Caro Kann Advanced: Short or Botvinnik Carls?

Hello,

I am a Caro Kann player and I am having trouble with the advanced variation. I like to play the short variation, like this :

 But, I'm starting to realize I tend to over-extend myself and both my queenside pawns and kingside pawns are eventually pushed, making my king not very safe when I castle. Would the Botvinnik Carls variation solve this problem? This variation goes like so:

Thanks in advance!

It is true that the Botvinnik Carls variation solves your problem but it comes at a cost. If your opponent knows how to play against the Botvinnik Carls variation you could be in an unpleasant position. 

You can play against the Short Variation of the Caro Kann by delaying the c5 pawn break thus solving your problems but that can lead to a very cramped position so I recommend just playing c5 and not worrying about castling quickly as the Caro Kann is an opening where it can take a long time to castle the king.

I personally prefer the Botvinnik Carls variation. Ideally white lets you develop your LSB to g4 with a pin, which basically solves all your opening problems. For example, after 3... c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. cxd4 Bg4 black is already better. Black has a very straightforward plan to develop with moves like Bb4, Qb6, and Ne7-f5, taking on f3 at an opportune moment to destabilize control of d4.

Sometimes white is aware of this and develops in such a way that you can't pin on f3 - for example, white could play 5. Ne2 instead of 5. Nf3. In such cases you'll often transpose into structures like the short variation by playing 5... Bf5. So it's still useful to know both variations as they overlap somewhat.

However the main flaw of the B-C variation is that white has the opportunity to just take on c5 right away. I don't see this move very often at my level, but it is actually the most critical response to this variation. Usually the safest response (if white takes on c5) is to play e6, blocking your light square bishop to focus on recapturing and getting a better pawn center, but things can still get pretty messy.

If such complications scare you, then I'd stay away from the B-C variation. Otherwise I'd try it out. I personally prefer the B-C, but that's really just my personal preference.