Grandmaster Secrets: The Caro-Kann (Chess Explained)

The inside story on a popular and rich opening complex

The Caro-Kann is one of the most popular responses to 1 e4 amongst players of all levels. Black stakes a claim to the central squares and seeks free development for all his pieces. While solid, it is by no means a drawing weapon - the resulting positions generally contain at least a degree of imbalance and the critical lines lead to sharp positions with chances for both sides. Many new approaches for both sides have been developed in recent years, and a good understanding of these ideas is vital for anyone looking to handle either side of the Caro with success.

Peter Wells guides you through each branch of the Caro-Kann, giving insights into the character of each line and a chess professional's view of the nature of the resulting play. We are also presented with a fully up-to-date assessment of the current theoretical standing of the key variations. Wells indicates major problems where they exist, and assesses which are the key battlegrounds for the future. However, this book does not provide just a lofty perspective; the Caro-Kann was Wells's regular opening when he was rising through the ranks of junior and amateur chess, so he is also able to provide many valuable and often amusing accounts of how the Caro-Kann fares against inaccurate, overambitious or routine play by White.

Peter Wells is a grandmaster from England who regularly competes in international tournaments and team events. He was runner-up in the British Championship in 1991, 1999 and 2004. Wells is a widely acclaimed writer, noted for his work on both opening play and middlegame strategy. He has a wealth of experience as a trainer, including acting as a second for Luke McShane, and assisting Michael Adams at the San Luis World Championship in 2005. His previous book for Gambit was Chess Explained: The Queen's Indian.

"a seriously good opening book ... Wells [is] in the vanguard of writers who push the quality of chess books ever forward." - Munroe Morrison, Open File

"Whoever is learning the Caro-Kann or wants to understand it better, must have this. A dazzling opening book which you will delight in owning! An absolute must-buy." - Martin Rieger, freechess

"Wells's prose style is a treat. He clearly relishes his opportunities to phrase issues in philosophic terms, without doing so gratuitously. This not only gives us a more nuanced view of the game, it makes for entertaining reading. ... You could almost get your money's worth from the book by simply playing through his commentary on the group of games with the [3 e5 Bf5] 4 Nc3/5g4 variation, with its extraordinarily rich set of dynamic and positional factors. Toss in his brilliant exposition on when and why the Short plan works (and when it doesn't) and you've got an instructional pamphlet on the Advance Variation that alone justifies buying this book." - IM John Watson, TWIC

"Peter has written a very informative book here and has done an excellent job on the explanations and the lines, which are well chosen for the purpose of teaching readers an immense supply of ideas, techniques and principles guiding them through the wonderful world of this defence. This author has actually played the lines in this book himself and you get the feeling that he has not held anything back when writing it, for example, the coverage of the Advance is particularly good. This book will not only suit players new to the opening but also people who already play this defence, and I'm sure that it will heighten the popularity of the Caro-Kann among all chess players! Excellent work - and it is a must for fans and soon-to-be fans of the Caro-Kann as Peter is arguably one of the best chess writers around at the moment." - Michael Stevenson, New Zealand Chess