Over the past few decades, the Advance Variation has become one of White's most flexible weapons against the Caro-Kann. After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5, White usually gets to choose the character of the fight: a slow build-up with 4.Nf3, an aggressive 4.h4, a sharp 4.Nc3 with g4, or an early 4.g4. The underlying idea of this course is simple and demanding: take that choice away. With 3...c5, Black strikes at the center at once and moves the game onto his own terms.