Caro Kann Defense On You Tube

Here is the Caro Kann defense, my favorite defense as I use when playing Black. I favor this Black defense rather than the Sicilian because it is not as complex and does not have super sharp variations like the Yugo Slave variation of the Sicilian defense. The fist two You Tube videos deal with the advance variation of the opening and some annotation from an actual game , the third You Tube Video deals with a common trap in the Caro Kann.

Unfortunately, I am only familar with the Classical variation and the Exchange variations and not all the variations of the Caro Kann. By posting most of the variations of the Caro Kann on my blog , this will jump start renewed interest in this opening for myself as well as followes of my chess blog.

I will add in a future date some famous Caro Kann games in Chess Flash format as well as some recent Caro Kann games from the 2009 USATE Amateur East Championship, which I will post below the You Tube Video.

Also National Master Jim West of New Jersey has employed the Exchange variation of the Caro Kann opening and I will add a few of his games on this blog post.

Update: April 25, 2009***** On my blog post Redux: Caro Kann Exchange Revisited, posted on April 23, 2009, I have listed in Chess Flash format seven Caro Kann Exchange games played by Jim West during the mid 1990's circa 1995.

At the bottom on this post there three of the seven games by Jim West in the Caro Kann Exchange.

The Caro-Kann Defence is a common chess opening characterized by the moves:

1.e4 c6.
The usual continuation is

2.d4 d5
followed by 3.Nc3 (the Classical Variation), 3.Nd2 (the Classical Variation), 3.exd5 (the Exchange Variation), or 3.e5 (the Advance Variation). 2.Nc3 is the modern variation which has gained much popularity. The Caro-Kann, like the Sicilian Defence and French Defence, is classified as a "Semi-Open Game", but it is thought to be more solid and less dynamic than either of those openings. It often leads to good endgames for Black, who has the better pawn structure.

The opening is named after the English player Horatio Caro and the Austrian Marcus Kann who analyzed the opening in 1886. It is believed to be good against computers especially when it leads to a closed position. It is, hence, one of the more common openings played in computer-human matches.











In keeping with the theme of this chess blog " Chess From The Amateur" here are four games featuring the Caro Kann which were played at the recent 2009 USATE Team East.....diamondback

USTE1.pgn


USTE2.pgn



USTE3.pgn


USTE4.pgn


Notes are from Jim West from his chess blog Caro Kann Exchange orignally posted on
February 23, 2007. The games in Chess Flash format are Variation A only.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3, there are three subvariations for Black: (a) 4...Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 Bg4 7.Qb3 Qc8 (or 7...Qd7

Jim_West-Steve_Anderson.pgn


Jim_West_-Matt_Boxer.pgn

http://diamondbackchess.blogspot.com/

Correct Score Sheet Jim West vs Noah Siegel circa 1995 Caro Kann Exchange
Updated on April 27, 2009 in Chess Flash format.
Note: Location and Date of game are now correct......diamondback



Jim_West-Noah_Siegel_0.pgn



Famous Caro Kann Games From The 20th Century

marshall_capablanca_1927.pgn



botvinnik_tal_1960.pgn


deep_blue_kasparov_1997.pgn


Some more Jim West games of Variation B which follows the move order below:

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3, Nc6 5.c3 Qc7

Jim_West-Louis_Leiggi.pgn