Description
Given the solidity of the Caro Kann, its not so easy to stir up trouble early in the game. The three coauthors offer a total of 12 chapters, each looking at an interesting way to pep things up. The first two occur in the BronsteinLarsen Variation and are from Blacks point of view. Then theres a couple of tries for White against the Classical 4 Bf5 and 4Nd7, followed by a suggestion for both colours in the Advance Variation. Three chapters cover the Panov Botvinnik Attack (from Blacks point of view). Staying with the Black pieces, there is an interesting suggestion against the Two Knights Variation and an idea against Whites unusual 1 e4 c6 2 Ne2 d5 3 e5. White gets one final idea with 1 e4 c6 2 d3 followed by a quick d3d4. There are two chapters concerning the Advance Variation and the Three Knights. In the former, Black has been enjoying 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 in recent years. This book recommends that you Don’t Let Black Have all the Fun! and keep up the run of consecutive pawn moves with 4 c4 (lines with 4 Nf3 Nc6 5 c4 are considered too). This c-pawn lunge isn’t even considered in some standard Caro Kann tomes, so it makes it ripe for unleashing over the board. After 1 e4 c6 2 Nf3 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 Black intends to cause trouble after 4 e5 Ne4. Its good to see some up to date coverage of this line. Its still a rarity over the board (partly because the Two Knights Variation hasn’t been a popular White choice for a long time) but I think its a worthy inclusion in a Caro Kann fans armoury. Generally speaking, this collection of Dangerous Weapons is a little bit more main line than some of the others in the series. The ideas wouldn’t attract too many funny looks from team mates if they appeared on the board. I was expecting to see original analysis on such oddities as 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 f3, 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Na6 and 1 e4 c6 2 Nc3 d5 3 Qf3. Nevertheless, there is plenty of food for thought here and the recommendations will certainly freshen up a repertoire involving 1 e4 c6, from either side of the board. Whether playing White or Black, a study of this book will leave you confident and fully armed, and your opponents running for cover! Softback, 304 pages. Dimensions 152 x 229 x 20.32mm.
