Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...c6

Caro-Kann Defence
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2p5/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR
Moves: 1. e4 c6
ECO code: B10-B19
Parent: King's Pawn Opening

Caro-Kann Defence

In choosing the Caro-Kann, Black gives up the centre in exchange for easier development. In contrast to the French, the queen's bishop is not blocked, but the c6-square is no longer available for the knight. Black often aims to let White's pawns overextend, or develop a poor structure, and take advantage in the endgame.

White's natural move is now 2. d4 as nothing prevents them from building a strong center. Bobby Fischer sometimes played 2. Nf3 followed by 3. Nc3.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables see theory table and for notation see algebraic notation

1.e4 c6

	2	3
Main line	d4 d5		=
Two Knights Attack	Nc3 d5	Nf3	=
Two Knights Attack	Nf3 d5	Nc3	=
Accelerated Panov Attack	c4 d5		=
Breyer Variation	d3 d5	Nd2	=

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References

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.

• Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.

• Batsford Chess Openings 2 (1989, 1994). Garry Kasparov, Raymond Keene. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.