gotham repeatedly urging his subscribers to never resign and getting slightly annoyed when they play until checkmate is the gift that keeps on giving lmao
why does he hate me LMAO kidding. Nah keep in mind this game was played after i been to the gym and went bowling. ALSO i always play the advance caro kann as white, i tried something new to make the video diverse
There's when to resign though, if you're 800 and king Vs rook Vs king don't resign because they probably don't know how to do it, when you're a rook and three pawns down against an IM though you should definitely resign.
*Caro-Kann* Advanced Variation: 2:33 - Take your C pawn: 2:46 + If they defend the C pawn with bishop: 3:29 + If they play bf4: 4:26 - Defending the D pawn with pawn: 4:46 Exchange Variation: - C4 counter-attack (Defend first with knight): 7:33 - Bishop d3: 8:17 Ignoring: - Classical variation (defending with knight and taking pawn): 8:57 + Doesn't take: 10:07 + Taking: 10:15 (perfect position: 10:35) - Fantasy (defending with f3 pawn): 12:46 2 Knights: - Play like Tartikower: 14:30 - Play like a White Wall: 14:39
Notes for self - it is against e4 (white) - first move is c6 followed by d5 1:20 - double white pawns in the middle Advanced Variation 1, but not recommended by Levy (White pushes pawn to e5)= 1:31 --> Advanced Variation 2, but Levy recommends this = 2:30 - pawn takes 2:40 - Nf3 2:52 - After light sq. bishop pins knight 3:20 - If light sq. bishop is attacked 3:42 - white bishop to f4 4:26 - if white pawn to c3 after central pawns 4:43 --> Exchange Variation 5:47 If white normally develops 6:08 (not exactly exchange variation) Actual Exchange Variation 8:17 --> Panov Variation (white pawn to c4) 6:50 Recommended by Levy under Panov Variation - feincatto 7:30 --> If they leave the e4 pawn there 8:36
-> Classical Variation 1 (Knight defends e4) 9:23 -> once the knight exchange occurs 10:35 -> they play h3 11:03 -> they don't play h3 11:44
-> Classical Variation 2 12:06 -> Fantasy Variation (white pawn to f3) 12:44 -> risky attack for black 13:49 (mate in 7) -> Two knights variation after white pawn to e4 14:26
Been practicing my Caro with this video. Have watched it like 10 times to drill this stuff. Levy you make learning fun. So many other channels the GMs or whoever just drone on and put you to sleep. Gotham is singlehandedly responsible for keeping me interested in chess.
Same here, although it's useful to look at chess thru the eyes of other masters. Anyway, the Caro-Kann is insane, its like the best black opening for beginners
This might completely random but it would be great if u could do reverse elo swap where u do the opening according to ur courses and let a weaker player continue it as it would show us where we mess up in the mid game
I love that TreezErik made his way from being on "how to lose at chess" all the way to being the higher rated opponent in a chess opening course. Good on them for making that climb.
I've come to love the Caro-Kann. Played it a lot in bullet and blitz lately, and I score quite well with black. It almost always gives me a decent position.
I suggest you do the same thing I did, I was learning the London and I went and played a bot my elo and I chose to play white, so I was able to practice the London.
@@Bhatbhat5412bots arent good to play against to learn. exploring the systems/openings in analysis against best and most popular moves to learn variations.
fun fact: Hikaru once said during a game with Levy that he's playing the stupid caro-kann once again. Levy was so offended that he proceeded to defeat Hikaru... Just don't mess with Levy and his caro kann
I needed this for a tournament in the spring for my school, the person I’m competing against struggles against the caro-Kann the most out of anything from e4
A lot of us E4 players struggle against caro-kann I particularly have a lot of trouble against caro kann advance, and fantasy variation Classical variation is fairly simple so I would stay away from that
15:51 was very enlightening to me, ive never seen such beautiful display of pure mastery in its rawest form. Thank you for keeping my on my chess journey with this!
Thank you Levy, I stumbled across your videos about a month ago, and I’m stunned by the dedication you have. You’ve inspired me to try and join my school’s chess team, once the lockdown ends over here where I live. Once again, thank you for the inspiration and motivation.
It took me well over an hour to watch and take in this video, write notes etc. I plan to try playing it tomorrow morning and rewatch it after a few games. As always I appreciate the guide!
@@bonkscout3108 do be honest as life does the week has been busy, sick, end of school year etc 😅 but I hope to get some games in soon and I'll make sure to update with the progress
Last night I won a game in a tournament against a higher rated player by playing the Caro-Kann and following the advice in this video, in particular the capture of the white knight on f6 with the e pawn. Thank you.
I used to think your Caro Kann didn't make any sense moving the pawn to C5 before developing your E6 pawn. It looked like a french with a lost tempo. Seeing you pin the knight before you advance your E pawn makes all the difference though. This was very informative
@@dg_yorick6814 perfectly said. The trade off between the advanced caro and french is that the caro loses a tempo but has a good bishop, also the exchange caro is more dynamic because of pawn structure
@@blazoraptor3392 The good ol’ Carlsbad formation. It’s… one of the three pawn structures whose names I actually know. It’s got some good play to it. The half-open e file for White vs the minority attack for Black… it can also happen in the London if Black plays c5 and takes on d4.
After trying to learn the Queen's Gambit, King's Gambit, and Bishop's Opening, as well as others. I finally found the the moves that most resemble my natural moves in chess with the Caro-Kann defense. After watching your tutorial I decided to give it a try with Nelson (bot). I had to share this game with you because I cannot ever remember playing a game with 15 moves and a checkmate where no pieces were taken. Probably just means that the bots are as weird as we think they are. Here it is 1. e4 d6 2. Qh5 Nf6 3.Qb5+ c6 4. Qe4 Nbd7 5. f3 e5 6. Be2 Be7 7. Qb4 O-O 8. d3 a5 9. Qa4 Nb6 10. Qb3 a4 11. Qb4 d5 12. Qd2 d4 13. Kf2 Nh5 14. g4 Nf4 15. Bf1 Bh4#. I played black. BTW I took screenshots in case there is a question about which side I played. (hope I wrote these down correctly). I feel like it will take a bit of studying to solidify the openings you teach, but, just using the concepts are very helpful. I'll keep watching. BTW, I like to play just about any board games. Used to love playing Back gammon, checkers, but especially Risk. So, if you ever get a website set up to play a game of Risk I'm there.
Another great video! Please keep making these ones that build on your earlier 10-minute videos. The addition of the pair of games at the end to see it all in action is very informative, plus, of course, entertaining as always.
Thank you! I am still waiting for my turn to play. I already got to the second round, and it is probably going to be a really hard one! I am planning to make a video if I do good on the tournament :D I really appreciate your comments!
22:23 I like how genuine your reaction is. I get the sense your not disappointed at your opponent but disappointed for them. Never change Levy keep being you 👍🏼
Mate! It's insane how great full I am that you exist and make these damn videos. If I had started chess a few years earlier it would have been a lot harder to know all these things. People should be crazy thankful that you make these videos. It shows how much you prepare for this. Thanks again man.. just started but I'm studying your video's very closely!
@@DutchBushcraftKnives I'd recommend playing the Danish gambit or the Blackmar Diemar gambit Gothamchess also made an openings video about those and they work great in lower elo games. Also do a lot of puzzles, for that I'd recommend lichees cuz you can solve as many as you want for free.
The growth of this channel and Gotham has been phenomenal to see from the very beginning. These new videos compared to the old videos prove that Gotham has evolved in a year. Great job Gotham and way to go!!
Levy: "this holds a special place in my heart" Me: * flashbacks to that one time I played the fantasy variation after many games of being declined* "amen"
Caro-Kann Advanced Variation: 2:30 - If They Take your C5 pawn: 2:46 + If they defend their C5 pawn with bishop: 3:29 + If they play bf4: 4:26 - Defending the D4 pawn with pawn: 4:46 Exchange Variation: 6:00 Panov Variation: 6:50 - Fianchetto Version After Defending with Knight: 7:30 - Bishop d3 (Back to The Exchange Variation): 8:17 Ignoring: 8:37 - Classical variation (defending with knight and taking pawn): 8:57 -Karpov Variation: 9:35 + Doesn't take: 10:02 + Taking: 10:15 (perfect position: 10:32) - Tarktikower Variation - Fantasy (defending with f3 pawn): 12:45 + E5 Against the Fantasy: 13:45 2 Knights: - Play like Tartikower: 14:30 - Play like a White Wall: 14:39
I feel so lucky, I exclusively play the London and the caro Kann and so these two videos back to back are perfect, also the day after the London video I played a blitz game and my opponent asked me if I watched the Gotham chess video which really goes to show how wide levy’s reach has become
You play the Caro against anything? The London I play nearly every time because it doesn't matter much at all what your opponent does. However can you play the Caro against anything? What if white opens with d4 and not e4? If they play d4 and your follow with c6 it doesn't make too much sense? I think d4 should be met with d5 and then c6 so you have the same structure. I think it counts as the "semi Slav" but if not it's very similar.
@@Nuffsed81 Yeah I meant I always play in the style of the Caro or the London so I play the Caro Kann against E4 and play D5 against D4 and play the same way I would play the London because that's what I'm most familiar with.
Can you make a remake on the Dutch Defense? I personally struggle with it but I think its an interesting and dynamic opening and I desperately want to master it.
Go to lichess studies, learn every line and use engine to help you. Then play some games and analyze them. Nothing complicated. You dont need youtuber to do a tutorial for you.
I really like that defence because not only the structure is easy to memorize, but also most of the plans, whice is the most important thing when you learn a new chess opening.
13:03 btw something trickier white could play is a3, what may seems like just giving up the pawn, but after Na4, the queen is trapped, white gets queen for rook at at worst, or sometimes black just blunders their queen
0:06 When he said it's a very "easy opening"... I mean it only has completely different variations between like Tartakower, Panov, Fantasy and many things he didn't mention like the Bayonet Attack (my secret weapon as white), but also definitely not an easy opening for beginners because of the late King side development and in some variations your King doesn't get to castle and not to mention all the subtleties when to play Qb6 or f6, when to defend the light squared bishop and when to trade and the battle of the c file etc... yeah definitely easy.
@@Hibasi I'm only 1000. I like slow building openings because I'm not really a fan of symmetry and simplification, and they usually have options/variations. Endgames are a toss up at any rating but when someone chooses a move that 0.0s the game and forces everything to be traded, and they have the same rating as you, their endgames tend to be better than yours in my exp. And the opponents choices are more often piece placement than pawn placement(which completely changes the game) which for me makes it easier because understanding what's winning or losing become more intuitive relative to the opening.
Was gonna try playing the Sicilian and I noped out of that so I'm here and I have won 5/6 blitz games in the caro in a day. This is a simple, fun, imbalanced, and interesting opening that is super cool, thanks Levy.
9:35 you can be mate in 2 here, after you move your knight to d7 they move their queen to e2 then you develop your knight normally and their knight to d6 is mate.
Yes, but you need to do it at the right time. In that instance h3 was lazy because it didn't achieve much in that position. The king was not threatened by backrank mate
The 10 minute openings is where I learned this one…and I always struggled beyond the exchange and advance. THANK YOU GOTHAM. MORE OPENINGS VIDEOS PLEASE
just finished watching this video, it's late, 10pm and i don't usually like playing 10 or 15 minute games too late at night since i am obviously more tired, but i hop into a game anyway, get a classical exchange caro , fianchetto the bishop as you showed, used f6 to push e5 , got a huge center, and won on move 22 by resignation with checkmate in 1 coming - i am 1200 btw - GG
I've seen the "Karpov variation" also called both the "Nimzowich variation" and the "Steinitz variation." I've used it with great success, but I've never beaten the Panov-Botvinnik attack. Still working on it ...
Man, you really put together great video tutorials. I have watched hundreds of videos to learn how to do everything from stucco to replacing brakes and rotors; yours are the best! You speak well, you’re entertaining and you don’t hesitate to compliment an opponent if he/she makes a good move.
There's a variation of e4, c6, d4, d5, e5, Bf5, h4, h6, g4, Be4, f3, Bh7, and white plays e6, sacrificing a pawn. I find most intermediate players suffocating from after they take the pawn with fxe6
@@victorkao1472 sorry I'm late, but I've been studying the h6 line and I wanted to say that in specifically the h6 line, the best move after BE4 is NF3
Hi Levy, I love ur opening videos and guess the elo series! I know from one of ur videos where u played against hustlers that you don't know much about The Benko Gambit. I want to learn all the theory from HangingPawns because he's made a very detailed video about it BUT... I'd like you to make a video about it where u teach us the general ideas in the benko gambit to head us to the right direction and understand it better rather than just memorizing the lines since you can make us understand so much about an opening in less than 10 minutes.
@@claudiomaker2932 I'd rather a short, sample sized video from levy first to absorb some information fast and feel more familiar. He kinda makes me pay more attention. Also Hanging pawns video is like 1 hour so it will be hard to focus. I want to get some grasp first so it's much easier to learn all the theory
After watching this, and trying to play these lines I have gone up from 900 to 1200. I think I could go higher if I learn an opening for white, to the extent I did with this Opening. Thanks Levy you’re the best!
Thank you a lot for these videos Levy! Could you please do a video about the Nimzo-Indian defence? I've seen it a lot in high level chess recently and looks really solid.
@@braydenlenzer374 GingerGM is the most responsible for making it popular. You can play it on a much higher level tho. In most of the lines white is equal, there are just a line or two that are slightly better for black but you need to know them by heart, and i dont think that the engine evaluation matters much unless you're a super GM.
guys Idk if anyone is watching this rn but for the carokann fantasy I remember studying an engine line like 2 yeears ago or smth which went like g6 Nc3 bg7 be3 qb6 qd2 takes rb1 qa3 be2 f6. It worked rlly well playing this line bc what the underlying plan is you get the b2 pawn (sometimes not) and then you play f6 and e5 with Nd7 and Nf6. Rlly strong line.
I love the panov variation soo much with white as they get confused a lot with a lot of pressure on b7 and the center pawn. I am in the 1300-1400 ranges so it was getting kinda dfficult for me to handle the advanced variation with white but i will also try to learn it correctly😂
For white with the Caro - kann E4 C6 D4 D5 NF3 Takes Takes (mane line) Knight E2 (Karpov variation) QE2 and if they develop their other knight then you play Knight E3 checkmate in just 6 moves
Found it muuuuch more useful and versatile than KID that I've been playing (as alternative to Scandi) and so far my games as black improved very quickly.
I quickly went thorugh the video but i dont see any of the 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 Lines which I have seen a lot your training partner also played it against you. So please cover that.
Bro thanks a ton, this and the London are literally the only openings I play Edit: Very interesting lessons, gonna be rewatching this a few times for sure
Usually you can just ignore it. If they take the knight, you take the bishop with a pawn. Then you can just castle, after that you won't be pinned and your opponent's bishop will be useless.
I stopped playing chess for a very long time (about 12 years). The place I was living before I moved out, was making me mentally fragile and I stopped doing things I love to do because my head was so tired. Now, I've gained the passion for chess again and you are an amazing teacher and player. I'm 25 years old but it is never too late to become a master. Thank you, Levi.
Something I see a fair amount, and it seems annoying at first cause it temporarily immobilizes the knight, but it's actually completely fine for black: For example what I've seen all the time since I switched to the Caro: e4, c6 2.) d4, d5 3.) e5, c5 4.) c3, Nc6, 5.) Nf3, Bg4 6.) Bb5, e6. If you plug this into an engine black is perfectly fine here, and has actually equalized. White is going to either end up with split pawns or a trade in the center. You can either attack their bishop or you can just develop, castle and unpin the knight. It's like white has all the drawish disadvantages of playing an exchange variation but you have almost all the dynamic counterplay advantages of playing the advanced variation
around the 5min mark, if i pin with bishop to g4 and they play pawn to h3 what should i do then? retreat? Also what to do when i start a caro-kann and my opponent press out the queen right away (probably looking for a scholar matte)
if the opponent attacks your bishop you trade the knight and bishop the knight is defending the pawns in the middle that you are trying to get back and your light square bishop will not be very useful anyways since your pawn structure is on the light squares
I'm a relative new comer to learning chess and am really enjoying it. For what it's worth, I came up with the following mnemonic to remember the E4 followed by C6 opening of the Caro-Kann: "Eloise beFOUR, she became SEA SICK."
thank you for the video! im saving up for your Caro course now. It is my favorite opening for black against white e4. I need to study gameplans behind it though. I feel once I get my opening complete, I sit there and say "okay now what". So thank you!
![Learn the Caro-Kann in 15 Minutes [Chess Openings Crash Course]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HvER2idtW6M/mqdefault.jpg)
gotham repeatedly urging his subscribers to never resign and getting slightly annoyed when they play until checkmate is the gift that keeps on giving lmao
He didn't sound irritated to me. Just saying it out loud.
Probably cos at their level opponents will blunder but levy wont
why does he hate me LMAO kidding. Nah keep in mind this game was played after i been to the gym and went bowling. ALSO i always play the advance caro kann as white, i tried something new to make the video diverse
There's when to resign though, if you're 800 and king Vs rook Vs king don't resign because they probably don't know how to do it, when you're a rook and three pawns down against an IM though you should definitely resign.
@@manawearblack y’all are reading into it too much. i didnt resign in case levy was talking about something
*Caro-Kann*
Advanced Variation: 2:33
- Take your C pawn: 2:46
+ If they defend the C pawn with bishop: 3:29
+ If they play bf4: 4:26
- Defending the D pawn with pawn: 4:46
Exchange Variation:
- C4 counter-attack (Defend first with knight): 7:33
- Bishop d3: 8:17
Ignoring:
- Classical variation (defending with knight and taking pawn): 8:57
+ Doesn't take: 10:07
+ Taking: 10:15 (perfect position: 10:35)
- Fantasy (defending with f3 pawn): 12:46
2 Knights:
- Play like Tartikower: 14:30
- Play like a White Wall: 14:39
Highly appreciated!
Much obliged
It is the advance variation not the advanced variation because the pawn advances
you are a gentleman 👍
wow
1:32 pushing variation --------- advance
2:28 pushing variation ---------beginners with knight (Nf3)
4:27 pushing variation ---------beginners with bishop (Bf4)
4:46 pushing variation ---------beginners protecting d4 pawn
6:01 exchange/take variation game plan
6:47 exchange/take variation panov
7:53 exchange/take variation panov Fianchetto style
8:17 exchange/take variation
8:49 defending e4 pawn with knight (Nd2)
9:00 12:44 13:47 -(tricky) defending e4 pawn with pawn (f3) (fantasy variation)
9:25 defending e4 pawn with knight (Nc3) (classical variation)
9:34 karpov variation
9:55 game plan #1 proceeding with classical variation
I appreciate you so much
thank you
I love you
Well done👍
Not all heros wear capes
15:52 I found this tip to be especially helpful. My ELO’s gone up about 150 points since I watched this
lmao wtf
after watching that I instantly went from 100 elo to GM!
Lmao
damn i thought it was something really good and was trying to understand wtf was that
I hit 161660 and hung a piece on move 6 with this tip
These remakes are fucking legendary. So glad you’re making these kinds of more educational vids again
Aye
@@Joseph-jt1gl his secret is "No." There. Saved you like 3 minutes of scrolling. Now go play chess
@@forgeflarion8362 sadly, due to my own stupidity, i did in fact scroll for 3 minutes before i saw this
@@Joseph-jt1gl his secret is "no" pls don't click it
@@lordtacocat3138 my apologies
Thank you gothamchess
Agreed, thank you very much Levy
Haha you actually got your request
No problem!
Oh so you play chess
Wow hi
Notes for self
- it is against e4 (white)
- first move is c6 followed by d5
1:20 - double white pawns in the middle
Advanced Variation 1, but not recommended by Levy (White pushes pawn to e5)= 1:31
--> Advanced Variation 2, but Levy recommends this = 2:30
- pawn takes 2:40
- Nf3 2:52
- After light sq. bishop pins knight 3:20
- If light sq. bishop is attacked 3:42
- white bishop to f4 4:26
- if white pawn to c3 after central pawns 4:43
--> Exchange Variation 5:47
If white normally develops 6:08 (not exactly exchange variation)
Actual Exchange Variation 8:17
--> Panov Variation (white pawn to c4) 6:50
Recommended by Levy under Panov Variation - feincatto 7:30
--> If they leave the e4 pawn there 8:36
-> Classical Variation 1 (Knight defends e4) 9:23
-> once the knight exchange occurs 10:35
-> they play h3 11:03
-> they don't play h3 11:44
-> Classical Variation 2 12:06
-> Fantasy Variation (white pawn to f3) 12:44
-> risky attack for black 13:49 (mate in 7)
-> Two knights variation after white pawn to e4 14:26
Useful...
The hero Gotham deserves^
Epic
Thank you sir!!
tysm!!
Been practicing my Caro with this video. Have watched it like 10 times to drill this stuff. Levy you make learning fun. So many other channels the GMs or whoever just drone on and put you to sleep. Gotham is singlehandedly responsible for keeping me interested in chess.
You're right man...he has a very fun personality unlike the others who are mostly boring...his videos are the only ones where I find myself laughing
Same here, although it's useful to look at chess thru the eyes of other masters. Anyway, the Caro-Kann is insane, its like the best black opening for beginners
Watching videos isn’t the same as practicing. Play more and watch the video less
@@shotgun9922 arguably French is better for beginners
Yep same here
It doesn't happen often but I love when people play till mate. There's just something nice about watching you pre-move the last 20 moves
Last 20 moves?? Seriously
I premove only when there is ladder mate and still opponent grabs my queen with his king 😂😂😂😂
@@bullarakhtahukhulla5781 last 20 moves is usually indeed promoting some pawns and a latter mate in these situations
@@bullarakhtahukhulla5781 or recaptures or to flex with a calculated forced mate which ends up being a blunder of my queen
This might completely random but it would be great if u could do reverse elo swap where u do the opening according to ur courses and let a weaker player continue it as it would show us where we mess up in the mid game
Why has no one commented on this, this was a great idea
Such an awesome idea
Seconding this! I'd love to see it
great idea
Levy listen to this man/woman
17:09 C4 is a very aggresive move in chess AND in real life
Lmao
I didn't understand
LMFAO🤣
@@aqib8755C4 is a explosive in real life
I love that TreezErik made his way from being on "how to lose at chess" all the way to being the higher rated opponent in a chess opening course. Good on them for making that climb.
legend
Levy: "How to crush WITH the Caro-Kann!"
Levy next week: "How to CRUSH the Caro-Kann!"
😁
He already made such video! Check out "1 Pawn Crushes The Caro-Kann..." by Levy (the fantasy variation)
He already has a video on "How to crush the Caro", about the Fantasy Variation ^^
@@radosawkarwacki4386 Yeah, but a comprehensive guide on the other Caro variations for white would be useful
@@lred1383 Eric Rosen just made a video just like you wished
@@pakasokoste Yea, i got it recommended about when you commented this. But thanks for the heads up anyway
I've come to love the Caro-Kann. Played it a lot in bullet and blitz lately, and I score quite well with black. It almost always gives me a decent position.
The solid pawn structure you typically get with the Caro-Kann is very nice and no doubt helps with that
Who just wanted to try this and then loaded up a game with white
Bro fr it happened to me once when I learned the London system and was very confident about winning and then loaded a game with black😂
@@SplasmerSame
I suggest you do the same thing I did, I was learning the London and I went and played a bot my elo and I chose to play white, so I was able to practice the London.
Play with bot
@@Bhatbhat5412bots arent good to play against to learn. exploring the systems/openings in analysis against best and most popular moves to learn variations.
fun fact: Hikaru once said during a game with Levy that he's playing the stupid caro-kann once again. Levy was so offended that he proceeded to defeat Hikaru...
Just don't mess with Levy and his caro kann
Wait really
@@FadelessChill yea
give the link?
@@FadelessChill yes
@@namelesss8226 just type hakiru vs lexy caro cann
Agadmator: "Hello everyone."
Gothamchess: "Get out of here."
Hikaru: "pineapple"
I needed this for a tournament in the spring for my school, the person I’m competing against struggles against the caro-Kann the most out of anything from e4
A lot of us E4 players struggle against caro-kann
I particularly have a lot of trouble against caro kann advance, and fantasy variation
Classical variation is fairly simple so I would stay away from that
@@dustinjames1268 Try the tal variation, I've won 7/8 with it
@@jovanxin6762 yeah I can vouch . Tal variation ( h4 ) is awesome . I usually win alot with it
@@aabishegaabi6047 I lost to it yesterday. Didn't know it was Tal variation :(
@@piyush5190 😀
15:51 was very enlightening to me, ive never seen such beautiful display of pure mastery in its rawest form. Thank you for keeping my on my chess journey with this!
indeed!
agreed
@@artebotastic8846
“use the engine…. not during games”
@@sudowo3688 ohk
Thank you Levy, I stumbled across your videos about a month ago, and I’m stunned by the dedication you have. You’ve inspired me to try and join my school’s chess team, once the lockdown ends over here where I live. Once again, thank you for the inspiration and motivation.
"The Karpov variation, which intends to attack the knight with the knight but also defend with the knight"
🐎🐎🐎
A word smith if ever I've heard one😅
It took me well over an hour to watch and take in this video, write notes etc. I plan to try playing it tomorrow morning and rewatch it after a few games. As always I appreciate the guide!
how did it go
@@bonkscout3108 do be honest as life does the week has been busy, sick, end of school year etc 😅 but I hope to get some games in soon and I'll make sure to update with the progress
@@actuallyfungi1384 Update?
@@actuallyfungi1384 the update is that he died lol
hi, do u want to team up and study chess with me? we can discuss openings and tactics and play practice games.
Last night I won a game in a tournament against a higher rated player by playing the Caro-Kann and following the advice in this video, in particular the capture of the white knight on f6 with the e pawn. Thank you.
I used to think your Caro Kann didn't make any sense moving the pawn to C5 before developing your E6 pawn. It looked like a french with a lost tempo. Seeing you pin the knight before you advance your E pawn makes all the difference though. This was very informative
Maybe French with lost tempo but also French without a bad bishop
@@dg_yorick6814 perfectly said. The trade off between the advanced caro and french is that the caro loses a tempo but has a good bishop, also the exchange caro is more dynamic because of pawn structure
@@blazoraptor3392 The good ol’ Carlsbad formation. It’s… one of the three pawn structures whose names I actually know. It’s got some good play to it. The half-open e file for White vs the minority attack for Black… it can also happen in the London if Black plays c5 and takes on d4.
@@Pablo360able its a reverse Carlsbad (usually white has the minority on the queen side) but yes its essentially the same
"The Caro-Kann is all pawns and no hope"
op dialogue by benny watts.
@@SK-eq6pqLol
Nice!!
It's better than playing all hope and no pawns
Cac
After trying to learn the Queen's Gambit, King's Gambit, and Bishop's Opening, as well as others. I finally found the the moves that most resemble my natural moves in chess with the Caro-Kann defense. After watching your tutorial I decided to give it a try with Nelson (bot). I had to share this game with you because I cannot ever remember playing a game with 15 moves and a checkmate where no pieces were taken. Probably just means that the bots are as weird as we think they are. Here it is 1. e4 d6 2. Qh5 Nf6 3.Qb5+ c6 4. Qe4 Nbd7 5. f3 e5 6. Be2 Be7 7. Qb4 O-O 8. d3 a5 9. Qa4 Nb6 10. Qb3 a4 11. Qb4 d5 12. Qd2 d4 13. Kf2 Nh5 14. g4 Nf4 15. Bf1 Bh4#. I played black. BTW I took screenshots in case there is a question about which side I played. (hope I wrote these down correctly). I feel like it will take a bit of studying to solidify the openings you teach, but, just using the concepts are very helpful. I'll keep watching. BTW, I like to play just about any board games. Used to love playing Back gammon, checkers, but especially Risk. So, if you ever get a website set up to play a game of Risk I'm there.
Don't think you need to write you played black if you were playing caro kahn as its only playable on the blackside
the caro kann works extremely well on nelson as he tends to wandering queen his queen early which is just a straight mistake
@@realosc1710 Why are people struggling to beat Nelson lol
@@TheMessiahOfThe99Percent because the common way people play is knight development and improper defence
What I like about this variation is that it's (sort of) like a reversed London for Black
I mean, they have their similarities, but I wouldn’t compare the London to the Caro-Kann and immediately say “oh wow that’s like a reverse London”
@@GasolineLickerdont do that u sound obnoxious
@@kredziigaming981 i am obnoxious
@@GasolineLicker i like obnoxious people ❤️
that quick and underwhelming response is what I live for ong
Another great video! Please keep making these ones that build on your earlier 10-minute videos. The addition of the pair of games at the end to see it all in action is very informative, plus, of course, entertaining as always.
I am currently participating on my school chess tournament and Levy's videos have helped me so much. Thank you Levy!
Good luck! Tell us how it went after
Yeah! Tell us how it goes!
Thank you! I am still waiting for my turn to play. I already got to the second round, and it is probably going to be a really hard one! I am planning to make a video if I do good on the tournament :D
I really appreciate your comments!
@@vicentepulidodrevespiano2494 all the best mate
@@tushargupta4262 Thank you!
22:23 I like how genuine your reaction is. I get the sense your not disappointed at your opponent but disappointed for them. Never change Levy keep being you 👍🏼
Mate! It's insane how great full I am that you exist and make these damn videos. If I had started chess a few years earlier it would have been a lot harder to know all these things. People should be crazy thankful that you make these videos. It shows how much you prepare for this. Thanks again man.. just started but I'm studying your video's very closely!
Whats ur rating at the moment?
@@davemathew5236 started at 100, and today I'm around 450 so hopefully towards a thousand soon!
@@DutchBushcraftKnives I'd recommend playing the Danish gambit or the Blackmar Diemar gambit Gothamchess also made an openings video about those and they work great in lower elo games. Also do a lot of puzzles, for that I'd recommend lichees cuz you can solve as many as you want for free.
You’re content is what makes me and others keep going with chess after bad games, thank you so much 🙏🏻
Despite playing the Caro Kann, I bet some of y’all could still find a way to hang a rook on move 3
Yeah just get to move three and take the piece off the board.
20000000000000000000000000000 iq
How?
I am going to hang a bishop on move 2 just to spite you Mr. Bishop
1. e4 c6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2 g6
5:40 “use the engine, not during the games” 💀
The growth of this channel and Gotham has been phenomenal to see from the very beginning. These new videos compared to the old videos prove that Gotham has evolved in a year. Great job Gotham and way to go!!
Levy: "this holds a special place in my heart"
Me: * flashbacks to that one time I played the fantasy variation after many games of being declined* "amen"
Caro-Kann
Advanced Variation: 2:30
- If They Take your C5 pawn: 2:46
+ If they defend their C5 pawn with bishop: 3:29
+ If they play bf4: 4:26
- Defending the D4 pawn with pawn: 4:46
Exchange Variation: 6:00
Panov Variation: 6:50
- Fianchetto Version After Defending with Knight: 7:30
- Bishop d3 (Back to The Exchange Variation): 8:17
Ignoring: 8:37
- Classical variation (defending with knight and taking pawn): 8:57
-Karpov Variation: 9:35
+ Doesn't take: 10:02
+ Taking: 10:15 (perfect position: 10:32) - Tarktikower Variation
- Fantasy (defending with f3 pawn): 12:45
+ E5 Against the Fantasy: 13:45
2 Knights:
- Play like Tartikower: 14:30
- Play like a White Wall: 14:39
15:51 bro I'm playing it on 1.5 speed while levy is making some random goofy ahh sounds
1:30 Advance variation
c7-c5
2:33 d4xc5
4:30 c2-c3
5:45 Exchange variation
6:50 c2-c4, Panov attack
8:55 Nd2/Nc3, Classical variation
10:00 Ne4xf6, Tartakower
12:05 Bf5, Classical again
12:45 f2-f3, Fantasy variation
14:25 wild stuff
As a person who hates learning openings, this kinds of videos are really helpful and enteretaining, thanks levy :)
The fact that Levy decided to upload 2 videos directly related to my main openings is a miracle.
Bless you Levy 🙏
I feel so lucky, I exclusively play the London and the caro Kann and so these two videos back to back are perfect, also the day after the London video I played a blitz game and my opponent asked me if I watched the Gotham chess video which really goes to show how wide levy’s reach has become
You play the Caro against anything? The London I play nearly every time because it doesn't matter much at all what your opponent does. However can you play the Caro against anything? What if white opens with d4 and not e4? If they play d4 and your follow with c6 it doesn't make too much sense? I think d4 should be met with d5 and then c6 so you have the same structure. I think it counts as the "semi Slav" but if not it's very similar.
@@Nuffsed81 Yeah I meant I always play in the style of the Caro or the London so I play the Caro Kann against E4 and play D5 against D4 and play the same way I would play the London because that's what I'm most familiar with.
Can you make a remake on the Dutch Defense? I personally struggle with it but I think its an interesting and dynamic opening and I desperately want to master it.
Yes
Go to lichess studies, learn every line and use engine to help you. Then play some games and analyze them. Nothing complicated. You dont need youtuber to do a tutorial for you.
@@Lodzio20 Is it free?
@@MunirMatsuo go pay for a course if you really want it. Support this fantastic community of chess
I really like that defence because not only the structure is easy to memorize, but also most of the plans, whice is the most important thing when you learn a new chess opening.
13:03 btw something trickier white could play is a3, what may seems like just giving up the pawn, but after Na4, the queen is trapped, white gets queen for rook at at worst, or sometimes black just blunders their queen
0:06 When he said it's a very "easy opening"... I mean it only has completely different variations between like Tartakower, Panov, Fantasy and many things he didn't mention like the Bayonet Attack (my secret weapon as white), but also definitely not an easy opening for beginners because of the late King side development and in some variations your King doesn't get to castle and not to mention all the subtleties when to play Qb6 or f6, when to defend the light squared bishop and when to trade and the battle of the c file etc... yeah definitely easy.
What? chess isn't easy? Opponents might have moves I didn't see coming? What a profound comment!
@@stud1o699 It's more difficult than london for sure
@@Hibasi I'm only 1000. I like slow building openings because I'm not really a fan of symmetry and simplification, and they usually have options/variations. Endgames are a toss up at any rating but when someone chooses a move that 0.0s the game and forces everything to be traded, and they have the same rating as you, their endgames tend to be better than yours in my exp. And the opponents choices are more often piece placement than pawn placement(which completely changes the game) which for me makes it easier because understanding what's winning or losing become more intuitive relative to the opening.
As a beginner this is a very simple opening
Was gonna try playing the Sicilian and I noped out of that so I'm here and I have won 5/6 blitz games in the caro in a day. This is a simple, fun, imbalanced, and interesting opening that is super cool, thanks Levy.
9:35 you can be mate in 2 here, after you move your knight to d7 they move their queen to e2 then you develop your knight normally and their knight to d6 is mate.
How to crush with Caro-kann and how to crush Caro-kann are two different things
Levy: always always *always* create a loft for your king
Also Levy: A lazy move like h3
Yes, but you need to do it at the right time. In that instance h3 was lazy because it didn't achieve much in that position. The king was not threatened by backrank mate
ah yes creating loft with no pieces traded yet
Levy, could you please put the pgn for the moves or a link of some kind in the description for us to go over ourselves?
4:10 “you leave your king open, get hit with bishop and lose the queen”… yeah that game my quickest resign ever.
The 10 minute openings is where I learned this one…and I always struggled beyond the exchange and advance. THANK YOU GOTHAM. MORE OPENINGS VIDEOS PLEASE
I wish you would've covered the hillbilly attack. I'm around 1300 and I feel like I see it in like a quarter of my caro-kann games.
Lichess opening database
I see it alot too but mostly people who used that dont know what they are doing and ended up boxing in their own bishop
Hillbilly attack is a favorite of mine. it can really throw someone off. I main the Caro-Kann and have a >60% loss rate against the hillbilly
Personally the hillbilly never works, it forces them to move their bishop twice and you have tempo in the caro, which is crazy
These style videos are awesome! Keep them coming for us beginner’s!!
15:52 The 'Ooga Booga' tactic helped me a lot. The opponents didn't see it coming
just finished watching this video, it's late, 10pm and i don't usually like playing 10 or 15 minute games too late at night since i am obviously more tired, but i hop into a game anyway, get a classical exchange caro , fianchetto the bishop as you showed, used f6 to push e5 , got a huge center, and won on move 22 by resignation with checkmate in 1 coming - i am 1200 btw - GG
Hi I also wanna learn the Caro Kann, mind if we become friends??
Can’t wait for the Slav defense
23rd day of translating Levy's titles into Neapolitan:"Comm sfunnà ca Caro Kann"
Nobody cared. Ever
@@DiabolicalHater I stopped 1 and a half years ago mate
@@marcosettembre I am at 610 days streak on other video ?
Why did you stopped ?
@@marcosettembre Gg
doesnt even feel like a 30 minute video man I could watch these all day
The line in the advance variation of 3. ... c5 (5.24 in the video) is called the Botvinnik-Carls variation in the Caro Kann.
I forgot the opening now I have to rewatch the video
I've seen the "Karpov variation" also called both the "Nimzowich variation" and the "Steinitz variation." I've used it with great success, but I've never beaten the Panov-Botvinnik attack. Still working on it ...
Man, you really put together great video tutorials. I have watched hundreds of videos to learn how to do everything from stucco to replacing brakes and rotors; yours are the best! You speak well, you’re entertaining and you don’t hesitate to compliment an opponent if he/she makes a good move.
Just watched the first 5 mins here yesterday (05/07/2023) and already smashed a random 1600 in 10 minute rapid with it. Thanks Gotham!!
From my experience, you never get suffocated in the Caro-Kann defence. There are just too many possible pawn breaks and the position is way to solid.
There's a variation of e4, c6, d4, d5, e5, Bf5, h4, h6, g4, Be4, f3, Bh7, and white plays e6, sacrificing a pawn.
I find most intermediate players suffocating from after they take the pawn with fxe6
@@victorkao1472 Fen please... I want to see it.
@@victorkao1472 sorry I'm late, but I've been studying the h6 line and I wanted to say that in specifically the h6 line, the best move after BE4 is NF3
Hi Levy, I love ur opening videos and guess the elo series! I know from one of ur videos where u played against hustlers that you don't know much about The Benko Gambit. I want to learn all the theory from HangingPawns because he's made a very detailed video about it BUT... I'd like you to make a video about it where u teach us the general ideas in the benko gambit to head us to the right direction and understand it better rather than just memorizing the lines since you can make us understand so much about an opening in less than 10 minutes.
Hanging pawns explains the ideas very well, not sure what you’re talking about
@@claudiomaker2932 I'd rather a short, sample sized video from levy first to absorb some information fast and feel more familiar. He kinda makes me pay more attention. Also Hanging pawns video is like 1 hour so it will be hard to focus. I want to get some grasp first so it's much easier to learn all the theory
love your energy, your teach with passion, it feels good having you as a teacher through youtube
With such quality instructions in this video can't imagine how good your course must be!
After watching this, and trying to play these lines I have gone up from 900 to 1200. I think I could go higher if I learn an opening for white, to the extent I did with this Opening. Thanks Levy you’re the best!
What's your ELO now?
What's your ELO now?
Thank you a lot for these videos Levy!
Could you please do a video about the Nimzo-Indian defence? I've seen it a lot in high level chess recently and looks really solid.
It’s a very specific opening, only played against queens pawn then c4
@@ishanprabhakar1651 More specifically, d4 c4 Nc3
That backward bishop tactic was beautiful, thanks for the info levy
2:48 What if they instead pin your knight with Bb5. Then you won't be taking the e5 pawn
He forgot to show the refutation for the Caro, the HILLBILLY ATTACK!!!
Brooo why does EVERYONE play this against me at 1050-1100????? Lmao
@@braydenlenzer374 GingerGM is the most responsible for making it popular. You can play it on a much higher level tho. In most of the lines white is equal, there are just a line or two that are slightly better for black but you need to know them by heart, and i dont think that the engine evaluation matters much unless you're a super GM.
"Nice time to play it"
Opponent plays D4
guys Idk if anyone is watching this rn but for the carokann fantasy I remember studying an engine line like 2 yeears ago or smth which went like g6 Nc3 bg7 be3 qb6 qd2 takes rb1 qa3 be2 f6. It worked rlly well playing this line bc what the underlying plan is you get the b2 pawn (sometimes not) and then you play f6 and e5 with Nd7 and Nf6. Rlly strong line.
“I understand there’s a bit of rate imbalance”.
The difference between your ratings is higher than my rate itself x)
I love the panov variation soo much with white as they get confused a lot with a lot of pressure on b7 and the center pawn. I am in the 1300-1400 ranges so it was getting kinda dfficult for me to handle the advanced variation with white but i will also try to learn it correctly😂
thanks levy...this is what i needed...i always play caro as a 1800+...but struggle with accuracy early with the advanced variation
For white with the Caro - kann E4 C6 D4 D5 NF3 Takes Takes (mane line) Knight E2 (Karpov variation) QE2 and if they develop their other knight then you play Knight E3 checkmate in just 6 moves
Levy the goat
I would like to see a Sicilian video.
He's got one
@@joshtyler7999 yeah but a revamped one
@@basesixty6739 it's called "play the sicilian like Beth Harmon" I think. It's just like this one
@@joshtyler7999 oh wow I complete missed that. Thanks dude
Found it muuuuch more useful and versatile than KID that I've been playing (as alternative to Scandi) and so far my games as black improved very quickly.
Wow, this is my favorite Gotham video so far. The explanation is so simple and crisp!
I quickly went thorugh the video but i dont see any of the 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5
Lines which I have seen a lot your training partner also played it against you.
So please cover that.
First time I played this I got a 7 move checkmate with the fantasy variation! Great video.
broooooo this opening is just sooo good i won 5 matches in a row would highly recommend it if your between 600 to 1000 elo
hey levy, could you put the moves in the description
Bro thanks a ton, this and the London are literally the only openings I play
Edit:
Very interesting lessons, gonna be rewatching this a few times for sure
So what do you play as black when white plays 1. d4 ?
Same here!
@@Marshall7593 big oof I had been playing c6 then d5 like a noob... recently been answering with Nf6 to go into kings Indian but still learning
"Congratulations you've won a game in 7 moves I don't know how much better of an opening video I can give you"
- Levy
For 2 days straight Levy makes videos about he systems that I play. Nice
first game after this video got a 12 move checkmate with this defense thanks lol
What if your opponent pinned your k on c6 with bishop b5
thats the issue ive been having too lol
Usually you can just ignore it. If they take the knight, you take the bishop with a pawn. Then you can just castle, after that you won't be pinned and your opponent's bishop will be useless.
I stopped playing chess for a very long time (about 12 years).
The place I was living before I moved out, was making me mentally fragile and I stopped doing things I love to do because my head was so tired. Now, I've gained the passion for chess again and you are an amazing teacher and player. I'm 25 years old but it is never too late to become a master. Thank you, Levi.
Way to keep it real. I've been trying to have a greater understanding in Chess and your videos have taught me a lot. Thank you!!
What if they pin your knight at the beginning with the white bishop
get good
For real though! Then you can’t take back that e5 pawn with your pinned knight…
Something I see a fair amount, and it seems annoying at first cause it temporarily immobilizes the knight, but it's actually completely fine for black:
For example what I've seen all the time since I switched to the Caro:
e4, c6 2.) d4, d5 3.) e5, c5 4.) c3, Nc6, 5.) Nf3, Bg4 6.) Bb5, e6. If you plug this into an engine black is perfectly fine here, and has actually equalized. White is going to either end up with split pawns or a trade in the center. You can either attack their bishop or you can just develop, castle and unpin the knight. It's like white has all the drawish disadvantages of playing an exchange variation but you have almost all the dynamic counterplay advantages of playing the advanced variation
around the 5min mark, if i pin with bishop to g4 and they play pawn to h3 what should i do then? retreat?
Also what to do when i start a caro-kann and my opponent press out the queen right away (probably looking for a scholar matte)
if the opponent attacks your bishop you trade the knight and bishop
the knight is defending the pawns in the middle that you are trying to get back and your light square bishop will not be very useful anyways since your pawn structure is on the light squares
I'm a relative new comer to learning chess and am really enjoying it. For what it's worth, I came up with the following mnemonic to remember the E4 followed by C6 opening of the Caro-Kann: "Eloise beFOUR, she became SEA SICK."
thank you for the video! im saving up for your Caro course now. It is my favorite opening for black against white e4. I need to study gameplans behind it though. I feel once I get my opening complete, I sit there and say "okay now what". So thank you!