Caro-Kann?

I'm looking for a good positional defense against e4, something that doesn't require tons of memorization and has easy but rich plans to follow. I like piece activity, but I can handle closed positions pretty well. Would the Caro-Kann be a good fit? If you had 3 adjectives to describe this opening, what would you choose?

boring dull unexciting

karpov's dripping axe

yes, that's a pretty good choice.

those who say it is boring dull etc are usually the ones who find it difficult to prove an advantage against it. :)

and when it is dull and boring etc then it is white who is to be blamed, not black...
:D

Solid, cramped, sound.

In my opinion itis all of the above, but if you're a claustrophobic type then don't play it.  You will be lacking space for your pieces.  The plus side it is not easy for white to play against.  I don't know what your rating is but below 1600 expect to see the advance variation a lot, so make sure you look at enough games in this line.

I don't have much experience with Caro-Kann (I stopped playing 1. e4 a while ago and against 1. e4 I play Scandinavian), but from the little experience I have with it and the little bit of time I spent analyzing a couple of its lines, I think it's a solid opening for black that gives you good chances to equalize, but I wouldn't reccommend it to an aggressive player.

Solid, Positional, flexible.

Benedictus, I think if you play the Marshall Gambit line of the Scandinavian (2 ... Nf6) instead of 2 ... Qxd5, you would do well to study the Caro-Kann because there are transpositions that are important there.

I play 2... Qxd5

People who hate it describe it as boring and drawish. People who like it describe it as solid and sturdy.
You mostly get positions which I would describe as 'model positions' - you have very few weaknesses in your pawn structure at all and no problems developing. White players often get frustrated because they can't find a way to break into black's camp.

However, isn't it true that if neither side makes a mistake, black will be hard-pressed to find a win? Granted, white may be too...

The Nimzovich System of the Caro-Kann is very exciting. Black plays an early gxf6, opening up the g file for a direct route to the white king. It's doubled-edged, bold, aggressive.

That's true for any correct opening given that neither side makes a mistake.

One thing the Caro-Kann can grant you is that the pawn structure will never be symmetric. This means that there is always something left to play for, even into the endgame.

I like the Caro Kann, and I have started to play it now in response to e4. Moves usually go as following, 1. e4 c6, 2. d4 d5, 3. e5 Bf5 - however there are slightly different lines for example .... 3. exd5.

I used to play the caro-kann a lot. it was what grew me as a player the most. Now I switched over to the sicilian, for more dynamic active play.

In the advance variation, here are two fundamental ideas I found. If white plays an early f4, and Bd3, you exchange the bishop and then you counter white's strong f5 advance by the manouver: Ne7 -> Nf5 and then h5. In the advance variation, your break in the center occurs with the move c5, which undermines the white center. You usually get some play on the queenside.

In the classical variation (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. h4 h6), you need to follow a standard development plan with Nf6, Nbd7, Be7, h6 and O-O. White usually castles queenside. The c5 push into the center is, again, a theme for black.

The exchange variation is rather dull. just get your pieces into play and try, if possible, to win a pawn via a Bxf3, Qb6 maneuver. it works sometimes.

Best of luck :)

The Caro is cool, all the middle aged dudes at my club play it. A good book to get you playing it is "Play the Caro-Kann" by Jovanka Houska.

edit: Oh and by the way, all the players who diss the Caro as boring are the ones who play the most boring, untheoretical lines possible as white. It's the same with the french defence, all the players who say the french is boring are the ones who play the exchange variation every time as white...and then complain. It's WHITE who decides whether or not the opening will be sharp or dull.

Dmytro, what in the world does asking about a potential opening have to do with a players strength? A master probably would not ask, but I know class players always have room to improve in this area. I know how I like to play chess, I know nothing about the CK but plenty about other openings and I felt asking people here would be a very good way to learn about it. Complex positions are what I am looking for!

Thanks everyone, sounds scary but I think I will give this a try sometime. If anyone wants, challenge me to a Caro-Kann game as white. It would help me a lot. I'll be using the Game Explorer for the opening, of course.

it is drawish, dull and not good for attackers

Dmytro: Just because some one asks about an opening like this doesn't mean he's a weak player. He might already have a lot of knowledge on a different opening, but he wants to switch to something new.

Sure, but strong players won't ask a question basically like "what sort of opening is the Caro-Kann?". It's pretty hard to become a strong player without seeing games in lots of different openings.