Caro-Kann advance variation as black

I recently adopted caro-kann defense vs e4, and I faced a lot of adv variation in my games (around 1200 rapid).

I usually play Bf5, e6, Nd7, but I find it hard to devlop my Ng and Bf.

I often got pressured and suffocated. My knight would get pinned, my bishop would get attacked.

Sometimes I don't even get a chance to castle hahaha.

Is Bf5 a good move for a beginner or should I switch to an early c5?

I assume you mean Bf5, not Be5, and the fact that you are getting suffocated in the main line indicates you are simply trying to play random moves and expecting them to work simply because you played the first few moves right.

No matter what opening or variation you play, you need to put in the time to study it. Invest in books, like The Caro-Kann: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, for example.

Asking whether the main line is a good move or not just tells everyone you haven't actually studied fully annotated games in said opening, and that you just looked up the first few moves and are expecting good results to just happen magically, and if they don't, it must be the Opening's fault.

Hi! I play the Caro-Kann myself and I find the advance variation quite sharp and tough to fight if your opponent knows what their are doing -and you don't as much. So I agree it is a variation that requires time to be learned. But it is time well invested since the Caro-Kannt is highly reliable and fun.

Good luck!

Firstly I just wouldn’t recommend playing the Caro-Kann in general, at your level you should pretty much be playing e4 as White and e4 e5 and d4 d5 as Black. If you really really want to stick with the Caro-Kann, DO NOT switch to an early c5.

I'm relieved that I'm not alone on this one. Sometimes playing it feels like you need to be extra accurate or you'll be punished.

I'll surely study the lines further.

Thanks so much for the encouragement. Really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for the suggestion. I'll cross out an early c5 as an option.

I'll try exploring and see which ones do I enjoy playing more.

Cheers

I would like to mention that playing the caro as a beginner can work very well. I played throughout my whole journey from 1000 to 1800. I always play the move three c5 against the advance variaton and have had a lot of succes with it. I would recommend looking up a video by gothamchess on youtube about the caro-kann and I can also give you some of the lines I like to play in the advance caro. (see below)
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/4t8ccbmSpn?tab=analysis
Especially at around 1200 rapid i think that a move three c5 is very powerful against the advance caro becauses people generally don't know all the lines.

On top of that I would also add that I like to play my own opening to take my opponent out of their preperation so I would actually recommend you learn some openings other then e4 e5 and d4 d5. Personally I would recommend the caro against e4 and the kings indian against d4. It is very easy to find a good youtube video on these opening and in my opinion they are easy to learn. As with white, I'd recommend you give the london system a try. Despite what its reputation might be, it is very easy to learn and gives you a very easy to play position which can be quite important at your level

Wow, this is really informative! appreciate your help.

I have some questions regarding the c5 lines.

When should you take on d4? only against c3 or against Nc3 should be fine as well?

Are you still playing an early c5 at your current rating or did you switch to Bf5?

generally its fine to take on d4 against c3 a bit later, nc3 isn't very common but it should be fine to take on d4 there too. I am still playing c5 at my current rating yes and as i am still gaining rating it can definetly work

If you want to be absolutely certain of a line i'd recommend to look at it with the engine in detail

Glad that you mentioned this, London is my go-to opening as white.

I really enjoy playing it; I often go h4h5 and attack on the king's side.

I know it's a cheesy approach but it's alot more fun that the positional lines.

Do you exclusively play caro against e4 and London as white?

I do exclusively play the caro against e4 though i nowadays play the colle system (and the trompowsky) with white. I would recommend for your level that you stick to the london because that tends to be more solid

Got it! Thank you for your help!

no problem, I am happy to help!

Hi!

3...c5 against the Advance Variation seems to be less theorically developed compared to 3...Bf5. However, I don't like it much because you normally end up playing ...e6 and get a French like centre with the closed bishop.

For me 3...Bf5 is the more principled Caro-Kann approach, although the position of the freed bishop is ironically the motive of White's play -and Black's headacke.

Good luck!

Yeah, I find Bf5 to be a liability too. The opponent tends to chase it around coz I dont want it to be captured on f5 and have to capture back with the pawn on e6, creating weakness in the center.

I often waste moves just to position that bishop due to the lack of experience.

Thanks for your input, cheers

I smell some nonsense cooking around 👃 🤔.

In reality, Caro Kann is fine and Bf5 and c5 are both good options really. Feel free to switch to an early c5.

Can you please post an example on how your knight gets pinned or how your bishop gets attacked? Thanks 🙏

The best way to learn the Advance Caro-Kann, in my opinion, is to start with the 5...c5 lines, like so:

Black gets his bishop "outside" the central pawn chain, then plays his thematic ...c5 break.

An example line:

Here, Black wants to continue his kingside development with ...Ne7. But the c5 pawn is currently in tension with White's d4 pawn. If Black plays ...Ne7 now, White can play dxc5, winning a pawn. Black will have to spend the next few moves trying to win it back (if possible).

So it's easier to exchange here, and continue developing, like so:

Here, we have an example of a White player who wants to harrass and win Black's light-square bishop (since this is a problem that you mentioned in this thread).

Black could simply retreat the bishop to g6. Then, if White captures, it opens a nice attacking file for Black's rook:

In this case, Black could consider arranging a future an attack on White's kingside.

But Black actually has a stronger idea in that position:

Hitting White's weak d4 pawn! Now White realizes that his knight maneuver was misguided, and will have to retreat to defend the important d-pawn - the supporting base of White's central pawn chain.

But Black's attack on the pawn is too well-developed to be stopped:

Attacking the defender of the d4 pawn.

Now the d4 pawn will fall.

And Black is up a pawn in a comfortable middlegame. With basic technique, this game should be already won for Black.

5...c5 isn't the only way to play the Caro-Kann ... but it's a thematic, principled approach and one that I believe should serve well as an introduction to the 3...Bf5 Advance.

Also, not all the 5...c5 lines are as straightforward as the example I listed above. Some can get rather tricky. But that's chess for you - you learn as you go, until eventually all the difficult lines become easy.