Yeah, 2. d4 is very much the main line here.

this is normal, its just a development move. d4 may have been better, because its more active and fights for the center, but you can't say Nf3 is bad.

It isn't bad, but black equalizes easily, as I stated.

Like it matters at all. The better player will win the game, regardless of a few sidelines. Get a 1500 player vs 1000 player, and let the 1000 play any opening: 1000 player will probably get a draw every 5 games.

yes its fine , but usually plying here , 2...Nc3 , d4 . its fine ...

2. Nc3 leaves e4 fairly weak so this is why the move order 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 or 3. e5 is necessary.

elyhim is right , its all so from the openings book !

This game's affinities to the Sicilian Defence look pretty slender, to my mind. White has retained his d-pawn, instead of his e-pawn. If I were White I'd probably plan a deployment roughly along the lines of d4/c3/Bd3/0-0/Bf4 or Bg5/Nd2, varying, of course, if something better or urgent interrupts the programme.

its doesnt look like Sicilan at all , its not the same idea

I assume jkarp is going for the f7 square; hoping to put the queen on f3 and deliver mate. I recall him saying that he used to get offended when other players did that against him, before he realised there was no need as it was such a weak move. It's disappointing to see him play it now.

ya if only he could cut this type of move out of his game I bet his rating would double

@cdeburca that was when the opponenet tried scholars mate. This move is indeed weak, its way too early because white cannot do anything with a one man's(or knight) army and at this moment e5 isn't really a square that can't be attacked by black at the moment so it was much better to just develop and do this move after more pieces were placed more active on the board (bishops and the other knight)

@jkarp: Were you trying for a cheapo? The only justification for this Knight sortie is if Black panics and plays 4...f6 to chase the knight away. But then comes 5.Qh5ch! g6 (Forced) 6.Nxg6, winning the exchange (6...hxg6 7.Qxh8). Note that the pawn on f6 will have blocked the Black Knight from saving the situation by 6...Nf6. The problem with trappy play like this is that Black is under no obligation to play 4...f6??

yes , playing with the same piece at the begining of the game is not recumended !!, better was 4.d4

Maybe Black could have done better than this development, as now the White Knight is left rather firmly in the saddle at e5 (for now). Instead 4...Nd7 would have asked White whether he wanted to exchange his 3-move Knight for Black's 1-mover, helping Black's bishop to develop betimes; allow an exchange at e5 or retire the knight. None of these options would be very appealing, but the choice would have had to be taken.

d4 is much better at this moment as it takes a solid control of the center (the d5 pawn can be protected by the c pawn if needed) and also allows the bsb to be developped. Bb5 will lead to exchanges and if white wanted to have the knight longer on e5, he shouldn't have played this move.

But a simple look at the position would show that this doesn't expose the king or take away the right to castle. There are too many pieces covering d7. There's no point coming up with plans without first checking if they actually work.

In my view, White isn't really hurting his game all that much right now. Black blocks; White exchanges, Black has scored a couple of tempi. Not wonderful for White, but not fatal, neither.

white playing with out any game plane , i dont see how white will get any advantage here .

I think this is one of the strengths of learning and playing the caro-kann as a black player. Many attackers beat themselves without very much help from you. I won countless games with the caro-kann.@jkarp in the caro kann do not mistake black's cramped position as a weakness. Instead blacks position is akin to a coiled spring trap that is waiting for white step into. When you this caro kann think Bobbie trap.

Black's recapture with the Knight makes an odd impression, though. Clearly he wanted to keep his light-square bishop, but now where will it go? But much better would have been the obvious 6...Bxd7 with the idea 7.Bxd7 Qxd7. With every man that has moved vanished from the board, White would have had in effect to start all over again. Not fatal for White, withal, but a slight handicap he could have avoided. ##### @jkarp: When playing 7.d4, did you notice that Black could have played 7...Qa5ch? Did you have your defence ready (there is one) that would have saved your bishop?

@jkarp good you are thinking along the right lines

All the same, loss of tempo though it would have been, 8.Be2 came seriously into consideration. Possibly White has in mind c2-c3, and then Bc2 at some point.

black is clearly better here .

Lovely position for black. Get the LSB out as you say, follow up with ... e6, put the DSB on e7, castle and black has an ideal set-up.

Exactly. I want to first get an ideal position as black. Then I can exploit weak play by my opponent.

Black wants to free the LSB in most openings coughFrenchcough

When Black spoke of 'biting on granite' I supposed he intended ...e6 at some point.

very nice game for black

maybe he was thinking of following up with Ba5 to pin the knight against the king. Unfortunately he will never get the chance.

That is a plan, but possibly too narrow in its focus. On the other hand, this bishop move does fit in with a general mobilization plan. Having said that, Bf4 or Bg5 were more active options; and Nc3 was worth thinking about, too.

10.Bf4 is lookes better , however its that any other move of the white DSB doesnt effect on whites position .

If only young players would follow such sound logic. This is the beauty of the caro-kann as it teaches the importance of a solid centre to a successful attack. This position is a great illustration of the different between a player who completes development and pays attention to the centre before attacking. Verses a player who attacks before developing and cares little about the centre.

Queenside pressure will come one way or another, however.

At the moment, Black's Q-side pressure/attack exists mostly in potentia. dmaestro mentioned earlier a 'minority attack'. This is a positional sort of attack by his 2 Q-side pawns against White's 3. This can be quite an effective technique, as after exchanges, White finds himself with an isolated or backward pawn hanging loose upon a file half-open to Black's rooks. Very correctly, Black closes down the centre as much as he can before launching his attack. Reason? A premature flank attack opens itself to a counterstrike in the centre.

12 Ba5 to pin the knight would have made sense.

An inaccuracy. I see where Black wants to go, and it's all right. As black, I don't feel much comfort with this move compared to Castling Kingside after developing more pieces.

Looks good, in fact Black's position is aesthetically very pleasing, but White ought now to exchange his b3-Bishop for that Knight on c4. This not only rids himself of a rather movebound prelate for a powerfully posted cavalier, but puts rather a crimp in Black's projected minority attack. Incidentally, I'm starting to wonder if developing the light-square bishop outside the pawn chain was that good an idea. It would have been very useful right now on d7 it seems to me.

The pawns being as they are, Knights are quite handy, though White's is awkwardly placed right now. I still think the trade is a good deal for white (even though for Black it is not unwelcome).

I wonder was 13. ... dxc4 any better? The three pawns could be mobile enough on the queenside; now black's pawns aren't really mobile at all.

I think 13. ...dxc4 is possible but less solid than 13. ...bxc4. When I look at 13. ...dxc4 I see 14. Qf3 Rc8 15. d5! Bc5 16. dxe6 fxe6 17. Ne4 as equal

I don't like 14.b3 - at least, not yet. More active was 14.Bf4. As it turns out there was an interesting line had Black tried 14...g5 in response. Black would probably want to stick with his Q-side operation, but the Bishop prevents his use of the b8-square for the moment. Check this out: 14.Bf4 g5!? 15.Be5 f6 16.Qh5ch!? Bg6 17.Qe2 fxe5?! 18.Qxe5 Rg8?? {Better 18...Kf7, but White has a definite edge already) 19.Qxe6ch winning. Of course, Black doesn't have to be so cooperative, but as an attempt for White to seize the initiative, it bore thinking about.

Interesting to put the rook on c8 after you have just opened the b-file.. I would find ...Rb8, ...Qc7, ...Be7, ...O-O and ...Rfc8 more logical.

But if he took with the pawn, he'd still have won the pawn back. How could you think that you were going to win a free pawn here?

@isd=jkarp: You ought in situations like this look at every possible (relevant) capture/recapture. In this exchange, 15...dxc4 and 15...Rxc4 are both possible, and ceratinly relevant. Although 15...dxc4 has its points, it is much less likely than the rook take. Why? Because taking with the rook achieves everything that Black's minority attack was intended to achieve. Take a look at the c-file. The c-pawn is backward, under attack, and covered only by the Knight.Black will be piling everything he's got to besiege the c2 and c3 squares. The defence will not be easy. Black has the initiative now, and the better game overall.

16. ... Bb5 looks even stronger. Either the knight or the c2 pawn falls, and black's pieces are really starting to invade white's position.

That followed by Qg5 if the Bishsop moves, looks strong.

I'm going to give Black's 16th move a (!): a very strong move indeed. Why? White's d-pawn is a goner. As it can not sensibly be protected (17.Ne2 Bxc2) Black can just quietly deploy his reserves whilst White wriggles on the hook. My first look, by the way, was 16...Bb4. It's strong, all right: White just about has to play 17.Ne2 Bxc2 18.Qc1, but then what for Black? Incidentally, the only alternative to save the piece on c3 is 17.Qf3?! after which Black has to be careful. 17...Bxc2 is possible but after 18.Rc1 Bg6 19.Qxd5! things are getting weird. Black dare not retake on d5 (19...Qxd5?? 20.Nxd5 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 exd5 {better than 21...Bxd2 22.Rc8ch} 22.Bxb4 ... {better than 22.Rc8ch? Kd7 23.Rxh8 Bxd2} 22... Kd7 23.Rc5 Ke6 24.Rc6ch with an endgame edge for White). So Black retains a little bit of an advantage by 19...Qc8. Probably best is to reply to 17.Qf3 by castling, closing down opportunities for White to counter in the centre, and retaining a significant edge. By choosing 16...Be7 instead of ...Bb4, Black keeps up the pressure, and incurs almost no risk of White's conjuring up counter-play in the centre of K-side.

As is the knight.

White was already in a bad way, the d-pawn 'en prise', and Black was threatening to win 2 minor pieces for a rook as well. If 18.Re3, Rxd4 would have been straightforward enough.

18...Qxf4 was perfectly fine, and led to a winning game. But maybe Black wanted to keep things 'competitive'.

About 20.Rxc3; nothing else looks good either. Pick the loss, 20.Rxc3, or retreating the Rook. 19.Re3 is a very stern reminder of pressure and its consequences.

jkarp - read your annotation again. It makes no sense. After the moves you note, you're just down a piece.

It seems that White has forgotten that the bishop's protection has been withdrawn. The only sensible move I can find for White is not one easy to come to: 19.Nb1, after which comes 19...Bxc2 20.Qf3 0-0 21.Na3 Bxa3 22.Qxa3 Rxd4 23.Be3 Rc4. Black's huge spatial advantage will have been realised into 2 extra pawns (centre ones at that, and one passed), and still with powerfully posted pieces. For this, White will have won a little freedom: no more.