Caro-Kann - Unexpected Sacrifices!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who reached out to me, shared new ideas, and inspired me to explore new directions. Thanks!

Today on the menu: an idea for White in the Caro-Kann. I wanted to continue sharing ideas for White. The idea we will look at arises quite deep in the Caro-Kann territory, but that does not reduce its practical value, since Black has not a whole lot of comfortable ways to deviate before we reach our target position. The line we are specifically trying to tackle is 9...h5, which gained serious attention after Magnus Carlsen started playing 4...Nf6 in the European Club Cup back in 2018.

The post is structured in two chapters. In the first one (The Build Up), we will focus on how to reach the critical position and how to respond to some of Black’s possible deviations along the way. The second chapter (The Explosion) is where all the good stuff is: sacrifices all over the place!

For those who are new to the blog: I try to keep things honest here and that’s something readers seem to appreciate. I’m not going to promise things that aren't there. That means I can’t promise any objective advantage against the Caro-Kann. Chess is 0.00. The Caro-Kann is 0.00. And if anyone ever promises you more than that, healthy scepticism is advised. What we can aim for, however, is to ask some difficult practical questions over the board. And that’s exactly what we’ll try to do here. Let’s see how it goes!

The Build Up

The Explosion

Have fun with this idea in the Caro-Kann! Please let me know in case you got the chance to try it out in practice :)

Follow for more opening ideas. Liking is appreciated.
Feel free to reach out to me or use the forum. Insights, questions and suggestions are very welcome!
\~LittleSoapBubble