The answer to this depends on the level of the player, in my humble opinion.

Below 2000 it's not even close in my opinion. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 (4...Nd7 5.Ng3 is an annoyance I can never get quite happy with the black cause in, while white plays very naturally) 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Bc4.

A very distant second is 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 Nf6 6.d4 dxe4 7.Qe3. White gets more space, the bishop pair, and low rated players will find it quite easy to hang the black king, or ill-time an opening of the queenside that lets the bishop pair come alive.

There is something to be said for the Panov-Botvinnik Attack, but some lines (ie: 5...Nc6) don't see white really get an attacking build-up.

Above 2000 it gets trickier by what you're referring to as an attack. Shirov's version of the Advance (Nc3+g4) doesn't really get an "attack" in the 6...f6 version. A lot of space, but whether black is worse there is an open question.

The 4.h4 Advance is similar in some ways. Sometimes you get an attack, sometimes you'll just end up playing to strangle black. Definitely a good weapon above 2000 due to the relative lack of preparation black players give it compared to the alternatives.

Short's System has been the most challenging theoretically, but 5...Ne7 6.0-0 c5 has been putting the question to white of late. It certainly isn't an attacking line.

The Classical System produces thematic attacking positions, same with the Panov-Botvinnik Attack.

It drops off from there. Fantasy is probably third place at that point, but 3...e6 doesn't really scream, "I'm going to mate you" if black knows where to put his knights (hint: not in the path of white's pawns).

There is a reason the Caro-Kann is considered the most "solid" of non 1...e5 defenses. It does really well at resisting assault, usually caving under space problems instead these days at upper levels.

MartinC wrote on 04/02/12 at 09:28:44:


I agree that 3.e5 is theoretically more critical than 3.Nc3 nowadays, though the assessment of the Short System seems to change every month. I really like the Panov-Botvinnik from a practical perspective but concede that Black equalises with best play.

I found it the opposite. When I played 1. e4, I used to play this line; I just pushed my pieces and pawns as far as possible and then if the attack failed then I basically lost due to the kingside weaknesses.

In GM Rep 7, Schandorff seems to consider what he calls the Shirov Variation to be one of White's most dangerous. That's the 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 Bg6 6.Nge2 (etc) line. He says "The extremely sharp Shirov Variation is by far the wildest and most complex answer to the Caro." and "Black must study and learn all the lines in this chapter. Having a rough idea of what to do is just enough knowledge to get yourself mated."

I've found this line to be much more comfortable to play as White than as Black.

As I've taken up the C-K just recently, I cannot really tell about long games, but in Blitz I quite often face the Classical with 6.Bc4 (after 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6). My (limited) experience with that tells me that Black has to know his/her stuff and that the games become quite lively. White can play it with h2-h4 to provoke ...h6, and then (as fling pointed out, although in a slightly different context) sometimes use h5 for the manoeuvre N(g1-e2-)f4-h5, which I find a bit annoying as Black. This system is definitively sound and gives White quite good practical chances.

Best regards,

Zwischenzugzwang

Andrew McKechnie wrote on 03/31/12 at 06:57:57:


I'd say stick with the Main Line, but if you want an alternative you might also want to consider the Fantasy Variation which certainly leads to interesting positions where both sides are fighting tooth and nail for the initiative. Ivanchuk-Jobava is one example of the sort of chaos that can arise.