Chess Book Reviews

Caro-Kann Defence: Advance Variation and Gambit System
by Anatoly Karpov, B.T. Batsford, London 2007. 284 p.p. £15.99

The book is divided into the following chapters:

1: Gambit System. 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 f3. 25 pages

2: Advance Variation. 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5. Everything except 3 . Bf5. 33 pages

3: Advance Variation. 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5. Everything except 4 Nc3 and 4 Nf3. 46 pages.

4. Advance Variation. 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 Nc3. 96 pages.

5. Advance Variation. 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 Nf3. 52 pages.

Chapter One is an account of the 'Gambit' or 'Fantasy' variation against the Caro-Kann. This is an opening which has been played by Morozevich and Polgar with success. For people with little time to devote to chess, they need look no further than this enterprising and little explored line.

"If you want to play with, or against the Advance Variation, this book is an essential purchase. It is a good guess that it will not be surpassed for the remainder of this decade."

The Advance Variation forms the heart of this book. This work has the most complete coverage of these lines which I have ever seen and it is clear from the thoroughness of the content that the author was one of the leading practitioners of the Caro-Kann opening. The translation by Jimmy Adams reads well and adds to the impression of a quality book.

At one time the Advance Line was regarded as unsatisfactory against the Caro and it was merely sufficient to cite Nimzovich v Capablanca, New York 1927 (won by the great Cuban) to demonstrate this. No longer! In the 1980s the sharp line 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 Nc3 e6 5 g4!? became popular and in the 1990s, Nigel Short showed that after the calm 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 Nf3 e6 5 Be2 White could try to show that the black bishop was misplaced on f5. Both of these lines are covered in detail.

If you want to play with, or against the Advance Variation, this book is an essential purchase. It is a good guess that it will not be surpassed for the remainder of this decade.

The book is completed with a number of illustrative games. I will finish with an example of how a great player sparkles playing the Gambit Variation.

Morozevich v Bologan Dagonnis, 2004

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bf4 Ne7 6.Qd3 b6 7.Nge2 Ba6 8.Qe3 0-0 9.0-0-0 c5 10.a3 Bxc3 11.Qxc3 Bxe2 12.Bxe2 c4 13.h4 b5 14.Qe1 Nbc6 15.h5 Qd7 16.g4 f6 17.Bf1 Rad8 18.Bh3 dxe4 19.fxe4 Nxd4 20.g5 f5 [If 20...b4 21.Be3! bxa3 22.Rxd4 a2 23.Qa5 wins for White] 21.Kb1! Qc6 22.h6 fxe4 [After 22...Qxe4 23.Qxe4 fxe4 White wins prettily by 24.Rxd4! Rxd4 25.Bxe6+ Rf7 26.Rf1 Nf5 27.Be5] 23.Qc3 e3 24.Rxd4! Qxh1+ 25.Ka2 Qxh3 26.Rxd8 gxh6 [26...Nf5?! was sturdier. Nevertheless, after 27.Qe5! Rxd8 28.Qxe6+ Kh8 29.hxg7+ Kxg7 30.Qf6+ Kg8 31.Qxd8+ Kf7 32.Qd7+ Kf8 33.Bd6+ Kg8 34.Qe8+ Kg7 35.Be5 it's checkmate] 27.gxh6 Qg4 28.Qh8!+ 1-0