Caro Kann Defense: Tartakower Variation
What is the best, structured approach to learn the Caro Kann defense, Tartakower variation? What is typical pawn structure? How to build a good plan for Black in the Tartakower Caro Kann? What are typical ideas for both colors? And what are the critical strategies? Is Tartakower Caro Kann a positional opening? Among best chess players in the world, who plays Tartakower variation as Black?
If you are asking these and other questions regarding the Tartakower's Caro-Kann, this video may help.
💡 POSSIBLE OPENING & MIDDLEGAME IDEAS
Tartakower variation of the Caro-Kann provides a specific pawn-structure that allows black to opt for many plans, among which in this video I am examining the following ones:
- b7-b5 pawn advance with an idea to control the d5 and/or c4 square (the oldest, original plan behind the Tartakower),
- utilizing the doubled f-pawns and great protection of the black king to gain space and control the central e4-square,
- advancing the h-pawn to create weaknesses in the enemy camp,
- use the b8-h2 diagonal to create bishop-queen battery,
- when white pushes h3, create the c8-h3 bishop-queen battery with the intention to sacrifice on h3,
- when white castles long, advance b5, and potentially sacrifice a pawn to open files for the attack,
- when white castles long and hit your h7-pawn, advance h5 instead of h6.
Overall, it is highy positional response for Black (sometimes it gets sharper), suitable for players not interested in risking too much, but still with intention to go for a win. The main feature of this chess opening is that you (as black) get a complicated, slowly building position, with a clear plan and ideas to improve.
🔥 CHAPTERS
0:00 What kind of opening it is?
0:19 How to get into the Tartakower?
0:55 Original plan: b7-b5
1:24 Model game 1
2:26 When white goes c2-c4
3:20 Model game 2
4:23 Utilizing the doubled pawns
4:55 Model game 3
5:50 Model game 4 (position)
6:08 Pawn-cube
6:20 Model game 5 (position)
6:39 Advancing the h-pawn
6:55 Battery on digaonal b8-h2
7:13 Typical knight's route
7:34 Battery on diagonal c8-h3
8:46 White castles long
9:00 Why not h6 but h5?
11:08 Recap
Level of chess understanding required - beginner / intermediate.
#carokann #tartakower #chessopenings
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Пікірлер: 60
Great video! Very instructive how you explained the plans of the opening with the pawn structure in mind.
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
Awesome, thank you!
@amulsuresh857
2 ай бұрын
Best chess coach in the world🏆🏆🏆
Nice video, I play the Caro-Kann Tartakower variation a lot, so this was a good review of some key ideas.
@ahmetsaban8664
9 ай бұрын
You're still around!! ^_^'
@kesetokaiba
9 ай бұрын
@@ahmetsaban8664 xD
Thanks a lot for the video! I've just increased my (only french) repertoire by adding the Caro-Kann. Would love to see some more videos of you explaining different variations. Especially in the advance with 3.Bf5
In the meantime I have also included the caro-kann in my black repertoire. These good videos will help me a long way. Thank you
Wow I've seen so many opening videos and this was one of the best. The way you broke down the position and highlighted different ideas individually was so much more helpful than just giving out pages of theory to memorise. Thanks for the high quality video I actually feel like I understand the tartakower now
Wow, what a great video! I followed a link from lichess, and I'm glad I did. I love the way you visualize the board without pieces, or with only the key pieces, it really helps me understand the key characteristics of the position and the relevant plans. Thank you!
@uefets
9 ай бұрын
Same, I also saw the video on Lichess and, since I play the Tartakower myself, decided to check it out. Incredibly useful summary of Black's plans in this structure!
I had never understood the counterintuitive h5 - thank you for explaining!
Awesome video! I came for middlegame ideas and that's what you taught.
I LOVE this video! So informative the way you only include the pawns and important pieces to reduce unnecessary distraction.
Ну да, я сам до всего этого доходил пять лет своим умом, и еще не дошел. And this is the great summary of typical ideas.
The best summary I have ever watched. Thanks
Loved the approach to this Tartakower variation. Wonderful explanation.
This is an AWESOME video. Happy it was recommended to me!
Nice lesson!! wow!
I just discovered ur channel, ur videos are great and very instructing! Thank you sm:D
After searching the entire internet, this is the best video I found about this opening! Very great positional understanding!!! I have to play against a 1900 rated opponent next sunday, but because I am only around 1400 FIDE, I think these concepts are necessary to understand. Great resources!
@BadBishopChess
6 ай бұрын
Wow, thank you! Let us know how it goes, if your game goes into this variation of Caro-Kann :)
@yorannoens
6 ай бұрын
@@BadBishopChessMy opponent couldn't make it to the match so it ended in a forfeit win... it's sad but I still got thew in tho
Great Video. Straight to the point. Loved it!
Wow this video is super detailed on different ideas of this variation. I learned a lot, thanks
Dobro objašnjavaš. Pohvala za tebe.
@BadBishopChess
5 ай бұрын
Hvala! 🙂
Thank you, Sir! Your videos are very good and handy. You are explaining thing so clear! You have gift to teach. I've watched almost all of your vids. Thank you for doing this. My dream is reach 2000 fide at some point in this life, would be great. Caro was my first opening against e4. For while I tried to Sicilian, but I think I'm switching back.
@BadBishopChess
6 ай бұрын
So nice of you! Thank you!
Too good
Wonderful video, please make more videos like this including pawn structures and middlegame strategies of various openings, like carokann, nimzo, ragozin/vienna defense, french, etc.
@BadBishopChess
4 ай бұрын
Thank you! I will (French, Caro-Kann and Nimzo are already published, but there will be more).
Genial video, da muchas ideas de como jugar esta excelente defensa. Saludos desde Panamá.
You have a beautiful voice! You reminded of some audiobooks I have listened to :D
Thank you for the excellent video and your hard work. Especially the expression through pawn structures is very important. But it's not so easy for under 2000 players like me. It will be necessary to watch this video constantly over and over again, and keep it in mind during the games.
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
Thank you! I am glad it helps and I will take care of the videos in the future to be easier to understand for players below 2000 points.
This discussion of openings based on the pawn structures and plans is fantastic! I'm lucky enough to play this as Black; this video has taught me some ideas! Is this line really so strictly positional, though? As I've already seen some games where Black plays for the attack, either by making a queen-bishop battery along the b8-h2-diagonal or using the doubled f pawn as a battery ram to shred the kingside of White and the model games that you showed also contained a lot of exciting attacking chess instead of positional maneuvering....
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
You are right, it is also an attacking setup. Depends which of those plans one goes for, and also where White castles.
Great!
❤❤❤❤
thanks
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
You're welcome!
Hello there! I wanted to express my appreciation for your fantastic video. Thank you for all your hard work in creating such engaging content. I'm particularly impressed with the layout on the screen, and I was wondering if you could kindly share which chess board and set of chess pieces you use in your videos. Thank you so much!
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
Thank you for your comment! As for the layout and chess set, it is one of the lichess pieces, same is with the board (I can look further into it to be more precise), which I combine with the layout I've created using Canva. It takes some time to design it exactly this way. Overall making these videos is super time-consuming.
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
Just checked it on Lichess: - board theme: maple, - piece set: cardinal.
Don't exactly remember the dates but I do know that before the ... h5 plan was discovered this was considered somewhat bad or at least passive. The mainline was 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6 exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 (or 8. Ne2 and 9. Qc2) and black played either ... h6 (which allowed a future h2-h4, g2-g4-g5) or ... g6 (allowing h2-h4-h5). The whole idea that ... h5 was okay for black was a "revolution" for the opening From 2021 onwards the Tartakower has overtaken 4. ... Bf5 as the most popular move in the 3. Nc3(d2) Caro-Kann. So, it is effectively the mainline today! Add to that GM Schandorff's new Caro-Kann book in which he advocates for ... Nf6 and I think this line will be played at yhe top for a while. Whoever thought of ... h5, well done!
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
Exactly. My whole career as a chess player this line has been known as suboptimal.
Arrived to the channel through this video and I loved it. I play caro and thanks to the Tartakower I like facing Nc3. Do you have similar suggestions for the exchange or 2 Knights?
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
Thanks for the comment! 🙂 Against 2 knights you can use the same, Tartakower. Carlsen used it against Nepo in one of those model games from the video (when Qa5 was played). As for the Exchange, I am going to publish a video soon, but overall knowing the Carlsbad structure is enough to understand your opening & middlegame without learning the opening moves.
Can you kindly pls share the Model games PGNs of this wonderful video tutorial? Thank you!
@BadBishopChess
8 ай бұрын
Thanks! I will add them into the description one of these days. Thanks again for being interested!
Excellent video, your channel should easily grow. PS Why is it a pawn cube and not a pawn square? 🤔
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
That's a good point there! 🤔
Fantastic lesson! If someone plays the Caro-Kann in the 1600-2000 range in Lichess the Tartakower variation happens quite often. What do you think about 5....gxf6? White gets immediately a small advantage, but there is a strong IM who created a course based a lot on this line and he has had a lot of good results with it online. Is it too unsound?
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
I've been playing ...gxf6 for maybe a year. It is great when white doesn't know about the idea of using the h5-square to put pressure on f7. It can be annoying. 🙃
@Sandro-tp8qt
9 ай бұрын
@@BadBishopChess Thanks for the answer!
2:43 these Black pawns look pretty weak, doubled and isolated at first glance. Is this structure really good for Black? Or only playable if enough pieces are on the board to force White to make concessions by advancing one of the center pawns?
@BadBishopChess
9 ай бұрын
That's well noticed! I tested this structure with the engine in a couple of middlegame positions, and it never said black is worse (but often even better). I was surprised by that too. Especially in the situation with the IQP - how it is possible that White is not better? It looks like the f6-pawn is excellent, protecting against Ne5, and overall against white kingside attack. On the other side black feels comfortable with the d5-blockade (Nd5), with the b7-bishop cutting the board. Initially this observation was part of the video, but I excluded it cause it adds a couple of minutes more to the length of the video. The other structure, with black c6 and a7 vs d4, c4 and a2 - it looks OK to me, as d4 is on the open file, a target, while blacks c6 and a7 are well hidden, practically not weak yet. Only theoretically. But overall this plan with b7-b5 is the old(est) one in the variation, and feels dubious. It is rarely used today. I am sure I would prefer other plans when possible.
Nahhh this is no more it will drop to alien gambit
@BadBishopChess
3 ай бұрын
I think it is a super-solid opening for Black.