Caro-Kann according to Supi — Part 2
The draw he refused to accept
Every repertoire has a line the author quietly hopes nobody plays. For GM Luis Supi, it was the Panov — and he is unusually honest about how close it came to ending his relationship with the Caro-Kann altogether.
The problem was not that Black stands worse. Equalising against 4.c4 has never been hard. The problem was everything after that: positions with no realistic way to play for a win, and equality that felt dry enough that a strong technical player could still generate problems from it. For a player who chooses his openings by how much fight they contain, that was not good enough.
Caro-Kann according to Supi — Part 2 is the result of several months spent solving exactly that.
What makes the repertoire different
The line that crystallised the whole project is a specific, well-known drawing mechanism. After 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 a6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bc4, the standard reply 8...Be6 runs into 9.Ng5 Nxc3 10.Bxe6 Nxd1 11.Bxf7+ Kd7 12.Be6+ Ke8 13.Bf7+ — perpetual check, half a point, game over before it began.
Supi's response to that line is worth quoting, because it explains the entire course: "Congratulations — but what should I do if I don't want to draw without playing the game? I don't think playing with Black means we are always happy with such draws."
So he replaced it. Instead of 8...Be6, the recommendation is 8...Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bf5 — a concept he describes as bringing new life to the position, and a line that, as he puts it, has no theory at all. Not an improvement on existing analysis: a position nobody has mapped, organised here so that it can be used for years rather than sprung once.
Around that centrepiece, the course covers the Panov in full: the 6.Bg5 systems, the important 7.c5 advance, and the Accelerated Panov with the 2.c4 move order, so the repertoire holds together whichever route White chooses.
Author and inspiration
The idea did not come from a novelty hunt. It came from dissatisfaction — from a fighting player noticing that his own repertoire was steering him into positions he could not win, and refusing to accept it. That instinct runs through the whole database, and it is why the recommendations are chosen for the play they generate rather than the evaluation they carry.
This is the second volume of Supi's Caro-Kann series. Part 1 addressed the main line after 3.Nc3, where his discovery was the unexpected 6...g6. Part 2 takes on the Panov. Part 3 will complete the picture with the remaining variations.
Map of variations
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6
- 6.Nf3 a6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bc4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bf5 — the critical line and the heart of the course → Chapter 3
- 6.Nf3 a6 7.c5 — the important alternative advance → Chapter 2
- 6.Bg5 — White's other main try, with a good solution for Black → Chapter 1
- 2.c4 — the Accelerated Panov move order → Chapter 4
What's inside
- 4 theoretical chapters
- 6 exercises with full solutions
- 10 annotated model games, including Carlsen–Gukesh, Yu Yangyi–Giri, Jones–Abdusattorov, Karthikeyan–Maghsoodloo and Kozin–Bluebaum
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
More from the author
If you would like more of Supi's repertoire work, he has a separate series covering White's play against the Sicilian: Supi vs the Sicilian.
Get the course
The Panov has long been the line Caro-Kann players tolerate rather than look forward to — solid enough to survive, dry enough to bore. This course changes the terms. Add Caro-Kann according to Supi — Part 2 to your repertoire and stop settling for the draw your opponent was counting on.