The ABC of the Caro-Kann

Mentioned by Polerio as early as 1590, it was Horatious Caro of Berlin and Markus Kann of Vienna who introduced 1...c6 into competitive play all the way back in the second half of the nineteenth century. At that time, swashbuckling attacking play usually connected with gambits was very popular and so it was hardly surprising that this defence was regarded as dry and boring. After Steinitz, when defensive principles began to be more fully appreciated, we saw an upsurge of interest in defences such as the Caro-Kann and it was no less a fi gure than Jose-Raul Capablanca who would use our defence as one of the main weapons in his armoury. It suited his outstanding positional style very well. Later adherants included, Flohr, Nimzowitsch, Tartakower, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, Karpov, Leko and Kramnik. Here we see a definite trend among fierce competitors of a similar inclination. Solidity above all, but solidity with promise!