Decide
Step 1 · Keep the promise
Black to move
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3pP3/3P4/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3White has pushed e5. Black to move, and the c8 bishop is the piece the opening is about.
Which move keeps the Caro-Kann promise?
Quick check
- Bishop to f5
- Pawn to e6
- Bishop to g4
Show the correct answer
Correct answer: Bishop to f5 — …Bf5. The bishop is out on a good diagonal before …e6 closes the door behind it. This is the whole idea of …c6 instead of …e6.
- Pawn to e6 — …e6 locks the bishop on c8 behind its own pawns, the French player’s problem. The Caro-Kann exists to avoid exactly this.
- Bishop to g4 — …Bg4? Qxg4. There is no knight on f3 to pin: the bishop simply hangs.
Watch
Step 2 · The classical journey
Black to move
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/8/3PN3/8/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4…Bf5 comes out. Ng3 attacks it: …Bg6. h4 threatens h5: …h6 makes a hole on h7. Nf3 Nd7, h5 Bh7, and Bd3 offers a trade: …Bxd3 Qxd3. The bishop went out, survived, and traded itself for White’s best bishop before …e6 ever locked it in.
The line: 4…Bc8-f5 5.Ne4-g3 Bf5-g6 6.h2-h4 h7-h6 7.Ng1-f3 Nb8-d7 8.h4-h5 Bg6-h7 9.Bf1-d3 Bh7xd3 10.Qd1xd3
Your move
Step 3 · Out first
Black to move
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/8/3PN3/8/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4The exchange on e4 is done and the centre is open. Get the bishop out before anything else.
Hint: Get the c8 bishop out before …e6.
The move: 4…Bc8-f5
4…Bf5. The bishop is out, attacking the knight on e4 and eyeing c2. Now …e6 can come without shutting anything in.
Also good here
4…Ng8-f6— Also a main line: …Nf6 Nxf6+ and you recapture with a pawn, opening lines for the bishop.4…Nb8-d7— Also a main line: …Nd7 prepares …Ngf6 without allowing the doubled pawns.
Why not another move?
4…e7-e6— …e6 shuts the bishop in behind its own pawns: the one thing the Caro-Kann is meant to avoid.4…g7-g6— Playable, but the bishop on c8 is still at home, and it is the bishop the opening is about.
Your move
Step 4 · Attacked
Black to move
rn1qkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/5b2/3P4/6N1/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 2 5Ng3 attacks the bishop. Keep it on the diagonal that matters.
Hint: The bishop is attacked. Retreat, but stay outside the pawn chain.
The move: 5…Bf5-g6
5…Bg6. The bishop keeps the b1–h7 diagonal and stays outside the pawn chain. From here it watches c2 and can trade itself for White’s bishop when Bd3 comes.
Why not another move?
5…Bf5-d7— Back inside: the bishop on d7 is behind …e6 again, and the move spent on …Bf5 is lost.5…Bf5-c8— All the way home: two moves wasted, and …e6 will shut it in after all.5…Bf5-e6— The bishop blocks its own e-pawn: …e6 is now impossible and the kingside cannot develop.5…Bf5xc2— …Bxc2? Qxc2: the pawn was guarded. A bishop for a pawn. What follows:6.Qd1xc2
Your move
Step 5 · Make the hole
Black to move
rn1qkbnr/pp2pppp/2p3b1/8/3P3P/6N1/PPP2PP1/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 6h4 threatens h5, trapping the bishop on g6. Give it a square before that happens.
Hint: h5 is coming. Give the bishop a retreat square first.
The move: 6…h7-h6
6…h6. The hole on h7 is ready: after h5 the bishop steps back to h7 and keeps its diagonal. A pawn move, but a necessary one.
Why not another move?
6…h7-h5— Playable, but …h5 leaves g5 weak for the rest of the game. The main line is …h6.6…Ng8-f6— …Nf6? h5! kicks the bishop to e4, where Rh4 and f3 chase it again. Black loses several moves and White gets a strong initiative. What follows:7.h4-h56…e7-e6— …e6? h5 and the bishop must go to f5, where Nxf5 exf5 leaves your pawns doubled and the bishop gone. Make the hole first. What follows:7.h4-h5
Decide
Step 6 · Why call it a success?
Black to move
r2qkbnr/pp1nppp1/2p4p/7P/3P4/3Q1NN1/PPP2PP1/R1B1K2R b KQkq - 0 10The bishop has just been traded off on d3.
Why is that trade a success for Black?
Quick check
- It traded for White’s best bishop before …e6 locked it in
- Black won a pawn
- White can no longer castle
Show the correct answer
Correct answer: It traded for White’s best bishop before …e6 locked it in — Yes. White’s d3 bishop was the one aimed at h7; it is gone, and …e6 now comes with nothing shut in. Black has no bad bishop.
- Black won a pawn — No pawn was won; material is level. The gain is structural: no bad bishop, and White’s attacking bishop is gone.
- White can no longer castle — White still has both castling rights. The trade changed the bishops, not the king.
Your move
Step 7 · Another square
Black to move
rnbqkbnr/pp2ppp1/2p4p/3pP3/3P4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4A different move order: White pushed e5 and developed the knight to f3. Your bishop is still at home. Where does it go now?
Hint: The bishop still wants out before …e6. Look at both diagonals.
The move: 4…Bc8-g4
4…Bg4. With a knight on f3 the bishop pins it, and it is out before …e6. Same promise, different square.
Why not another move?
4…Bc8-f5— Playable, but Nh4! hits it at once, and after …Bh7 the e6 push comes with force. With a knight on f3, g4 is the better square.4…e7-e6— The bishop is shut in again. Out first.4…Bc8-d7— Out, but to a square where it does nothing: d7 blocks the knight and looks at nothing.
On your own
Step 8 · On your own
Black to move
rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/2p5/3p4/4P3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 3White skipped the d-pawn push: the Two Knights. Your e-pawn is still on e7 and White’s pawn stands on e4, unblocked. Get the bishop out, but check the square.
Hint: The e4 pawn still stands. Which square can it not reach?
The move: 3…Bc8-g4
3…Bg4. The bishop pins the f3 knight and is safe there. f5 was not: with e4 still standing, exf5 would simply take it.
Also good here
3…d5xe4— Also fine: …dxe4 Nxe4 first, and only then …Bf5, once the e-pawn is gone.
Why not another move?
3…Bc8-f5— …Bf5?? exf5. The pawn on d5 attacks e4 but does not guard f5: the bishop just hangs. What follows:4.e4xf53…g7-g6— Playable, but the bishop on c8 stays home while you fianchetto the other one.3…Qd8-a5— Playable, but the queen comes out before the bishop; d3 and Bd2 chase it back.
A quick refresher
In the app this position is not part of the lesson itself: it comes back later, as a review, to check that the idea stuck.
Your move
The Advance again
Black to move
rnbqkbnr/1p2pppp/p1p5/3pP3/3P4/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4The Advance, with …a6 thrown in and a knight on f3. Bishop first.
Hint: Get the bishop out before …e6.
The move: 4…Bc8-g4 or 4…Bc8-f5
Out before …e6, on either good square: …Bg4 pins the knight, …Bf5 takes the diagonal. Both keep the promise.
Why not another move?
4…e7-e6— The bishop is shut in: the French problem, chosen voluntarily.4…c6-c5— Playable, but the bishop is still home, and dxc5 leaves you a pawn down for a while.4…Bc8-d7— Out, but passive: d7 is not a diagonal, it is a waiting room.
What you learned
Bishop out, then …e6. When it is attacked, g6; when h4 comes, …h6; and f5 is only safe once e4 is blocked or gone.
In your next game
After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5, get the bishop to f5 or g4 before …e6. Meet Ng3 with …Bg6 and h4 with …h6. If White’s e-pawn still stands on e4 unblocked, …Bf5 hangs: pin with …Bg4 or exchange on e4 first.