The Caro-Kannin twelve lessons.
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5
A course to play the Caro-Kann with Black, written for club players. Your answer to 1.e4 rests on one rule that holds in almost every line: the c8 bishop comes out before …e6. Each line gets its own lesson: the moves, the plans of both sides, a model game won by Black and the trap to know, then two exercises from real games, with Black to play.
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- A4 PDF to print, 72 pages
- Twelve lessons, eight model games, ten traps
- Thirty exercises, every solution explained
Every lesson, the same six steps.
The moves
The moves as a tree: the move this book recommends in bold, the alternatives in plain type, each with a note on what it changes.
The plans
What you aim for with Black and what White aims for: the squares, the pawn breaks, the pieces to trade.
A model game
A real Lichess game in that line, won by Black, with its turning points on diagrams.
The trap
The bait, the refutation, and how not to fall for it yourself.
Remember
Three to five sentences that sum up the lesson.
Two exercises
Positions from real games, Black to play, with the solutions explained at the back of the book.
Lessons 1 to 3 lay the foundations and lesson 12 gathers ten traps, so they follow their own plan.
Pages from the book, every board seen from Black’s side.
Four modules, twelve lessons.
Module 1Foundations
- 01Why the Caro-Kann
- 02The first moves and White’s choices
- 03The motifs of the Caro-Kann
Module 2The Advance, 3.e5
- 044.Nf3 and 4.Bd3, the two club moves
- 05The other moves of the Advance
- 062.f4, the club attack
Module 3The exchange structures
- 07The Exchange, and 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5
- 08The Panov, 4.c4
- 092.Bc4, the third club move
Module 4The Classical, the rare moves and the traps
- 10The Classical, 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5
- 11The rare moves
- 12Ten traps to know
- Final examsix positions from real Caro-Kann games, Black to play, without the name of the line
- Solutionsevery exercise explained, with the tempting move that fails
- Your repertoire on one pagethe moves to play against each of White’s choices, and the ten traps
What White plays at the club.
White’s choices after 1.e4 c6, 2.d4 d5, 3.e5 Bf5 and 2.Nf3 d5, how often each was played in 44,285 club games on Lichess, and the lesson that deals with it.
After 1.e4 c6
| 2.d4 | 39 % | the main move: see below |
| 2.Nf3 | 30 % | see below |
| 2.Bc4 | 11 % | lesson 9 |
| 2.f4 | 5 % | lesson 6 |
| 2.Nc3 | 5 % | lesson 11 |
| 2.d3 | 3 % | lesson 11 |
| 2.c4 | 2 % | lesson 8 |
| 2.e5and the rarer moves | 2 % | lesson 11 |
After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5
| 3.e5 | 51 % | the Advance: see below |
| 3.exd5 | 25 % | lesson 7 |
| 3.Nc3 | 18 % | lesson 10 |
| 3.Nd2 | 2 % | lesson 10 |
| 3.f3and the rarer moves | 2 % | lesson 11 |
After 3.e5 Bf5
| 4.Nf3 | 29 % | lesson 4 |
| 4.Bd3 | 26 % | lesson 4 |
| 4.Nc3 | 9 % | lesson 5 |
| 4.f4 | 8 % | lesson 5 |
| 4.c3 | 5 % | lesson 5 |
| 4.g4 | 5 % | lesson 5 |
| 4.c4 | 4 % | lesson 5 |
| 4.h3and the rarer moves | 4 % | lesson 5 |
After 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5
| 3.exd5 | 61 % | lesson 7 |
| 3.e5 | 23 % | lesson 5 |
| 3.Nc3 | 8 % | lesson 11 |
| 3.d3and the rarer moves | 3 % | lesson 11 |
Club players who meet 1.e4 with Black.
- Club players from about 1000 to 1800 Elo who want one sound answer to 1.e4, with the same ideas in every line.
- You only need the rules and basic tactics: the motifs of the Caro-Kann, from the queen check on a5 to the two mates to avoid, are explained in lesson 3.
- If you already play the London System or the Scotch Game with White, this is the first book of the library for Black.
- If you play 1.e4 with White and meet the Caro-Kann, the book explains White’s plans in every line too.
Your questions, answered.
Is it right for my level?
Yes, if you are a club player from about 1000 to 1800 Elo who meets 1.e4 with Black. You only need the rules and basic tactics: the motifs of the Caro-Kann, the queen check on a5, the pins and the two mates to avoid, are explained in lesson 3. And if you play 1.e4 with White, the book explains White’s plans in every line too.
What if White does not play 2.d4?
The book follows what White really plays at the club. After 1.e4 c6, 2.d4 comes in about four games in ten and 2.Nf3 in three; the other moves have their lessons too: 2.Bc4 (lesson 9), 2.f4 (lesson 6), 2.c4 (lesson 8), 2.Nc3, 2.d3 and 2.e5 (lesson 11). Against almost all of them you answer 2…d5, and many lead back to the same structures. The map above shows which lesson deals with each move.
Is the Caro-Kann sound? What does Stockfish say?
It is sound, and the book is honest about it: Stockfish 19 gives White a small edge in the main lines, up to about half a pawn, as it does against every serious defence, because moving first is worth a little. Nothing refutes the Caro-Kann. Its strength is elsewhere: a solid pawn structure without weaknesses, the same ideas in every line and clear plans. In the club games behind the book, Black scores 50%; where Black scores less, against 2.f4, the Classical and the Panov, the lesson explains why and what to play.
How should I use it?
Three lessons a week take you through the course in a month. Play every line on a real board: reading moves is not enough, your hands must find the squares. Then solve the two exercises of the lesson, write your move on the lines, and check the solution at the back of the book, where every exercise is explained with the tempting move that fails. The final exam of six positions, without the name of the line, tells you which lessons to review.
Can I print it more than once?
As often as you like: the pages are A4, ready to print, and on US Letter paper you choose “Fit to page”. Keep the page with your repertoire next to the board.
When will I get it?
Right away. The moment you pay, an email brings you the download link, usually within a few minutes, and it keeps working whenever you want to download the book again. Anything wrong? Check your spam folder or write to us at hello@knightsnotebook.com: we will send it again.
Is payment secure?
Yes. You pay by card or Apple Pay through Stripe, one of the most widely used payment platforms in the world, and other options may be offered depending on your country. We never see your card details. It is a single payment, with no subscription.
How is it different from the monthly notebook?
This book teaches you one opening in depth, from the first move to the traps, with your repertoire on one page: to keep and look over before every tournament. The monthly notebook is your regular tactics training: every month, sixty new positions at your level. The two go together.
Where do the games and the exercises come from?
From real games played on Lichess, where all games are public: you learn what is actually played at the club. The eight model games were won by Black, between players rated over 1900; the thirty exercises come from Caro-Kann games, all with Black to play; the statistics come from 44,285 club games between players rated 1000 to 1800. The players are not named. Every line was checked with Stockfish 19.
Which notation does it use?
Algebraic notation with the English piece letters: K, Q, R, B, N. The French, German, Italian, Spanish and Norwegian editions use the letters of their language.
Play the Caro-Kann in your next game with Black.
Twelve lessons, thirty exercises and your repertoire on one page, in a PDF to print.
Finished the book? Keep going with the monthly notebook: sixty new positions at your level, every month.