I played this game in the London League years ago. What fun!
Caro-Kahn Defence
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Estrinian wrote:
I played this game in the London League years ago. What fun!
I love those N advances to the sixth rank, pawns useless, but the best ones I've seen this early involve a Q capture at best. Straight out checkmate, King totally trapped is great fun!
roi_g11 wrote:
The Panov-Botvinnik attack is easy to learn and play as white, but can be tricky for black.
That looks good, but goes against the "beginner's principles" of developing pieces. Fair enough, if it's a better path, but in this case I think I'd be happier with Nc3. Doesn't all that faffing about with pawns lose tempo for white? Black actually gets a piece out first... plus I've no idea how to attack with an isolated QP 
I just played a dismal game against the Caro-Kahn defence:
Any thought on the best responses to this defence?
Using "beginner's opening principles" it seems to me that white now has to concentrate on developing pieces - he's made his two pawn moves. On the "Knight's first" principle and "safety first" and Stenitz's "don't play gambits, keep your material" that would seem to indicate Nc3.
As "my book" says Nc3 is indeed the main line, and the database gives it a nod, it's illustrated in the game shown below. This game illustrates the "main line" and "basic principles" approach, I feel, all the way to a very pretty checkmate.