Nh4

Drill 7: 5. f3

Drill 8: 5. Qf3

Study 2: Deviations to the Main Line Part 2: White's Nf4 Ideas

Drill 9: 5. Ng3 and 6. Bc4 with 8. Nf4

Drill 10: 5. Ng3 and 6. Bc4 with 8.h4

Drill 11: 5. Ng3 and 6. Bc4 with 8.0-0

Drill 12: 5. Ng3, 6.h4 and 10.Qe2

Drill 13: 5. Ng3, 6.h4, 10.0-0 and 11.Re1

Drill 14: 5. Ng3, 6.h4, 10.0-0 and 11.Nxe6

Drill 15: 6. Nh3

Study 3: The Old Main Line: 11. Bf4

Drill 16: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bf4 Part 1 (12. Bd2, 13. Ne4)

Drill 17: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bf4 Part 2 (12. Bd2, 13. c3)

Drill 18: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bf4 (with 12. Bd2 and 13. a3)

Drill 19: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bf4 (with 12. c3)

Drill 20: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bf4 (with 12. Qd2)

Video 4

Study 4: The Real Main Line: 11. Bd2

Drill 21: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bd2 Part 1 (13. Ne4)

Drill 22: 5. Ng3 Main Line 11. Bd2 Part 2 (13. Kb1)

Chapter 8: The Classical Caro (3. Nc3/Nd2) Weapon 2: 4...Bf5!

Having gone through both options in the Classical Caro, it’s now up to you to decide which one you want to focus on and implement in your games, if not both!

4…Bf5 is definitely more common among the master levels and is their preferred choice. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with …Nf6, and if you like those positions more, you should go for it!

C6 Caro Kann

C6 Caro Kann

Level

Color

Stage

USD 64

What is included

Instructor

Levy Rozman

Level

Color

Stage

Elo Range

What you will learn

Description

Chapters

Chapter 1: Advance Caro (3.e5) Move 4 Sidelines

Chapter 2: Advance Caro (3. e5) Weapon 1: 4...Nc6!

Chapter 3: Advance Caro (3. e5) Weapon 2: 4...e6!

Chapter 4: The Exchange Caro (3. exd5) Weapon 1: 5...Nf6

Chapter 5: The Exchange Caro (3. exd5) Weapon 2: 5...g6

Chapter 6: The Panov (3. exd5, 4. c4)

Chapter 7: The Classical Caro (3. Nc3/Nd2) Weapon 1: 4...Nf6!

Chapter 8: The Classical Caro (3. Nc3/Nd2) Weapon 2: 4...Bf5!

Chapter 9: The Two Knights (Nf3+Nc3): Weapon 1: 3...Bg4

Chapter 10: The Two Knights (Nf3+Nc3): Weapon 2: 3...dxe4

Chapter 11: The Fantasy (3. f3) Weapon 1: 3...e5

Chapter 12: The Fantasy (3. f3) Weapon 2: 3...e6

Chapter 13: Everything Else!

Chapter 14: Model Games

USD 64

What is included

Instructor

Levy Rozman